Australia’s largest super fund for health workers is facing renewed pressure to divest from fossil fuel companies. Advocates argue that continued investments in oil and gas expansion conflict with the healthcare industry’s core mission of protecting life and preventing harm.
HESTA, which manages retirement savings for health and community service workers, has made limited progress on climate concerns. Earlier this year, it publicly challenged energy giant Woodside at its annual general meeting. Critics, however, say these steps fall short, especially as companies like Santos advance new projects, including fracking in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin.
Health workers demand stronger action
Mental health nurse Veronique Hamilton insists HESTA’s investment choices should reflect healthcare ethics. “HESTA must go further and publicly challenge Santos and its focus on oil and gas growth, which poses untold health and climate risks,” she says. “These fossil fuel companies and their directors must be held to account.”
Hamilton emphasized that health professionals understand that identifying a risk without taking meaningful action to reduce it is not enough. “In healthcare, we don’t simply acknowledge that something is harmful—we intervene. Prevention sits at the heart of what we do because we know acting early protects lives.”
The gap between healthcare values and retirement savings frustrates many professionals. They entered the field to improve lives, yet their super fund supports industries fueling the crises they treat. Sustained advocacy from thousands of members, health professionals and organisations pressed HESTA to challenge Woodside’s approach to climate risk management and preparedness for the energy transition.
The fund’s recent challenge to Woodside was an important first step, as reported by clean energy finance advocacy organisation, Market Forces. HESTA showed members that their voices matter and demonstrated a willingness to publicly hold fossil fuel companies to account.
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Santos remains a key target
While HESTA has engaged with Woodside, its stance on Santos has been softer. Santos, expanding gas projects in the Beetaloo Basin, has drawn criticism for its climate impact. Hamilton and others argue that HESTA must publicly oppose Santos’s growth strategy, which they say carries serious health and environmental risks.
The fund’s long-term shareholder position gives it significant leverage. HESTA has demonstrated it can push companies to reconsider strategies. Now, advocates urge it to demand clear transition plans that halt new fossil fuel development. Without this, they warn, the fund’s investments will keep harming the communities its members serve.
Hamilton’s perspective is deeply personal. “Healthcare is built on principles that have guided our professions for generations: protecting life, preventing harm, promoting wellbeing and acting in the best interests of those we serve. Those values shouldn’t end when we finish our shift. As the super fund representing Australia’s health and community service workforce, HESTA’s investment decisions should reflect the same commitment to protecting people’s health and future wellbeing.”
HESTA has not addressed the latest calls for stronger action against Santos. As health workers grow more vocal about the contradiction between their profession and their retirement savings, the pressure shows no sign of easing.
These concerns reflect broader challenges in balancing ethical investments with financial returns, a tension increasingly visible in sectors like healthcare.