Design and distribution

obligations 
(DDO)

DDO requires issuers and distributors of financial products to have a customer-centric approach in designing and distributing its products, with the aim of helping customers to obtain financial products that are appropriate for their objectives, financial situation and needs. The obligations apply to a broad number of financial products including (but not limited to) various Superannuation, Pension and Self-Managed Invest products offered by Hostplus.

A Target Market Determination (TMD) describes the target market for a financial product, explains any distribution conditions or restrictions on the sale of the product and establishes the reporting requirements for the distributors of its products. Hostplus publishes a series of TMDs covering the products we offer to members, outlining the product’s target market and purpose.

Issuers and distributors of financial products must comply with the design and distribution obligations in Pt 7.8A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Corporations Act) from 5 October 2021. 

The design and distribution obligations are intended to help consumers obtain appropriate financial products by requiring issuers and distributors to have a consumer-centric approach to the design and distribution of products. 

In particular, issuers must design financial products that are likely to be consistent with the likely objectives, financial situation and needs of the consumers for whom they are intended.

Distributors and DDO

A distributor is expected to understand the requirements we establish in the TMDs for our products. This means a distributor will need to:

  • understand the target market defined in our TMD and take reasonable steps to ensure the product is distributed in accordance with the TMD
  • understand and adhere to any distribution conditions established in the TMD
  • provide information as specified in the TMD, at the required frequency and in the required form (using the form below or the nominated email address)
  • keep accurate records of the reasonable steps taken and any information provided to us
  • provide us any additional details or information that we require to comply with our obligation under the applicable law
  • report to us where you believe a significant dealing which is inconsistent with the product’s TMD has occurred.

Distributors of Hostplus products are required to report specific matters, such as complaints, distribution outside the TMD (unless it is based on personal advice) and significant dealings. If you need any assistance with the reporting, please email your enquiry to ddoreporting@hostplus.com.au.

Complaints

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction made to us by an account holder (or someone legitimately representing their interests), related to our products or services where a response or resolution is explicitly or implicitly expected or legally required. Distributors should refer to ASIC’s guidance on complaints (Regulatory Guide 271 Internal Dispute Resolution) for further information.

The DDO obligations require external distributors of our products to report to us the volume and details of any complaints they have received about the design or distribution of our products covered by our TMDs.

Sales of product outside of TMD

Distributors should report all sales outside of the target market that were not based on personal advice. This should include an explanation as to why the distribution is outside  the target market.

Significant dealings

A significant dealing report is intended to capture material or significant distribution of a product outside of its TMD.

Whether or not a dealing is significant will depend on a variety of circumstances, including (but not limited to): 

  • the scale of distribution outside the target market,  
  • the risk (or potential risk) of harm, financial loss, or detriment to those consumers from such distribution, and 
  • the nature and extent of inconsistency of distribution to the target market determination. 

‘Significant’ is not defined by the Corporations Act. Each distributor will need to make an individual assessment in the circumstances of each case to determine when a dealing (or dealings) outside of a target market is significant, and this must be reported to Hostplus immediately. 

Distributors are requested to use the DDO reporting form below to report to Hostplus any information requested by Hostplus in its TMDs and referred to above.

If, for any reason you are unable to report to Hostplus via the above form, you can submit your DDO report to Hostplus via email to ddoreporting@hostplus.com.au.

Any DDO report submitted to Hostplus via email should include the following information:

  • business name of the distributor
  • ABN of the distributor
  • contact name
  • contact phone number
  • contact email address
  • AFS licence name
  • AFS licence number
  • the name of the product that the report relates to 
  • all DDO related reporting details set out and requested in the relevant TMD.


If you need any assistance with the reporting, please email your enquiry to ddoreporting@hostplus.com.au.

Information is collected in accordance with the Hostplus privacy policy. The Hostplus privacy policy is available on the Hostplus website at hostplus.com.au/privacy or by calling us on 1300 467 875. The privacy policy explains how we handle personal information, how members can access and/or seek correction of their your personal information and how members can make a complaint about a breach of privacy.