Compare what each fund offers, then choose investment options to put their published costs and returns side by side.
Industry fund
Cbus combines a construction-industry focus with public membership, a conventional investment menu and an optional direct investment service.
Anyone can join, subject to product eligibility. Certain Retirement Scheme members cannot use all the same investment features as ordinary accumulation members.
Retail super and pension range
OneAnswer has a current Frontier super and pension range alongside older closed products. Investment choice is central to Frontier, and its current insurance arrangements differ from older descriptions.
Frontier accepts applications from people receiving its PDS in Australia, including applications submitted by a financial adviser. The usual minimum initial Personal Super investment is $2,000, or $1,000 with a Regular Investment Plan. Older OneAnswer Personal Super and pension products are closed to new members.
Choose the actual investment pathway for each account. For lifecycle products, select the named stage relevant to you. No stage is selected automatically.
| Measure | Growth (MySuper) | Choose an investment option |
|---|---|---|
| Return basis | MySuper net return after administration costs, $50,000 representative member | Choose an option |
| 3-year return, per year | 8.92% | Choose an option |
| 5-year return, per year | 6.09% | Choose an option |
| 7-year return, per year | 7.00% | Choose an option |
| 10-year return, per year | 7.82% | Choose an option |
| APRA strategic growth allocation | 76.08% | Choose an option |
| Reported total fees, net of tax, at $50,000 | $455 a year (0.91%) | Choose an option |
| Administration and advice costs, net of tax (included in total) | $180 a year | Choose an option |
| 2026 performance test | Pass | Choose an option |
| New-member status at reporting date | Check the current product eligibility rules | Check the current product eligibility rules |
Source: APRA Comprehensive Product Performance Package 2026, published 28 August 2026. Fees reflect the reporting year to 30 June 2026, are net of tax, use standard arrangements and exclude member-activity fees. Dollar figures are rounded. They are not a current quote. Check the latest PDS for changes, insurance premiums and any separately charged advice.
Returns are annualised historical results. Different return bases, risk levels and periods cannot be treated as interchangeable. MySuper net returns use a $50,000 representative balance even when you change the fee balance. A lifecycle stage return does not track a person moving between stages. Missing figures mean not reported, not zero. Past returns do not predict future returns. Read our method and APRA's definitions.
| What to compare | Cbus | OneAnswer (OnePath) |
|---|---|---|
| Membership and access | Anyone can join, subject to product eligibility. Certain Retirement Scheme members cannot use all the same investment features as ordinary accumulation members. Sources1 | Frontier accepts applications from people receiving its PDS in Australia, including applications submitted by a financial adviser. The usual minimum initial Personal Super investment is $2,000, or $1,000 with a Regular Investment Plan. Older OneAnswer Personal Super and pension products are closed to new members. Sources124 |
| Accounts and products | Cbus Industry Super and Super Income Stream. Retirement Scheme members have separate restrictions. Cbus Industry Super Super Income Stream Cbus Self Managed investment option Retirement Scheme arrangements Sources123456 | OneAnswer Frontier Personal Super and Pension, with separate notes for closed OneAnswer Personal Super and pension accounts. ANZ Smart Choice and Grow Wrap are outside this profile's numerical scope. OneAnswer Frontier Personal Super OneAnswer Frontier Pension OneAnswer Frontier transition-to-retirement pension Closed OneAnswer Personal Super, Allocated Pension and Term Allocated Pension accounts Sources14 |
| Investment choices | Growth (MySuper) Members can choose pre-mixed and DIY asset-class options, including an Indexed Diversified option. Eligible members can use Cbus Self Managed for selected Australian shares, ETFs, term deposits and managed property and infrastructure investments. Despite its name, Cbus Self Managed is an option inside Cbus, not a separate SMSF. Sources23 | Frontier requires the applicant to select investment options. The trustee will not choose one and cannot proceed with an application that lacks a selection. ANZ Smart Choice MySuper figures reported under the same historical legal fund are not OneAnswer defaults. The range includes diversified and single-sector managed funds, OneAnswer index funds, MultiSeries portfolios combining active and passive investments, and ANZ Term Deposits. Auto-rebalancing and dollar-cost-averaging facilities can help administer a chosen mix, but they cannot be used together and do not apply to term deposits. Check the current investment guide and product notices for closures or strategy changes. Sources126 |
| Insurance | Cbus offers death and TPD cover tailored to building, construction and allied industries. It describes automatic cover for eligible younger or low-balance members in the manual occupation category, an exception that makes the occupation rules especially important to read. Sources4 | The current Additional Information Guide says insurance is not available directly through Frontier Personal Super. A separate risk-only super insurance product may be payable using the Frontier account, with advice about the arrangement. An October 2025 notice removed OneCare Super references from the new-member documents. Existing members should check their actual policy and account, especially where an older OneAnswer product still holds group cover. Sources245 |
