Mercer Direct platform terms and conditions

By using, accessing or participating in the Mercer Direct platform, you agree to the terms and conditions outlined on this page.

Terms and conditions for using the Mercer Direct platform

Effective: 1 October 2025

About these terms and conditions

The Mercer Direct platform (platform) is an internet-based investment facility that enables eligible Mercer Super Trust members to invest part of their super in term deposits and listed securities, including shares included in the S&P/ASX 300 and a range of exchange traded funds listed on the ASX.

The platform is provided by FNZ (Australia) Pty Ltd ABN 67 138 819 119 (FNZ).

Mercer Superannuation (Australia) Limited ABN 79 004 717 533, Australian Financial Services Licence 235906, is the trustee of the Mercer Super Trust ABN 19 905 422 981 (Mercer Super), which includes the Corporate Superannuation, Allocated Pension Division and Retail Division, and is referred to as ‘Mercer’ in these terms and conditions.

These terms and conditions relate to use of the platform. The platform includes information transmitted electronically and any associated information provided by FNZ as service provider of Mercer Super.

These terms and conditions are in addition to the Mercer Super Terms and Conditions which relate to your use of the Mercer Super website, app and member portal. You can view these terms of use at mercersuper.com.au/terms.

Your access to the platform is subject to these terms and conditions and any disclaimers and any additional terms and conditions or statements contained on the platform, referred to collectively as ‘these terms and conditions’.

You should also read and consider the:

relevant product disclosure statement(s) available at mercersuper.com.au/pds
relevant Target Market Determination available at mercersuper.com.au/tmd
Mercer Super Privacy policy available at mercersuper.com.au/privacy
Mercer Superannuation (Australia) Limited Financial Services Guide available at mercersuper.com.au
Mercer Direct Member Guide available at mercersuper.com.au/mercerdirect.

By accessing, viewing, using any of the online functionality or otherwise using the platform, you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions.

In these terms and conditions, references to:

'our', 'we', 'us', 'Mercer Super' and ‘Mercer’ are references to Mercer Superannuation (Australia) Limited ABN 79 004 717 533, Australian Financial Services Licence 235906, the trustee of the Mercer Super Trust ABN 19 905 422 981
'you' and 'your' are references to Eligible and / or Registered Users
'FNZ' means FNZ (Australia) Pty Limited ABN 67 138 819 119
'Eligible User' means a person who is able to access the platform because they meet the eligibility requirements outlined in the Mercer Direct Member Guide
'Registered User' means a person that has completed the registration process to invest in the platform and whose registration has been accepted by us
'Actions' includes all requests to transact (e.g. buy, sell, invest or redeem) on term deposits and listed securities, all instructions regarding dividend reinvestment and corporate action elections, and all other instructions relating to your account
'Adviser' means an investment or financial adviser
‘Data’ means news, market and Exchange data provided by third parties on the platform, including Morningstar
‘Morningstar’ means Morningstar Australasia Pty Ltd ABN 95 090 655 544, AFSL 240892
‘Exchange’ refers to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) Limited ABN 98 008 624 691 and Cboe Australia Pty Ltd ABN 47 129 584 667 (formerly Chi-X Australia)
‘Business days’ are limited to weekdays that are not a national public holiday, including the King’s Birthday (in all states except QLD & WA), or when the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) is closed.
'Force Majeure Event' means an act of God, lockout or other interference with work, war declared or undeclared, blockade, disturbance, lightning, fire, earthquake, storm, flood, explosion, governmental restraint, expropriation, prohibition, intervention, direction or embargo, or any other cause which is not within the control of the party affected.
‘The Site’ means The Mercer Direct platform.
‘Research Provider’ means Morningstar, as defined above.

1. General terms

1.1 Application of general terms

The general terms in this clause 1 apply to all Eligible Users and Registered Users of the platform. Additional specific terms may also apply. These are set out after these general terms.

1.2 Changes to terms and conditions

We reserve the right to change these terms and conditions at any time. If the change is material, we will post a notice on the platform giving notice of that change. We will endeavour to provide at least 30 day’s notice of any material changes before the changes come into effect. However, we note that there may be situations where we can’t provide prior notice due to changes made for compliance reasons or changes outside of Mercer’s control. When changes are made to these terms and conditions, you will be required to read and accept those changes in order to continue to access and use the platform. Any subsequent access to, or use of, the platform by you will constitute an acceptance of the terms and conditions. We suggest you review these terms and conditions periodically to ensure you have read and understood the latest version. Other changes affecting your interest in the Mercer Direct product will otherwise be notified to you in accordance with relevant law.

