Suncorp Group Limited (SU4.F) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning, and welcome to Suncorp's 2025 Annual General Meeting. As Chairman of the meeting, I'm informed we have 204 shareholders, proxyholders and other attendees already participating today, both here in Brisbane and online. As a quorum is clearly present, I declare the meeting open. Before I proceed, could I please ask everyone to ensure your mobile phone is on silent mode. Please now join me in welcoming Rafiti Tove to share a welcome to country with us. Rafiti is a proud descendant of the Turrbal peoples. Raised in culture and guided by her elders, she has learned traditional law and protocol. With over a decade of experience in early childhood education, Rafiti is passionate about empowering the next generation and strengthening her community through truth telling, advocacy and cultural connection. Rafiti is here with us today with the blessing of her Auntie Turrbal Elder, Songwoman Maroochy to deliver the welcome to country on behalf of the Turrbal people of Brisbane. Please join your Board in her welcome.

Before I start my welcome to country today, I really would acknowledge any Aboriginal Torres Strait to Islander peoples here today, and I would like to pay my respects to all elders past, present and emerging, all actually acknowledge Jagera Peoples as our neighboring [indiscernible] custodians. [Foreign Language] Welcome. Welcome. [Foreign Language] Welcome to Turrbal Countries [indiscernible]. My name is Songwoman Rafiti, I'm proud Turrbal to send [indiscernible] that we gather on this morning. [Foreign Language]. also in Brisbane. So can we say [Foreign Language] together?

[Foreign Language]

Well, you're practically fluent. So the purpose of this ceremony is to continue one of the oldest cultural protocols in the world and to really continue the same essence and connection as my Turrbal ancestors did for visitors coming to and from Turrbal country. And that really extends to the Turrbal story from ancestor [indiscernible], who is a healer and the Chief of Brisbane, who was able to keep his law LOIE. And also this is thanks to the resilience of his daughter [indiscernible] a songwoman, who was able to go on the [indiscernible], the Brisbane River all the way through to [indiscernible] country that she remains a truth telling, storytelling culture and her law. And that's why I'm here today on behalf of the Turrbal people. So now I would like for you to connect with me to our country today to, as I was saying you the Turrbal blessing song. A blessing song to invite positive energy into your space. And wherever you are in life, it will help you cleanse wherever you are. [Presentation]

Thank you for having today. Have a great day.

Thank you, Rafiti, and what an absolutely beautiful voice you have. Please, let's thank her. I would also like to acknowledge the traditional custodians on the land on which we gathered here in Brisbane and pay my respects to their elders, past and present. I'd now like to introduce Belinda Speirs, our Chief Executive, People, Legal and Corporate Services to cover the meeting procedures we will be using today.

Thank you, Chairman, and good morning, everyone. For the shareholders and proxyholders who are participating with us at the physical AGM being here in Brisbane and wish to vote. Please make sure you can access the Vote+ app using the PIN on your green attendance card or that you have a yellow voting paper card. If you wish to ask a question or make a comment, please move now to the nearest microphone. If you are unable to move, please raise your hand now and a team member will assist you. In the unlikely event of an emergency, please follow the directions provided by the Sofitel staff. For those shareholders and proxyholders who are joining us online and wish to vote or ask section, you may be familiar with the platform from our previous AGMs. You also have the opportunity of asking your question the questions and comments phone line that is available during the meeting. To help with the smooth running of the AGM, we invite shareholders and proxyholders who are participating on to submit your questions or comments now. Further details about how to ask questions and make comments using the platform or the phone line are contained in the online AGM guide. You can access the guide through a link at the bottom of your screen or on the Suncorp website. If you encounter any technical difficulties with the platform at any time during the meeting, please contact the share registry's online AGM support team on 1 (800) 990-363. This phone number will remain visible on your screen throughout the meeting. In the unlikely event that technical issues prevent the AGM from proceed planned, Suncorp will make announcements by the ASX and our website. I would now like to briefly cover the meeting procedures that the Chairman will follow today. Firstly, this is a meeting of Suncorp shareholders. As set out in the notice of meeting, only shareholders or proxyholders are entitled to vote on the resolutions, ask questions or make comments. The Chairman will have a reasonable opportunity to address questions and comments as each item of business is considered. Please ensure that your question or comment is relevant to an item of business and to shareholders as a whole. If there are a large number of shareholders who wish to ask questions, the Chairman may consider introducing a question limit to ensure that all interested shareholders have the opportunity to speak. Where there are similar questions, the Chairman will aim to acknowledge those who have asked the question. However, the Chairman will provide a single response in order to streamline today's proceedings. If you have a method, you'd like to raise as a customer and you are participating in physical AGM venue, members of our customer team as well as customer representatives from the NZ-owned Suncorp Bank are here today with us, and we're able to assist you in the foyer. If you're participating online, please contact our customer relations team using the contact details on the last page of the notice of meeting. Any customer-related questions specific to an individual will be referred to our customer relations team for response and will not be raised during the AGM. Share Registry and Suncorp representatives are also available in the foyer to assist with any shareholder related questions. that do not relate to the business of today's meeting. When taking questions and comments for each item of business, the Chairman will first cover a number of relevant questions received prior to the meeting. The Chairman will then invite shareholders and proxyholders participating here at the physical venue to speak. We will then address any questions received through the phone line and online platform. The Chairman will retain full authority to conduct an orderly AGM. In particular, questions or comments that are offensive in any way will be taken as being out of order, and will not be ignored at all during or following the meeting. Other offensive or disruptive conduct by those who are participating here in Brisbane will also be taken as being out of order and the relevant participant will be asked to leave the meeting. If you are voting today and need to leave AGM early, please remember to submit your voting card before you leave. I'll now hand you back to the Chairman.