| Retirement income | Super Income Stream provides retirement and transition-to-retirement pathways. The Fully Retired account allows eligible members to receive regular payments and make withdrawals. New members can establish an income stream using money from another super fund. Sources15 | Frontier Pension offers an account-based pension and a transition-to-retirement pension. The initial pension minimum is $20,000. Payment choices include monthly, quarterly, half-yearly and annual intervals. An existing Term Allocated Pension is a different product with its own payment and withdrawal restrictions; it should not be treated as an ordinary Frontier pension. Sources24 |
| Advice and support | Cbus has an advice team, retirement information sessions and member support. Confirm whether the proposed service is general help or personal advice and whether a fee applies. Sources1 | The product is designed to support an investment portfolio chosen with a financial adviser. An Adviser Service Fee is negotiated separately. Ask for the services and their cost in writing, including what happens to the investment strategy if ongoing advice ends. Sources23 |
| Fee details to check | Use the fees for the chosen pooled option or Self Managed arrangement, including account administration, investment costs and any trading costs. Insurance needs its own occupation-based comparison. Do not compare only the cash transaction account's interest rate or the price of one ETF. Sources123456 | The December 2025 fee guide lists a $135.29 annual Member Fee for Personal Super and TTR accounts below the qualifying $50,000 balance, equivalent to $115 after the stated tax benefit. The ordinary pension Member Fee is $115. ANZ Term Deposits and ANZ Cash Advantage have special exclusions, and eligible linked Frontier accounts can request a waiver. A waived Member Fee does not remove investment costs: the selected fund's Ongoing Fee, other investment and transaction costs, any levies or expense recoveries, and advice still need to be included. Some June 2026 APRA externally directed OneAnswer rows contain zero total-cost entries at higher balances that conflict with the fee guide. Those entries should not be interpreted as a free investment account. Sources37 |
| Comparing investment performance | Cbus crediting rates deduct investment and transaction costs and investment tax, but exclude charges taken directly from member accounts. Its growth/defensive classification splits some property and infrastructure exposures between the two categories, so inspect the underlying allocation when comparing with another fund. Show the claims-handling finding as a dated court outcome, not as an allegation or an investment-performance measure. Compare asset allocation before comparing two funds' published growth-asset percentages. Sources2 | Use the exact Frontier investment option, dates and return basis. The legal fund's historical reporting also includes other brands, so its overall result is not a OneAnswer portfolio return. Some options are trustee-directed and receive performance-test results; other externally directed options have no result in the package. An absent test result does not mean a pass or failure. Only OneAnswer Frontier Personal Super pathways are matched to this profile's APRA table. June 2026 figures retain Retirement Portfolio Service ABN 61808189263. They must not be relabelled as current ANZ Smart Choice data after a later transfer. The OneAnswer Investment Portfolio is an investment product outside super and is excluded from this comparison. Sources7 |
THE SUPERGURU VIEW
Cbus is a sensible fund to investigate when insuring manual work is part of the decision. Its direct property and infrastructure choices also distinguish the investment menu. The serious claims-handling failures recorded by ASIC need to sit alongside those features in a fair assessment.
Based on the cited product features. These are general reasons to investigate the fund, not a personal recommendation. Supporting sources.
THE SUPERGURU VIEW
OneAnswer is most useful to assess with the account name and investment list already in front of you. Frontier can accommodate an advised portfolio or a simpler index holding, but there is no default allocation to make that decision for you. For an existing member, the practical questions are what the full account costs, how insurance is arranged, and whether an older product has features a transfer would surrender.
Based on the cited product features. These are general reasons to investigate the fund, not a personal recommendation. Supporting sources.
Use the membership rules to establish which accounts are available to you. Then compare the total price of the investment option and cover you need. A lower fee or higher historical return alone does not tell you which fund is suitable.
Ask both funds to confirm insurance acceptance, exclusions, waiting periods and whether cover would change when you leave your employer. Obtain advice before giving up a defined benefit or an insurance policy you may not be able to replace. ASIC Moneysmart explains the comparison checks.
Read the full Cbus profile · Read the full OneAnswer (OnePath) profile · Choose another comparison
Checked 2026-09-11. Documents and product terms can change after this date.
Checked 2026-09-11. Documents and product terms can change after this date.