1.3 Registration for the platform

You will be required to read and accept these terms and conditions on your initial access to the platform and at any time that you access the platform after they have been updated in accordance with clause 1.2 of these terms and conditions.

The platform can be accessed by Eligible Users through the app and member portal. To invest in the platform, you will need to transfer funds into the platform from Mercer Super’s other investment options in the app and member portal. You will become a Registered User of the platform and be entitled to invest when your registration is accepted by us. We reserve the right to deny access or to refuse access or registration to any person at our discretion.

1.4 Electronic communications

You must maintain a valid email address with Mercer Super at all times. You must immediately notify us of any change to your email address.

Information relating to the platform will be provided or made available to you by electronic means. The electronic means we use include our email, the platform, the Mercer Super website, and any digital facilities available through the Mercer Super website, including the app and member portal.

You agree that where we are required by law or otherwise to provide you with a document in relation to the platform, you consent, at our option, to the provision of that document by electronic means, regardless of your communication preference settings recorded against your Mercer Super account. We recommend that you print a copy of any document so provided or file it electronically for future reference.

You agree not to dispute the validity or enforceability of electronic communications, and you will be taken to have received such communications whether or not you access the communications on the platform or via any other communication channel.

1.5 Availability of the platform

We will use all reasonable efforts to provide access to the platform on a 24-hour basis however, access may be restricted or unavailable from time to time. This may be to facilitate planned or unplanned maintenance, or for other reasons. We will endeavour to provide users with advance notice of any planned interruptions, however there may be situations where we can’t provide prior notice.

As with any service that uses technology, there is some risk that the relevant hardware or software may fail, causing a delay in the processing and reporting of your account. We do not accept responsibility if this was to happen and the failure was outside of our control. We have sought to address this risk and the risks associated with other unforeseen circumstances by implementing a disaster recovery plan and ensuring that relevant service providers also have disaster recovery and business continuity arrangements in place. This includes manual processes and nightly backups of our systems and data.

We will not be responsible for any delay or failure to process orders or investment instructions you provide as a result of outages, whether they are scheduled or unscheduled.

We reserve the right to amend the information provided or functionality available on the platform, and to limit access or cease providing information or functionality available on the platform.

We do not guarantee the delivery of communications over the internet as such communications rely on third party service providers. Electronic communications (including electronic mail) are vulnerable to interception by third parties and we do not guarantee the security of these communications or the security of the platform.

1.6 Changes to the platform functionality

We reserve the right to change the functionality of the platform at any time without prior written notification, except where the change relates to any fee or charge for the use of the platform. Where the change does not relate to any fee or charge for the use of the platform, we will endeavour to inform users by notices on the platform about the change before it comes into effect. However, we note that there may be situations where we can’t provide prior notice due to changes made for compliance reasons or changes outside of Mercer’s control. Any change to fees or charges will be notified to you in advance, where required.

1.7 Monitoring of the platform

We expressly reserve the right to monitor any or all use of the platform.

1.8 Denial of access to the platform

We reserve the right to restrict or revoke your access to the platform or particular account details at any time. We may do this if we have reason to believe that:

you have failed to keep your login details including your password and/or PIN for the Mercer Super app and member portal
in our opinion, there are concerns regarding unreasonable use, security or unauthorised access to your account or the platform
you no longer meet the eligibility requirements as outlined in the Mercer Direct Member Guide.

If your access is restricted or revoked, we will attempt to contact you to inform you of the terms of those restrictions.

Mercer Super and FNZ at all times retain control over permissioning, access to and dissemination of Data to users of the platform, and your access to the Data can be altered or revoked at our sole discretion and without notice.

1.9 Termination of registration for Mercer Direct

We have discretion to terminate your registration to the platform without notice. If we terminate your registration, this means that we will transfer your funds out of the Mercer Direct investment option and into Mercer Super’s other investment options. The amount switched will be invested proportionate to your other Mercer Super investments excluding Mercer Direct.

1.10 Indemnity

You indemnify us and keep us indemnified at all times against any and all liability for loss arising from and all costs, charges and expenses incurred directly or indirectly in connection with:

the use of the platform by you or any other person who uses your login details to access the platform (including where such use involves an unauthorised or fraudulent act)
us acting in accordance with any Actions that appear to be given by you, including:
1. Actions that are unauthorised or fraudulent or
2. any request made that we stop an Action you have initiated through the platform from being processed

This indemnification applies except to the extent that liability is directly caused by a breach of these terms and conditions by us, or by any negligent act or omission by us.