Thank you, Belinda. I'm getting my steps up. I'll stand here for a while now. Thank you also to those who have already voted or pre-submitted questions relating to the business to be covered at today's meeting. As previously requested, the direct and proxy votes that have been received prior to the AGM were released on the ASX platform this morning and will be shown on the screen before we vote on each resolution. I would now like to introduce your Board of Directors who are here in Brisbane today. In [indiscernible] to their significant Board experience, each Director brings a mix of financial services and other relevant business experience and expertise that enables your Board to be effective in governing Suncorp. From your right, Lindsay Tanner. Lindsay, you can wave or stand or something. So the rest of you are now warned. Lindsay has worked at the highest levels of government and business for almost 4 decades and is a recognized authority on corporate governance, economics and finance. He is a member of the Risk Committee and also serves on our New Zealand subsidiary Boards. Lindsay's current board roles outside Suncorp includes superannuation and investment management companies. Sylvia Falzon. Sylvia chairs the Board People and Remuneration Committee and is a member of the Risk Committee. Sylvia brings to Suncorp valuable experience in a range of regulated and customer-facing industries, including financial services health care, retail and aged care. Simon Machell. Good wave. Simon is based in Singapore and serves on a number of international Boards. He has deep strategic and operational knowledge of the insurance industry and brings to Suncorp an international perspective on current industry trends in insurance. Together with insights into the risk and opportunities associated with emerging technologies and new business models. Simon is currently a member of the Board People and Remuneration Committee. Duncan West. As you are aware, your Board has chosen Duncan to succeed me as Chairman following my retirement at the end of today's AGM. Duncan has served on your board since 2021, including as Chairman of the Board Risk Committee. He has 40 years of experience in the general insurance and financial services sectors, both in Australia and overseas. I will invite Duncan to make some comments later during the meeting. And Steve Johnston, needs little introduction in Queensland. Steve continues to capable since his appointment as CEO and Managing Director in 2019. I will invite Steve to address you later during the meeting. And I will also ask him to respond to some shareholder questions. Elmer Funke Kupper. Elmer has significant financial services experience as well as experience in navigating demanding regulatory sectors and transforming business models through the adoption of technology and digital services. He has served as CEO of 2 ASX-listed companies. and is currently the member of the Board Audit and People and Remuneration Committees and will now succeed Duncan as Chairman of the Risk Committee once Duncan becomes Chairman. So maybe you should be on notice again some questions today too, Elmer. Gillian Brown. Gillian has developed broad skills and experiences in financial services, law, infrastructure, investments, finance and ESG initiatives over her 40-year career. Gillian is a member of the Board Audit Committee and like myself, passionate about the State of Queensland. David Whiteing is our newest appointment to the Board being appointed in February of this year. David brings to the Board more than 30 years' experience leading innovative technology programs in a range of sectors, including professional and financial services. David will seek your support to continue as a director through the usual election process later during the meeting. And I will speak more about David from then, and you will hear from him as well. Ian Hammond. Ian chairs the Board Audit Committee and is a member of the Risk Committee, brings to Suncorp extensive knowledge of the financial services industry as well as expertise in financial reporting and risk management. Ian is seeking reelection today. And Sally Herman. Sally is currently a member of the Board Risk Committee and previously chaired our Customer Committee. Sally has strong expertise in running retail banking and insurance products setting strategy for financial services businesses and working with customers, shareholders and regulators as well as government. And Sally is also seeking reelection today. So you will hear from her as well. You've already heard from Belinda Speirs, who is supporting me in running today's meeting. And Belinda has quite a long title, as you heard, Chief Executive of People, Legal and Corporate Services and joined Suncorp in 2013. Belinda will moderate the online questions from shareholders and proxyholders during today's meeting. In addition to Belinda, Other members of Suncorp's executive leadership are also with us today, and I am going to ask you to stand and face our guests as I introduce you. First and foremost, we have Jeremy Robson. Jeremy is our Chief Financial Officer and has been with Suncorp since 2013. Lisa Harrison. Lisa is our Chief Executive Consumer Insurance and joined Suncorp in 2004. Jimmy Higgins. Jimmy is the CEO of Suncorp New Zealand and has been with Suncorp since 2008. Michael Miller. Michael is our Chief Executive Commercial and Personal Injury Insurance and has been with Suncorp since 2011. Adam Bennett. Adam is our Chief Information Officer and joined Suncorp in 2020. And Bridget Messer is our Chief Risk enter and joined us in 2022. We're also delighted that Robert McDonald is joining us today. Rob became Chairman of our New Zealand Board in September. In welcoming Rob, the Board also wishes to formally record our thanks to the outgoing New Zealand Chair, David Flacks. David made a valued contribution to the governance of our New Zealand subsidiaries during his 6 years as a director, followed then by his 6 years as Chair. It was a privilege to recently visit the New Zealand Board leadership team in Auckland to farewell David and to welcome Rob. In addition, we have Bernadette Norrie. Bernadette is Suncorp's customer advocate and he's with us today to answer any questions that customers may have. Before I invite Steve Johnson to speak, I will begin today's proceedings with my address. As I stand before you today at putting the close of my decade-long service on the Suncorp Board the last 7 years as your Chairman. I'm filled with immense pride. Over these years, our company and indeed the broader environment in which we operate has experienced a tremendous amount of change. We've navigated rapid technological advancements, widespread digitization and shift in customer and regulatory expectations and the disruptions arising from the global pandemic. Added to this are the challenges posed by climate change and the ongoing energy transition, each shaping the fabric of our society, industry and business. Through all of this, Suncorp has demonstrated remarkable adaptability, and I'm proud to say we've emerged a stronger more resilient and purpose-led organization. Today, Suncorp stands well positioned to embrace the opportunities of the future as a digital first pure-play insurer and to deliver improved outcomes for our customers across Australia and New Zealand and value for you, our shareholders. The 2025 financial year marked the culmination of a significant simplification journey for Suncorp, which did see Suncorp merge as a stand-alone general insurer. In July last year, we finalized the sale of Suncorp Bank, and in January this year, concluded the sale of our New Zealand life insurance business. Following this, we also work through outstanding approvals relating to the return of capital to you, shareholders, changes to the Suncorp constitution, which you approved last year and implementation of transitional services arrangements and brand licensing of the Suncorp Bank brand to the ANZ Banking Group. Suncorp Bank is now owned by the ANZ Banking Group. And like many of you, I continue to be a customer of Suncorp Bank, which in effect, me and I am a customer of ANZ Bank. The Suncorp Group as a dedicated insurer remains proudly headquartered in Queensland. And like many of you, I hold Suncorp insurance policies. Suncorp continues to offer valued products and services through our well known insurance brands, as you can see on the screen, including AAMI, Apia, Bingle, CIL, GIO, Suncorp, Shannons, Terri Sheer and Vero in Australia, and AA Insurance and Vero in New Zealand. This strategic decision to sell the bank was made with a clear goal to focus our efforts and resources on our core general insurance business and deliver the benefits of being a strong, profitable, reliable and trusted insurer for Australia and New Zealand. Your Board was pleased to return to shareholders $4.1 billion in net proceeds from the bank sale in March of this year, noting this was in line with our commitment at the time of announcing the sale in 2022. For retail shareholders, those in this room. This translated to a capital return of $3 per share and a fully franked special dividend of $0.22 per share. Through our strong retail shareholder base in Queensland, it also meant an injection into the state economy of around $0.5 billion. The Board's determination to pay a fully franked final ordinary dividend of $0.49 per share, which was paid to shareholders yesterday is another tangible reflection of our commitment to delivering these benefits to you, our shareholders. Our CEO, Steve Johnson, will cover the financial year '25 business performance in more detail, including the drivers of the strong net profit and tax after earnings result, which was delivered. I would, however, to note the Board's ongoing disciplined approach to the management of capital through the year, as always, factoring in our external operating environment. Our announcement last month of an on-market buyback of up to $400 million reflects our robust capital position and importantly, provides additional flexibility in how and when Suncorp facilitates the return of capital in excess of the needs of the business going forward. This year, Suncorp supported customers