Employees of W. G. Goetz and Sons had a superannuation fund available to them by arrangement with National Mutual Life. Unfortunately when Goetz was bought in the late ’90s, the new owner did not fulfil his obligations to make sufficient contributions to the fund, leaving employees entitlements in the hands of Administrators. Read about how the business practices of the new owner caused the ruin of the company here.
Below: A letter to a Goetz employee to advise that his application for superannuation had been successfully processed. The booklet and nomination form referred to in the letter are shown below. Click image for larger view.
Below: Accompanying the letter above was this information booklet signed by company secretary Frank Craddock c.February 1969, including a Nomination Form for payment of the employee’s benefits, should the employee die whilst working at Goetz. Click images for larger views.
In a Report to Creditors on 12 October 1999, the Administrators “estimated the value of the entitlements at $587,229, including redundancy & notice.” However, a report to creditors from the Pattisons (business advisors and insolvency specialists) on 28 June 2004 advised “that the employees of W. G. Goetz, as priority creditors in the liquidation have been paid approximately 91 cents in the dollar out of their total claims of $862,806.44. Regrettably as there are no further assets to be realised there will be no further dividends paid to employees.” The Pattisons report also mentioned that the liquidators of Goetz subsidiary Goetz Manufacturing P/L had finished their administration.
A newspaper article in The Mail, 29 March 2000, reported that Goetz Manufacturing’s 48 employees had been paid off in full, “including redundancy, entitlements, superannuation, annual leave and long service leave.” (see newspaper clipping ‘Hammer falls on history’ on this page.)
Below: During the demise of W. G. Goetz and Sons, employees received notice from the ATO advising them of the lack of superannuation contributions by the company (under its new owner) and that they would need to contact the Liquidator for further information.Click image for larger view.