1.11 Warranties

We warrant that we will use reasonable efforts to ensure the information provided on or through the platform is accurate, current and complete. The sole remedy for breach of this warranty is the rectification of any inaccurate information upon notice by you of the inaccuracy or error.

We do not represent or warrant that the platform will be free from:

any omission, error or inaccuracy in information provided on or through the platform, including information provided by third parties
downtime or periods where the platform is unavailable
the failure, in whole or in part, of any function on the platform to perform an Action or
any unauthorised access to the platform or the information (including account information) retained on the platform, except where the unauthorised access is the direct result of our negligence or fraud.

1.12 Errors

If we find an error on the platform, we may take actions to rectify it which can include buying or selling investments on your behalf, transferring money from your other Mercer Super investment options to cover costs, and/or making other changes to your account as required. You will be notified if this occurs.

1.13 Limitation of liability

You confirm that you have not relied on any representation, description, illustration or specification, which is not expressly stated in these terms and conditions.

To the extent permitted by law, we exclude any liability for any loss, costs, charges and expenses suffered or incurred by you directly or indirectly arising as a result of:

the use of the platform by you or any other person who uses the platform on your behalf (including where such use involves an unauthorised or fraudulent act)
us acting in accordance with any Actions that appear to be given by you or other users, including:
1. Actions that are unauthorised or fraudulent or
2. any request made by you that we stop an Action from being processed
any unauthorised access by third parties to the platform or to the information contained or functionality available on the platform
the failure of the platform to perform any function which we have specified it will perform (including any failure as a result of a disruption to any telecommunications service, power supply or internet connection)
any technical or service difficulties or processing delays in relation to the platform, including processing delays which arise as a result of:
1. an Action being submitted on a day which is not a Business day
2. any errors or omission in the Action
any technical or service difficulties or processing delays caused to any computer, associated equipment, software or data
any matters arising from data corruption, breaches of data or security, defects in transmission or viruses
us complying with any direction or requirements of any applicable law or regulatory authority
us selling down your investments as outlined in the Mercer Direct Member Guide
any event or circumstance which we cannot reasonably control

Where Data is provided on the platform, we are not liable for any loss or damage in connection to the Data.

This limitation of liability applies except to the extent that liability is directly caused by a breach of these terms and conditions by us, or by any negligent act or omission by us.

Despite any other clause in these terms and conditions, we are not liable to you or to any other person for:

unauthorised use or any losses or damages of any kind caused by or resulting from any wrongful, wilful or negligent act or omission by you, any other users or any of your officers, employees, agents or contractors; or
any direct or indirect lost profit or revenue, exemplary damages, deletion or corruption of electronically or digitally stored information, or without limiting the foregoing, any indirect or consequential loss or damage howsoever described or claimed.

Where our liability cannot be excluded under any law, our liability will be limited to, at our discretion, either:

the costs of re-supplying any functionality provided on the platform or a requested Action to you or
paying you the cost of re-supplying any functionality provided on the platform or a requested Action to you.

Unless these terms and conditions provide otherwise, our maximum aggregate liability for all proven losses, damages and claims arising out of these terms and conditions or your use of the platform, including liability for breach of these terms and conditions, in negligence or in tort or for any other common law or statutory action, is limited to the amount of the fees paid by you for the platform in the previous three months.

Nothing in this clause 1.13 limits our liability with respect to damages for personal injury, including sickness and death.

1.14 Investment risk

Investments in any of the products mentioned on the platform do not represent investments, deposits or other liabilities of Mercer.

Past performance isn’t a reliable indicator of future performance. The value of investments can rise or fall, and investment returns can be positive or negative. We don’t guarantee the investment performance, earnings or return of capital invested in Mercer Super or the platform.

Your investment in Mercer Direct is subject to investment risk. This could involve delays in repayment and loss of income or the principal invested.

1.15 Copyright

All copyright, rights, title and interest in and to the content on the platform are owned, licensed or controlled by us and/or our service providers.

Access to, and use of the platform and its content is strictly for Registered Users and Eligible Users only. You must not use the platform or its content in any manner or for any purpose which is unlawful or in any manner inconsistent with these terms and conditions. You agree to use the platform and its contents solely for your own non-commercial use and benefit, and not for resale or other transfer or disposition to, or use by or for the benefit of, any other person.