through 17 declared natural hazard events. And while the financial cost of these events were more than $200 million below our allowance for such events this year, the enormity of what was faced by those impacted by extreme weather cannot be underestimated. Our CEO will talk through dynamics of our natural hazard allowances which have increased year-on-year given the frequency and severity of such events. Your Board, executive team and I have spent considerable time visiting customers and communities impacted by severe weather through the year, including flooding across Queensland's North particularly the towns of Ingham and Cardwell, intense rain and flooding across the Mid North Coast and Hunter regions of New South Wales. And just on our doorstep here in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and surrounds, following ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred. During my time at Suncorp, I have visited a number of communities following bushfires, drought, floods, earthquakes and cyclones. Notwithstanding the immense hardship and devastation experience, I've personally been inspired by the courage and resilience shown by all the people and communities that I have met over this time. This admiration and appreciation extends to each of the emergency services we work closely with, including our police and fire services and SES representatives and volunteers, who regularly risk their own lives to help others in need. What has been evident through each of my visits is the Suncorp's team unwavering commitment to supporting our customers before, during and after these events. The team's efforts to get every customer back into their home or their business, working in partnership with builders, repairs, remains an absolute priority. This year, your Board also spent some time visiting a number of home and motor supplies to gain a deeper understanding of the market trends they are observing and how they are driving innovation and efficiency to deliver better outcomes for our customers. It's been particularly rewarding to see our significant jobs and investment commitments made to Queensland through the sale of the bank already making such a difference to the way we manage disasters. As you can see on the screen, this includes the launch of our state-of-the-art disaster management center, located in our Brisbane headquarters, a fleet of mobile disaster response hubs that can be deployed into affected communities to provide face-to-face customer support and the opening of a new regional office hub in Townsville, which is set to employ more than 100 additional local people. These investments are truly enhancing the way we prepare for and respond to major weather events, not just across Queensland, but right across the Tasman. The insights we gain through lead technology and capabilities we've invested in are critical in supporting our long-term -- long-standing advocacy agenda, aimed at creating a more resilient Australia and New Zealand that can better withstand the impacts of natural disasters. We continue to work with governments at all levels, industry and community stakeholders to argue for great investments in mitigation and resilience measures. We've welcomed more than 200 government regulator and industry stakeholders to our Disaster Management Centre and Suncorp Control Centre. These visits provide an opportunity to showcase our leadership in disaster readiness, customer support and resilience innovation. But as importantly, these visits are helpful in driving meaningful collaboration and a genuine national conversation on infrastructure and resilience investment, the importance of modern disaster codes and data sharing frameworks. There does continue to be a need for local councils to proactively take action to help protect the communities they are closest to. There are 537 local councils across Australia with different levels of rigor around owning and land development and ensuring local infrastructure supports risk reduction for the community. While good progress has been made, there remains a very long way to go. I know this ongoing stakeholder collaboration and important advocacy agenda will continue to be a priority of your Board and management team in a bid to better protect people and address the growing challenge around access and affordable quality insurance. It's important to note that we're tackling these challenges is at the very heart of Suncorp's refreshed strategic plan which your Board was pleased to endorse in May of this year. Steve will cover Suncorp's strategic priorities in more detail. However, I'll point out that Suncorp's focus on modernizing and transforming the experience for customers through a responsible deployment of technology, including generative artificial intelligence, has remained front and center in the Board -- for the Board in considering the relevant skills and experience regarded to guide Suncorp through the next phase. The role of the Board is to ensure the interest of shareholders are considered. That is why maintaining optimal board composition to support Suncorp's priorities has remained a key focus during my tenure as Chairman. Board renewal remains ongoing. This year, we were pleased to welcome David Whiteing to the Board. David brings extensive financial services and business transformation experience as well as a sharp focus on the contemporary technology landscape relevant for Suncorp's next chapter as a dedicated general insurer. David is well connected into the global tech community, which is invaluable for Suncorp. As I mentioned earlier, David is standing for election today, and you will hear from him shortly. I'm equally pleased that Sally Herman Ian Hammond will stand for reelection, providing important continuity for the Board as it undertakes renewal, and you will also hear from Ian and Sally shortly. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and welcome Robert McDonald, who, as I mentioned, assume the role of Chairman of the Suncorp New Zealand Board following via retirement. Our New Zealand business remains an important part of Suncorp as a trans-Tasman insurer, and I wish Rob all the best in his new role. As Board members, we understand the importance of continuously educating and upskilling ourselves, staying abreast of advancements in emerging technologies and the evolving cyber and data security landscape. This has remained a key priority through focused overseas study tours, regular sessions on emerging risks and formal courses undertaken by the Board during the year. Ensuring proficiency in emerging areas is more critical than ever, and the responsibility I know that each of us take seriously. I will point out that having owned a bank for a number of years, Suncorp had to be an early adopter of build fiber resilience into our operations, and our focus on this -- embedding this across our business as an insurer has continued. Over my tenure, I have observed a tenfold increase in the sophistication and prevalence of cyber threats, scams and fraud, combating this challenge and mitigating the risk of harm for our communities and businesses will continue to require a joint effort across all sectors, and I urge ongoing personal vigilance by our customers and by you, our retail shareholders. I'd like to close by saying what of huge privilege and deep honor it has been to serve Suncorp and your Board over the past 10 years. Having successfully completed the return of capital from the sale of the bank while also bedding down our operating plans as a pure-play insurer, I'm confident that now is a logical point in Suncorp's evolution to hand the baton over to a new Chairman to steward the company through its next chapter. And as I mentioned, we're really fortunate that Duncan West, who served on our Board for the past 4 years has agreed to take on the role of Chairman. And as you've heard, Duncan is a highly experienced and well-respected director whose knowledge and expertise has been gained over 40 years, both in Australia and overseas. During his time on the Board, Duncan has served as Chairman of the Risk Committee and a member of the Audit Committee, and I will take this opportunity to congratulate Duncan on your appointment and wish you well. Duncan will address you later today. Thank you to all of my fellow Board members and those I've worked with over the year for your counsel, diligence and camaraderie. We've certainly navigated some testing times together, and I value your support. I wish each of you the very best. I know Suncorp is well placed to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities ahead under your stewardship. The role of a CEO in an organization like Suncorp is critical to our success, and I'd like to acknowledge Suncorp CEO, Steve Johnson, for your outstanding leadership, vision and efforts to deliver outcomes for Suncorp and our stakeholders. I wish Steve and your talented executive team, who have also led with determination and resilience, the very best as you forge the path forward as a leading trans-Tasman insurer. To all of our Suncorp people, my sincere thanks to each one of you for your hard work and dedication to our customers, partners and communities. Suncorp is a business defined by resilience, adaptability and a steadfast commitment to our purpose. You are at the absolute heart of that. Finally, to you, our shareholders. I'm deeply grateful for your trust and support during my tenure and a special call out to those of you who have come along to our AGMs each year here in Brisbane. Thank you for your loyalty, and I look forward to having a chat over a sandwich and a couple of the a bit later. I do look forward to seeing Suncorp continue to grow, adapt and deliver lasting value in the years to come as both a shareholder and a customer. Before handing over to our CEO, Steve Johnson, to address the meeting, I'd also like to thank the team of people who help bring our AGM event together. There are many of you in the room and maybe I'm running too early. I should wait to see if we get through glitch-free. But the acoustics and everything you see in front of you is possible because of this very talented team. So I'll now hand over to Steve Johnson to address the meeting.

