Nearly 20% of actuaries in Australia work on matters related to superannuation. Now a compulsory component of every Australian employment package, superannuation has become a major avenue for national savings and retirement income.

By constructing and utilising intricate mathematical models, actuaries can project financial outcomes based on a multitude of input variables. Their involvement extends to designing and administering superannuation funds and employee benefit schemes tailored to address the requirements of industry sectors, employers, employees, and individuals alike. This is achieved through the meticulous analysis of factors like life expectancy, investment yields, and inflation rates, all aimed at guaranteeing the enduring viability of these plans.

Positions range from executive management through to administration, technical actuarial tasks, and consulting. Many actuaries work closely with superannuation fund trustees, providing regular advice and guidance and are frequently required to comment on the impact of proposed changes in government legislation and taxation on superannuation.

Actuaries in the banking, investment or financial services sector are involved in risk management, portfolio optimisation, capital allocation, and modelling for complex financial products such as derivatives and structured securities. They help investment firms make informed decisions by modelling various financial scenarios and assessing potential risks.

By virtue of their experience in analysing financial transactions and assessing risks, actuaries are increasingly sought after for a wide range of technical and management roles in the investment and financial services sectors.

Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) is the process by which organisations in all industries assess, control, exploit, finance, and monitor risks from all sources, for the purpose of increasing the organisation's short- and long-term value to its stakeholders.

Against the backdrop of international risk management developments, the evolution of regulatory frameworks (e.g. APRA LAGIC, Solvency II and Basle II), the global financial crisis, and an increasing complexity and interdependency of risks in the financial world, the need for strong ERM has gathered considerable momentum in Australia. ERM has become an established and critical part of the management framework of companies across all industries and Chartered Enterprise Risk Actuaries (CERAs) are the risk professionals best qualified to lead an organisation’s enterprise risk management (ERM) program.

Consulting actuaries are professionals who provide specialised services to various industries, such as insurance, superannuation, investment and financial services, health, or government and regulatory agencies. They help clients make informed decisions by applying their expertise in mathematics, statistics, risk assessment, financial analysis, and strategic decision-making. They work for consulting firms or operate as independent consultants.

Actuaries in government roles work on public policy issues related to social insurance programs, such as social welfare, Medicare, and other government-sponsored benefits.

They apply core actuarial techniques to manage long-term uncertainties in the provision of services.

Climate change is having major environmental, economic, and social impacts and these impacts are increasing over time. Climate change poses serious risks to communities and to the sectors that actuaries advise, including government, insurance, banking, wealth management, superannuation and investments. Actuaries have considerable expertise in managing risk and uncertainty. Working with other stakeholders and often in multidisciplinary teams, actuaries are well placed to assist in:

• Identifying and understanding the risks and the range of consequences of climate change in the short term, medium term and long term;
• developing policy options and strategies to respond to these risks; and
• developing and implementing frameworks to manage the risks over time.

Actuaries, whether working in the sustainability sector or not, consider the impacts of climate change when modelling. They analyse risks associated with energy markets, commodity pricing, and environmental factors to assist companies in making informed decisions about resource exploration and utilisation.