You must not republish, redistribute, copy, frame, modify, interfere with the working of, reverse engineer, remove, paste onto, link to or from another website any part of the platform, or in any way exploit any part of the platform or the content.

In addition, republication or redistribution of third party content available in the platform (such as research provided by Morningstar), including by framing or similar means, is prohibited without the prior written consent of the relevant third party content owner.

1.16 Trademarks

The platform contains a number of registered trademarks which are either owned by Morningstar or Mercer or are used with the permission of the registered trademark owners.

Morningstar and the Morningstar logo are registered trademarks of Morningstar and its affiliated companies. For additional information on other Morningstar services, please visit the Morningstar public website at morningstar.com.au

1.17 Intellectual property of software and content

All copyright, rights, title and interest in and to the content on the platform are owned, licensed or controlled by Mercer Super, FNZ, Morningstar or other third parties. You obtain a non-exclusive and non-transferable, revocable licence to use the software in accordance with these terms and conditions when you become a User of the platform.

1.18 Links and Data

Data available on the Site is provided by third parties including the Research Provider. This Data is made available to you for information purposes only. Any reliance on this Data by you when buying/selling investments is at your own risk. You acknowledge that the Data is sourced from one or more third-party providers, and may be delayed.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Any forecasts, projections or other predictive statements represent the views of the third-party content provider based on assumptions and expectations available at the time of publishing and may change without notice.

Neither the third-party content provider nor the Research Provider, in preparing the Data, has not taken into account your specific investment objectives, financial situation and particular needs. Before making an investment decision, you should consider whether any investment decision is appropriate in light of your particular investment needs, objectives and financial circumstances, and consider seeking advice from a financial adviser.

By making Data that constitutes research material available to you, neither we nor FNZ provide, endorse or otherwise assume responsibility for the research. Without limitation, we do not provide, endorse or otherwise assume responsibility for any recommendation or statement of opinion that may be included in the material, and no part of the material is to be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any stock.

The Research Provider, in preparing these reports, has not taken into account your specific investment objectives, financial situation and particular needs. Before making an investment decision, you should consider whether any investment decision is appropriate in light of your particular investment needs, objectives and financial circumstances, and consider seeking advice from a financial adviser. You acknowledge that the Research Provider that produces the research material may make the research material available to other parties before it is made available on the Site.

For all research material provided by the Research Provider, you acknowledge the specific disclaimers set out in clause 1.21A below and you agree that you have or will have read the specific disclaimers prior to accessing any research material provided by the Research Provider.

Neither us nor FNZ are responsible for the content of any website owned by a third party that may be linked to the Site, whether such a link is provided by us or by a third party. These links are provided as a courtesy service and no judgement or warranty is made by us concerning the suitability, accuracy or timeliness of the content of any website that may be linked to the Site, except to the extent required by Consumer Law. By providing access to other websites, we are not recommending or endorsing any brand, product or service offered by the organisation sponsoring or owning the linked website.

Where you elect to receive alerts via the platform based on Data provided by third-party service providers which will be notified to you via email (‘Alerts’), you acknowledge and agree that Alerts are not sent to you in real time, there will be a delay between market movements or other subjects of an Alert, and the time that the Alert is made available to you, and the information contained in an Alert may not be current at the time of receipt. Mercer reserves the right to suspend or discontinue the Alerts at any time, subject to clause 1.3 of these Terms and Conditions.

1.19 Subscription alerts

The following terms apply where you elect to receive alerts via the platform (Alerts).

Information available via Alerts has been prepared without taking into account any investor’s objectives, financial situation or needs, and investors should, before acting on the information in the Alerts, consider the appropriateness of the information, having regard to their objectives, financial situation and your own needs. You acknowledge that any information you obtain through any Alert is either factual information or general financial advice and does not constitute personal financial advice to you or any other person.
Information contained in or made available via Alerts is prepared by third parties (including Morningstar) (Alert Content) and is made provided on a “pass through” basis. We do not create or verify any Alert Content, and we are not responsible for the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of any Alert Content.
Alert Content is either factual information or general financial advice only and does not constitute personal financial advice to you or any other person.
Alerts are provided for your information only and should not be relied upon in any way including for taxation, investment or any other advice purposes.
Alerts are not sent to you in real time, and you acknowledge and agree that there will be a delay between market movements or other subjects of an Alert, and the time that the Alert is made available to you. As such, you acknowledge and agree that the information contained in an Alert may not be current at the time of receipt.
You agree that Mercer is not liable to you for any interruptions to access to Alerts including but not limited to problems with internet service providers; telecommunications services; computer hardware or software; or any problems sending or receiving electronic communications.
You acknowledge that your access to Alerts depends on factors outside the control of Mercer, including any disruption, failure or malfunction in the internet service. Access may also be limited or unavailable during periods of peak demand, systems interference, damage or maintenance, or for various other reasons.
Mercer reserves the right to suspend or discontinue the Alerts at any time without notice.
Subject to any rights implied by law, or which cannot be excluded by agreement, Mercer excludes all liability in contract, tort or otherwise relating to or resulting from use of any Alert and for any loss incurred by you or a third party as a result of or arising out of any inaccuracy, delay in, omission from, or failure of any Alert, or your reliance on information provided via an Alert.
If you have requested an Alert to be sent to you by email, it is your responsibility to ensure that the email address you have provided is up to date and able to access the Service.

