Write to your super fund’s board to demand divestment from companies complicit with Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine.
Australian superannuation funds are investing billions of dollars into companies complicit with Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine.
Generally speaking, industry super fund boards are made up of representatives of both the unions and employer organisations from across a particular workforce sector, as well as independent directors. Usually, all board members will have their relevant work history, other board commitments and area of “expertise” listed on their bio on the fund’s website. You can do a bit of research to find this information out.
Which person should I write to?
If you are a member of one of the represented unions on the board, always write to your union representative in the first instance. They are technically representing you and your colleagues on the board!
Otherwise, you are entitled to write to any board member. Take a look at their respective bios, and pick the board member whose other experience resonates most with you and your personal values, work experience and life.
Remember to:
- Be polite and use common sense. Board members are critical decision makers – we
- need to bring them onside, not alienate them, so be tactful in your language.
- Be specific and clear about your request. We are asking for divestment from the
- companies listed in the 2025 United Nations Human Rights Office database.
- Make sure to issue your ultimatum – if you don’t see the fund move on this issue in a
- reasonable timeframe, you’ll move to a fund that doesn’t invest in these businesses.
- The board need to understand the reputational risk of holding these investments.
- Try to appeal to shared values that both you and the board member may hold.
- Request a reply within a specified timeframe.
- Let them know that you are a fund member, and also a union member (if applicable).
What sort of things should I write about?
You should write the letter in your own words, but some things you might like to mention include:
- Introduce yourself, explain who you are, and why you care about Palestine.
- Talk about your employment, and why it’s important to you in your role to ensure your retirement savings are not invested into an illegal occupation.
- Talk about the human impacts of Israel’s occupation on Palestinians. Refer to stories you have heard, news articles, etc. Provide links and references.
- Outline why you think these investments are contradictory of your funds brand. Have a look on their website to see what themes, topics or values they espouse. Many
- funds will pay lip service to things like women’s rights or inequality. You can highlight the contradiction between this and their investments.
- Mention that you are concerned about the financial risk that these investments hold. Under international law, both Australia and corporations domiciled within Australia
- are legally obligated to not recognise Israel’s settlements as legal or legitimate, thus making these investments financially risky and potentially subject to sanctions,
- which would leave funds holding bad investments.
- Mention that the companies your fund is investing in are at risk of complicity of war crimes of forced displacement and population transfer.
- Mention the fact that other funds are divesting, including HESTA, Vision Super and Australian Ethical. Internationally, funds in the UK, Norway, and New Zealand are all
- divesting from this list.
How can you make your letter more impactful?
- Can you get your colleagues, or other fund members to also sign the letter?
- Can you attach some resources for the board member?
- Can you publish the letter online?
Remember, you don’t need to be an expert, and we shouldn’t let perfection get in the way of progress. The most impactful thing will be if the fund’s board members begin to receive lots of genuine communication from different people about this issue.