Perth nurse who lost $130,000 in super collapse lashes out at Labor's reforms - as thousands wait for compensation

By SARAH BROOKES - SENIOR REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 01:18, 24 August 2026 | Updated: 01:28, 24 August 2026 A Perth nurse who lost more than $130,000 in the collapse of First Guardian says she remains 'fuming' despite the federal government's latest push to strengthen protections for Australians' retirement savings. Deborah Heron, 61, said she considers herself one of the 'lucky ones' after recovering some of her money but remains owed more than $130,000. Ms Heron said thousands of investors caught up in the collapse of First Guardian and Shield in 2025 had not received a cent and were still waiting for compensation. The collapses of First Guardian and Shield have been linked to more than $1.1 billion in investor losses. The First Guardian Master Fund alone wiped out roughly $46 million invested by about 6,000 Australians. While she welcomed the government's response, she described Financial Services Minister Daniel Mulino's package of reforms as 'piecemeal' and said many victims had been left behind. 'I'm angry, angry, angry,' she told The Senior. 'Some people have got nothing back. They've got absolutely nothing. 'I'm really angry for everyone else.' Nurse Deborah Heron (pictured) considers herself one of the 'lucky ones' after recovering some of her money, but remains owed more than $130,000 Financial Services Minister Daniel Mulino (pictured) unveiled a series of reforms to the super products including a ban on unsolicited cold calling Mulino unveiled the reforms last Wednesday, including a ban on cold-calling Australians about superannuation products. The package will give super funds greater scope to provide advice and contact members directly, while also creating a new class of adviser within super funds and strengthening oversight of managed investment schemes. The changes follow the collapse of First Guardian and Shield, which allegedly used referral networks, lead generators and conflicted advisers to funnel Australians out of mainstream superannuation products. 'These reforms are designed to disrupt some of the most damaging business models operating in the system today,' Mulino said. A key part of the package would give ASIC stronger powers to intervene when trustees breach their obligations and to require compensation for members' capital losses. However, the reforms would also limit compensation claims to actual investment losses, excluding future earnings that victims may have received had their money remained invested. Victim Melinda Kee, who met with Mulino before the announcement, welcomed the reforms but said investors should still be able to claim lost earnings. 'Reform is absolutely necessary, and everyone should be grateful for the action taken here, but investors affected by the current collapses cannot simply become the catalysts for a safer system for everyone who comes after us,' she said. Victim Melinda Kee (pictured) said victims need to be compensated for their losses 'There must also be a pathway forward for the people whose losses exposed these failures in the first place.' Mr O'Halloran supported the ban on unlicensed cold-calling but wants to see obligations placed on social media platforms to remove harmful ads. 'People get pulled into bad investments online, not just over the phone,' he said. 'Social media platforms need to pull the ads down, not leave people to check the fine print themselves.' What you need to know about Labor's superannuation changes: Peter van Onselen  Labor's 'free' super advice is a sales pitch paid for by you. The latest superannuation overhaul is being marketed as a generous gift to millions of Australians but it's really nothing of the sort.  The government says super funds will soon be able to contact members, offer financial guidance and recommend supposedly more suitable products without charging a fee. But the advice is not free. Its cost will simply be buried deep inside the fund and spread across the entire membership. So we all pay for it.  The Albanese government's latest superannuation overhaul is being marketed as a generous gift to millions of Australians Australians who never seek advice will be forced to subsidise those who do. In a compulsory super system, where workers have no choice but to surrender part of every pay packet, that is a particularly dishonest use of the word 'free'.  Even more troubling is the extraordinary conflict of interest Labor is creating.  A new class of adviser, requiring less training than a fully qualified financial planner, will be allowed to guide members on superannuation matters. These advisers will work exclusively through super funds (you know, the ones Labor has deep connections to) and will be permitted to steer members towards products offered by the very organisations employing them. Labor insists advisers won't be allowed to receive commissions, sales bonuses or payments linked to the products they recommend.  That's good, but it hardly removes the institutional incentive to keep money inside the fund and push members towards its preferred offerings. An employee pushing the products doesn't need to receive a commission to understand who pays their salary. The collapse of the Shield and First Guardian schemes, which swallowed up roughly $1billion of Australian retirement savings, exposed appalling weaknesses in the superannuation system The government is effectively allowing super funds to become the adviser, salesperson and product provider all rolled into one, with the cost charged to a captive membership we are all obliged to join. This is a huge victory for powerful industry funds that have spent years lobbying for these reforms and frequently appoint former Labor politicians and union members to their boards. It is also a conspicuous defeat for the big banks, which wanted similarly qualified staff to provide limited advice to their customers but have been denied that opportunity. The inconsistency is glaringly obvious. If this watered down form of financial advice is considered safe when delivered by a super fund, why is it suddenly deemed too dangerous when delivered by a bank? There are, admittedly, worthwhile elements to the package. The collapse of the Shield and First Guardian schemes, which swallowed up roughly $1billion of Australian retirement savings, exposed appalling weaknesses in the system. ASIC will now be able to order trustees to compensate members where there is reasonable suspicion they failed in their duties. Tick.  Trustees found to have breached their obligations could be forced to repay all losses, while APRA will impose bank-style financial requirements on funds offering riskier investments. Another tick. These protections are overdue but Labor should ensure that the bill is paid by those responsible, not by prudent fund members and self-managed super investors who had absolutely nothing to do with the failures. Trustees that allow dangerous products onto their investment options should have enough financial backing to compensate victims when everything collapses. Australians need affordable and accessible financial advice but what they do not need is a government-sponsored sales operation dressed up as a free service when it is not. Labor has bundled sensible consumer protections together with an enormous transfer of power to the super industry.  The safeguards deserve support but the closed shop certainly doesn't.