Well, thank you, Chairman, and good morning, everyone. It is, as always, a pleasure to be here to report on Suncorp's performance over the 2025 financial year, but also to update you on our strategic priorities, particularly now that our simplification program is complete, and we now move forward very confidently as a pure-play general insurer. But before I go into the detailed financial results and our strategy, I just want to talk for a moment about something that doesn't form part of our P&L or our balance sheet, but it is fundamentally at the core of everything we do here at Suncorp. Now this is a slide I start with every results presentation. I can see analysts investors sometimes rolling their eyes. But I believe it describes very succinctly how we believe value is created at Suncorp. Our purpose, which is to build futures and protect what matters when delivered through our people in support of our customers, in that order will always deliver superior financial returns for you, our shareholders. Delivering to our purpose is more vital than ever. given each year that goes by, we see more individuals, families and businesses depending upon us to deliver in their time of need. And again, this year, like many others before, I've seen the trauma that's etched on the faces of those who have unfortunately experienced and been displaced by extreme weather events. Now close to home here in Southeast Queensland, we felt the full force of Cyclone Alfred while families in towns like Taree, Port Macquarie, Northern towns [indiscernible] and other areas around Far North Queensland and North Queensland experienced their major flooding events in some cases, 3 in the past 5 years. Now the financial cost of these events seriously underestimate, seriously underestimates their true impact on our communities. How could you possibly put a dollar value on the trauma associated with being woken at night by the sound of an enormous gumtree punching through your roof or the insidious march of muddy water through your home swallowing up your valuable positions. Every one of the 120,000 natural hazard class that we dealt with this year has its own story. From a fridge full of spoiled food to the click destruction of property, our customers rely on us to get them back on their feet and back in their homes, their cars and their businesses. We know our actions in these critical moments can have a profound impact on their futures. When we get it right, as we do in the vast majority of cases, we make such a huge difference. But if we get it wrong, we're just compounding the challenges our customers already face. It's a responsibility I, my team and the whole of Suncorp take very seriously, and that's why we continue to challenge ourselves to do better to uplift the customer experience and to better equip our people and to improve the way we work with our repair networks and our suppliers alongside investing in leading disaster management technology and capability. Now it's a sobering statistic that over the past 5 years, we have managed more than 660,000 natural hazard claims. And we've increased our allowance for such events by around $820 million, that's $820 million since FY '21 financial year '21. This experience not just the financial costs, but the insurmountable human toll underscores the ongoing importance of accessible and affordable insurance for all Australians and New Zealanders, but particularly those in high-risk areas. Now these topics remain core pillars of our advocacy agenda with all of our stakeholders. Unfortunately, too many people across our communities have built homes where they should never have been allowed to build. At the same time, as a society, we haven't invested enough in resilience and mitigation projects that reduce risk. As I've said many, many times, we know the best way to reduce the premiums we all pay is to reduce the risk of a claim in the first place. And that's a key element of the advocacy agenda that we at Suncorp take to all levels of the government and consistently take to all levels of government. So turning now to our FY '25 financial performance. As you can see on the screen, Suncorp has delivered a net profit after tax of $1.8 billion. This was supported by one-off profits from the sale of Suncorp Bank and the New Zealand Life of $252 million and $99 million, respectively. Cash earnings were almost $1.5 billion. They benefited from higher net investment income of around $760 million and supported by natural hazard claims cost, which came in, as Christine mentioned, $205 million below our allowance for the year. Our general insurance underlying insurance trading ratio is the fundamental core measure of success in an insurance business. That ratio was 11.9%, which is right at the top of our target range, and that reflects our strong operational performance. Now on the bottom of the graph there on the slide, you can see our Australia and New Zealand business has performed strongly, achieving top line growth across all of our portfolios. Gross written premium for general insurance increased by 6.3% over the year, and that underscores the strength of our brands and the quality of our products and what has become and continues to be a highly competitive market. More favorable reinsurance conditions allowed us to successfully place our reinsurance program for financial year that we're now in FY '26 at a reduced cost and with improved outcomes for both us, our shareholders and also our customers. And we're pleased that our strong capital position has enabled us the flexibility to commence certainly on this AGM an on-market share buyback of up to $400 million, and that will continue through to the end of the financial year. Suncorp's performance this year demonstrates the strength and resilience of our business, built through a dedicated focus and targeted programs over more than 5 years, and we've talked to you about them every year. Our aim 5 or 6 years ago was to create a simplified, resilient and are growing Suncorp that delivers value for our customers, for the communities we serve and the shareholders such as many of you in the room today. The slide here displays a summary of our progress against these objectives over this time. Now with the sale of the bank and most recently, Asteron Life in New Zealand, we have completed that simplification journey. We have built significant resilience into our financial metrics, and we now are consistently delivering margin outcomes to the top of our guidance range. Alongside that, we've invested strongly in data, pricing and claim systems and an improved digital offering through automation and targeted AI deployment. More than 78% of our customers are now purchasing their products digitally, which is up from 54% 5 years ago, while almost 60% are servicing both their claims and their policies via digital channels. The strong platform that we've built and our track record of delivering on our commitments has provided with us with the opportunity to now accelerate our ambition and to invest in our business but without compromising margins and importantly, shareholder returns. Our investors focused on further modernizing our platforms and advancing our deployment of technologies such as AI, but at scale to transform our operations and to create seamless end-to-end digital experiences and importantly, more personalized products. We will continue to invest in our suite respected brands. We'll continue to invest in the capability of our people. will include dedicated reskilling programs to support them as the world of work continues to evolve. We know that building greater efficiency, effectiveness into the way we do things at Suncorp will have the dual effect of delivering better customer outcomes and a greater ability to tackle the complex challenges that are faced around insurance affordability. Our achievements this year are a testament to the commitment of our people, the loyalty of our loyalty of our customers and the support of you, our shareholders. So in closing, I'd like to say thank you to our Suncorp teams, to our customers and to our partners. I also thank and acknowledge our outgoing Chairman, Christine, for her significant contribution to Suncorp over the past decade, but particularly her outstanding leadership as Chairman over the past 7 years. Those 7 years have included some period of great uncertainty, but her tireless efforts and her commitment to continually raise the bar and to create value for all of our stakeholders has been evident throughout her tenure. She's been a great support to me personally and to the members of my executive team. But more importantly, she has cared for and shown great interest in every member of the Suncorp team. Christine leaves Suncorp in a very strong position, and we all wish her well in the future. Also congratulate Duncan on his appointment as Christine's successor and I and the whole team look forward to working with him as we continue our journey as a pure-play insurance company. With that, I thank you for your continued confidence and support in Suncorp, and I'll hand now back to Christine.

