Aboriginal Community Benefit Fund

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The Aboriginal Community Benefit Fund (ACBF), also known as Youpla, was an Australian company offered funeral insurance targeting at Indigenous Australians. The company collapsed in March 2022, leaving 14,500 customers an estimated A$66 million out of pocket in what was described by the ABC as a "slow-moving disaster".

History

Funerals, known as sorry business, are an expensive social obligation for Indigenous Australians.

In 1992, UK-born businessman Ron Pattenden and Armidale-based healthcare workers Dudley Duncan and Richard Widders came up with the idea of an insurance fund that would cover funerals. The initial fund was 40% owned by Pattenden, while its successor ACBF 2 was 90% owned by him. By 1997, Duncan and Widders had resigned their directorships.

In 1999, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) launched legal action against ACBF, alleging they had been "unconscionable, misleading and deceptive" to Indigenous customers. The case was settled out of court and ACBF was allowed to continue to operate.

ASIC launched a second legal challenge in 2003, which resulted in Funds 1 and 2 being closed to new members. However, ACBF was allowed to launch a new Fund 3 (Aboriginal Community Funeral Plan) as well as a non-Indigenous Community Funeral Plan.

In 2017, ACBF was prohibited from deducting its insurance premiums directly from Centrelink welfare payments.

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Aboriginal Community Benefit Fund

History

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