1.20 Use of cookies

This platform uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (Google). Google Analytics uses ‘cookies’, which are text files placed on your computer to help the platform analyse how visitors use the platform. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the platform (including your IP address) will be transmitted to, accessed and stored by Google. Google may use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the platform, compiling reports on the platform activity and providing other services relating to the platform activity and internet usage. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however, please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this in the platform. By using this platform, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above.

1.21 Privacy

Use of the platform is subject to the Mercer Super Privacy policy available at mercersuper.com.au/privacy. The Privacy policy sets out the information about the collection, use, disclosure and storage of your personal information.

Any information collected by us in connection with your use of the platform will be used to provide the Action you have requested. Non-sensitive information provided by you may also be used for related purposes, such as maintaining our relationship with you.

1.22 Disclaimer

The information provided by the platform is provided by way of general information only and is not intended to represent financial product advice. The information does not take into account your individual objectives, financial situation and needs. You should assess whether the information is appropriate to you, having regard to your objectives, financial situation and need, and consider seeking advice from a financial adviser before making any investment decision. The current product disclosure statement and investment guide for any product mentioned in the platform should also be obtained and considered prior to making any investment decision. Please note that all investments carry some risk and past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Research Provider

Certain information provided by the Research Provider (1) is proprietary to Morningstar Inc. and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete, or timely to the extent permitted by financial services regulatory requirements. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers shall be held responsible for any damages or losses arising from the use of this information, subject to their compliance with applicable financial services regulations. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Neither Morningstar, its affiliates, nor the content providers guarantee the data or content contained herein to be accurate, complete or timely nor will they have any liability for its use or distribution.

Any general advice has been provided without reference to your financial objectives, situation or needs. For more information refer to our Financial Services Guide at http://www.morningstar.com.au/s/fsg.pdf. You should consider the advice in light of these matters and if applicable, the relevant Product Disclosure Statement before making any decision to invest. Morningstar’s publications, ratings and products should be viewed as an additional investment resource, not as your sole source of information. Morningstar’s full research reports are the source of any Morningstar Ratings and are available from Morningstar or your adviser. Past performance does not necessarily indicate a financial product’s future performance. To obtain advice tailored to your situation, contact a financial adviser.

The Product Target Market Determination setting out the class of people for whom the product may be suitable can be found at mercersuper.com.au/tmd.

Any ESG-related information, methodologies, tools, ratings, data and opinions contained or reflected in the Product are not directed to or intended for use or distribution to Indian resident clients or Indian resident users. Morningstar accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever for any use of the product by such users.

1.23 Severability

If any provision of these terms and conditions is deemed unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision will be deemed severable from these terms and conditions and will not affect the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions.

1.24 Governing law

These terms and conditions and the information in the platform and all matters relating to either are governed by and to be construed in accordance with the laws of Tasmania and are within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Australian courts.

1.25 Force Majeure

Despite any other provision in these Terms and Conditions, if we are unable to perform or are delayed in performing an obligation under these Terms and Conditions by reason of a Force Majeure Event and notice has been given to you as soon as reasonably practicable:

that obligation is suspended by only so far and for so long as it is affected by the Force Majeure Event;
we will not be responsible for any loss or expense suffered or incurred by any other party as a result of, and to the extent that, it is unable to perform or is delayed in performing its obligations because of the Force Majeure Event;
the time for performing that obligation is extended by the duration of the Force Majeure Event; and
we will take all reasonable steps to avoid, remove or limit the effects of the Force Majeure Event on our performance of the suspended obligations as quickly as possible (however this does not require us to settle any strike or other labour difficulty on terms contrary to our wishes).