Thank you, Steve. And now to the full part of the meeting. For those of you who were here 6 years ago when I made the mistake of standing for the Q&A session, I almost collapsed by the end. So if you're comfortable, Belinda and I will remain seated while we work through the Q&As. All resolutions for consideration today will be put to a poll, which I now declare open. As I mentioned earlier, the direct and proxy votes that have been received prior to the AGM were released on the ASX platform this morning and will be shown on the screen before we vote on each resolution. I would just like to update you also on the number of people participating. I'm advised that we now have 475 shareholders participating online and around 220 in person. So I think that reinforces the case for hybrid meetings. As set out in the notice of meeting, I intend to vote all undirected proxies held by me as Chairman of the meeting in favor of each resolution. The first item of business today is to receive and consider the financial report, directors' report and auditors' report for the Suncorp Group Limited and its controlled entities for the year ended 30 June 2025. Representatives from KPMG, Suncorp's external auditor, are joining us here in Brisbane today. Scott Guse, on my left, on your right, who is a lead partner for the financial year '25 audit and David Kells, also on your right, who will be lead partner, audit partner commencing from this financial year. And Scott and David are available to answer any questions you may have about the auditors' report or the conduct of the audit. And Scott, on behalf of the Board and Suncorp, you have our thanks, for the professionalism and commitment with which you've undertaken your Suncorp audit role. And we wish you well in your new role, and we welcome David. I will now address questions and comments about the reports or Suncorp's performance generally. As Belinda mentioned earlier, I will first address a number of relevant questions received from shareholders prior to the meeting. In the meantime, if you are here in Brisbane and wish to ask a question about these matters, please move to your nearest microphone. Microphone 1 is on straight on my left, your right, where Rupel will Luisa will assist you. And if you are participating online, please submit your questions or comments now or register your question via the phone line. We've also got a second microphone. I'm sorry, over here on my right where Luisa will be. Sorry, Luisa. Belinda, could you please read our first pre-submitted shareholder question?

Thank you, Chairman. Shareholder, Mr. Stuart Campbell asks what insurance businesses have been sold or disposed of by Suncorp over the last 15 years? And what insurance businesses are now transacted by Suncorp?

Thank you, Mr. Campbell. And those in the room would have seen this slide that Steve showed before about the transformation journey, which I think tells a very big story. Suncorp has recently undertaken a portfolio review, which led to Suncorp selling some of our businesses to simplify our operations and sharpen our focus on core assurance activities. Suncorp's simplification program has been a key focus, particularly over the last 7 years. However, as per your question, over the past 15 years, this includes the sale of New Zealand Life insurance business Asteron Life to Resolution Life, which was finalized in 2025, the sale of Sport Bank to ANZ completed in July 2024, divestment of our Wealth business in 2022, exit from the RACTI joint venture in 2021, cessation of the underwriting and selling travel insurance in February 2021, divestment of the Capital Smart Case and ACM Parts businesses in 2019, the sale of [indiscernible] distribution businesses in 2019, the sale of our Australian Life insurance business in 2018. Now you can see why the Audit Committee Chair role is so important. These divestments reflect Suncorp's strategic intent to streamline our portfolios and concentrate on the general insurance business. Today, Suncorp operates as a pure-play general insurer with a strong presence across Australia and New Zealand. Our business is structured around 5 key portfolios, home, motor, commercial, personal injury and New Zealand. And as I mentioned in my opening address, Suncorp operates well-known brands that include AAMI, Apia and Shannons in Australia as well as Vero in New Zealand. Is there another question, please pre-submitted Belinda?

Thank you, Chairman. We have received a question from shareholder, Mr. Nick Wickham, who asks why did the company wait so long to return the bank sell capital to shareholders? How much interest was earned on those billions during the period? It was not returned to shareholders. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Wickham. As mentioned in my address, the sale of Suncorp Bank was completed on 31 July 2024 following the receipt of several regulatory and legislative approvals. However, after completion, a number of key steps were required before the capital return could proceed. And this included seeking shareholder approval at last year's Annual General Meeting, which was held in October of last year, and I see many familiar faces here from that meeting. Finalizing the completion accounts with ANZ which determined the final sale proceeds, obtaining a draft class ruling from the Australian Taxation Office to confirm the tax outcomes, obtaining APRA approval. And as most of you know, APRA is our prudential regulator and then the Board making a final determination to proceed with the [indiscernible] of capital. So when we assess the net proceeds from the transaction, the interest earned on the surplus capital was considered in arriving at the $4.1 billion, which was returned to shareholders in March 2025, through a per share capital return payment and a $0.22 special dividend payments. Next question, please, Belinda.

Thank you, Chairman. Next question is from shareholder, Mr. Lachlan Wells, who asks, according to Suncorp's Climate Disclosure report, the company's climate plan is based on leading frameworks from the net zero asset owner lines and Climate Action 100. However, Suncorp has not a signatory either of these frameworks. Can investors rely on you to meet these standards? Or should we assume that you will not, given the lack of formal commitment?

Thank you, Mr. Wells. Aspects of our climate transition commitments are guided by the globally recognized external target setting frameworks such as the science-based targets initiative and the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, where guidance has been used, it's been explicitly and transparently stated in our climate disclosures. [indiscernible] reasons, we've made a strategic decision not to pursue formal membership or endorsement by these organizations at this time. To provide confidence in the integrity and robustness of our climate-rated metrics, we engage independent assurance firms to assess our selected metrics. And I can assure you that Suncorp is deeply committed to climate action, and we welcome the National Climate Risk Assessment 2025 that was released earlier this month. Suncorp is now preparing itself for mandatory climate reporting next year. And under the mandatory reporting requirements, the contents that we are subject to limited in -- all of the contents to be subject to limited assurance, and that will expand to include governance and aspects of our climate-related strategy to reinforce the confidence in quality and accuracy of our climate reporting. Are there any more questions pre-submitted. Belinda?

[indiscernible]

No, no. Thanks for letting me know.

Thank you, Chairman. There are indeed additional questions, and there are 4 that have been submitted by a shareholder, Mr. Natasha Lee. The first question is, while there has been a lot of investment in AI technology and upgrading staff skills in AI, what safeguards have been put in place to guide against bias, AI hallucinations and other issues that can arise from using AI?

Thank you, Ms. Lee. We had a Board meeting yesterday, and this is a topic we discussed a lot. For the benefit of shareholders present today, our investment in official intelligence, or AI, is seen as a significant enabler to Suncorp strategy. It's my personal belief that we all need to educate ourselves and better understand AI. At Suncorp, we provided employees with a number of educational offerings and upskilling programs and this will be an ongoing journey, as AI continues to evolve rapidly. Suncorp's risk appetite statement specifically requires that all material models, including artificial intelligence be designed in an ethical manner in alignment with Suncorp's data ethic commitments, which are aligned with Australia's AI ethics principles. These data ethics commitments include reliability safety and fairness, which incorporates the risk of bias, AI hallucinations and other issues that can arise from using AI. Suncorp has operationalized our data ethics commitments using a specialist AI risk and control library, which is applied to all material AI use cases. Some of the specific AI controls being implemented include comprehensive testing, preventative and detective monitoring by our people and independent AI models, former model reviews and use the feedback mechanisms. We continue to invest in developing our AI governance and risk management capabilities, and it's important we continue to be at the forefront of managing any new risks associated with AI. Next question, please, Belinda.

Chairman Ms. Lee's next question is, while we have reported increases in customers using conversational AI, how has the experience been for those whose language is not English or Australian for that matter?

Thank you again, Ms. Lee. Like most large organizations, Suncorp is experiencing a growing demand from multilingual -- for multilingual support from our customers, and the rapid growth of powerful generative AI technologies has really improved how we can communicate with our customers, and we are continuing to explore opportunities to further assist our customers from non-English-speaking backgrounds to transact with us. For example, we're expanding our chatbot capabilities through Bingle Buddy, which will soon support 8 of the most spoken languages in Australia. And this enhancement will allow customers to interact in their preferred language while receiving responses in English. Personally, I find this very exciting and it's also a passion project for Director Tanner, on your right, my left. We're fast reaching a point where we'll be able to converse with our customers in any language, which is just wonderful. Next question, please, Belinda.

Thank you, Chairman. Ms. Lee's next question is, while investment income has increased, this has largely come from interest earnings and net gains on financial instruments. However, given the interest rates are being cut, this result will be difficult to sustain, especially if there's a bad weather event. Are there strategies in place to maintain good interest rate returns in this market.

Thank you again, Ms. Lee. We do have a clear strategy in place that balances risk and returns appropriately considering both the needs of our policyholders and our shareholders. While declining interest rates impact interest income, obviously, we can maintain an appropriate interest income by diversifying into other asset classes. And we do this carefully by carefully evaluating the potential benefits the market risks and the capital considerations. And we also assess our asset allocation and identify opportunities that offer strong risk and return rewards to maximize returns with our well-defined risk appetite. Next question, Belinda.

Thank you, Chairman. Shareholder, Mr. Stuart Campbell asks, what insurance businesses -- I'm sorry, that one was already asked and answered, I apologize. Ms. Lee, a final general question is, on our dividend and trust income is flat to $57 million, but a equity holdings increased from $701 million to $932 million, while Unit Trusts have decreased slightly. Can you advise why that dividend income was flat?

Thank you again, Ms. Lee. Dividends and unit trust distributions can fluctuate depending on the earnings and dividend policies of the underlying companies that Suncorp hold its investment portfolios in, and increases in equity values driven by capital gains will not necessarily lead to higher dividend distributions. And it's important to consider both dividend income and capital appreciation when assessing the return on equities. However, what is clear is that the equity returns were strong for the financial year '25 with our equity exposures delivering above benchwork -- benchmark performance. Are there any questions received prior to the meeting, Belinda?

Thank you, Chairman. That concludes the general questions received in advance, and we can now move to questions in the room.

The waiting shareholders.

Shareholders, please hold any questions relating to specific resolutions until the time those resolutions are considered. And please let the team member at the microphone know who you are, so that they can introduce you to the meeting.

Chairman, may I please introduce John Whittington, ASA, who is a proxy shareholder.

Welcome, Mr. Whittington. You're very fast out of the seat there.

Good morning, Madam Chair. My name is John Whittington, and I'm a volunteer for the Australian Shareholders' Association. Today, we hold proxies from 191 ASA members and members for over 0.75 million Suncorp chairs. Our thanks go to you, the Board and all Suncorp employees for producing such a strong result. I'd also like to take the opportunity to thank you, Madam Chair, for your considerable commitment and achievements over the past decade as Chair and director of the company and wish you all the best for your post Suncorp future.

Thank you.

I've got two questions here, one at a time or bulk together?

One at a time might be better for the people in the room, I think.

Okay. Madam Chair, on Page 9 and 13 of the annual report, it indicates that the natural hazard cost of $1.355 million -- sorry, $1.355 billion with $205 million below the annual allowance of $1,560 million. And that adds a lot to the bottom line. Was this due to specific industry specific initiatives undertaken by Suncorp or natural year-on-year variation? And how sustainable are those outcomes in future years?

Thanks. Mr. Whittington. Which page were you referring to in the annual report?

Page 9 and 13 10 and 13.

I think I made some comments in my remarks as June Steve, but I might get Steve to speak to the annual report.

Thank you, Mr. Wittington. And obviously, the favorability to the natural hazard allowance in the financial year does flow through to the bottom line. I take the point that over the past 5 years or so, we have significantly increased that allowance, and that's a reflection of both severity of weather and events and frequency of weather and events. I think everyone in the room here would have and experience some of that. One of the other elements that has supported that actual outcome in FY '25 has been the cyclone reinsurance pool. So obviously, we had the Cyclone Alfred about 3 or 4 years ago, the federal government created the cycle and reinsurance pool that all the insurers contributing to and all the policyholders contribute into. And so that obviously took a fair element of the financial cost to the Cyclone Alfred event, bearing in mind that we still hold the operational accountability of managing around about 35,000 claims. So it's a very big operational load that the organization is carrying at the moment. In terms of the future in the hands of the gods to some extent, I would call to the point that the favorable reinsurance renewal that we just completed, we have taken the opportunity to further increase that allowance, build more resilience into it. Here, ourselves, obviously, in a world where these events are increasing so that we can absorb the financial cost within the allowance not exceed the allowance at the expense of our shareholders. So very hard to predict what FY '26 is going to be in the future. But the overarching point to make is that the resilience that's built into that allowance now is significantly greater than it was 5 years ago. And we think it puts us in a good position to be able to deal with any of the elements of weather and natural hazard events into the future.

Your second question, Mr. Whittington.

Madam Chair, your report acknowledges the ongoing affordability challenge of insurance. The insurance industry as a whole has a reputation for charging loyalty premiums where loyal retail customers have created much higher prices than new customers. Not only does this make affordability worse, it creates extra customer service and churn costs and is likely to reduce Net Promoter Score, one of your key performance metrics. What is Suncorp doing to eliminate loyalty premiums across the industry?

I'd just like to make a couple of comments in the first instance just around affordability because it is such an important topic, and Steve might wish to add, but we absolutely recognize the cost pressures that households continue to experience, and we really are committed to tackling the drivers that put pressure on insurance premiums. And I think the investment we referenced before that we'll be making in technology and using artificial intelligence can reduce our own costs and improve our overall customer satisfaction. But there's definitely a need, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, for investment by this country in mitigation projects just to better mitigate the risk for communities, and that includes incentivizing customers to protect their own homes, their own home resilience. Certainly, better land use planning. As I mentioned in my opening remarks, counsel is really on that. And really also lowering taxes, I have a slide, which is one of my favorite slides, which I'll show later, which basically shows -- well, it's up now, the impost of state and territory taxes on insurance premiums. All of these issues have to be addressed if we're really going to tackle the affordability challenge. Try to add anything, Steve?

I think the only other point to make, Mr. Wittington is that the fundamental tool of pricing and insurance is risk. And as insurance companies here in Australia, Suncorp particularly and around the world become more granular in the way that they can price, we are able now to identify a number of different payrolls that go into a home insurance medium for example. So obviously, flood risk is one of those, various working claim perils like burglary and other risks, but we can model very clearly now the impact on an insurance premium of natural hazard costs. And obviously, those people who, as I made the point in my address, who are unfortunate enough to have built or bought in areas that they should never have been a layer to build or [indiscernible] dealing with some of the impacts of that high peril regime that flows obviously through the premium. Additional point I'd make on top of that is that the taxation system that we have around insurance means that those higher-risk unfortunate higher-risk customers pay more tax. So on top of the home insurance premium is a GST on to the GST and the home insurance premium stamp duty and in New South Wales in Portion top of the home insurance premium with the GST and the stamp duty is a levy, emergency services levy. And so we've consistently, as an industry, been making the point that it is regressive to be imposing taxes of this nature on home insurance and to reform the tax system would be a fantastic initiative for improving affordability of insurance right across the board.

And just also just circling back, we do not offer a loyalty discount program.

You do not offer it.

Sorry, loyalty discount.

Loyalty discounts or loyalty premiums because that's the thing that really upsets customers is where they quoted at a high price, where if they just came in as a new customer, they get a substantially lower price. And that's the question -- that's the fundamental part of the question I was asking, which I don't think has really been answered yet.

We will make the point. We do not offer -- we don't provide loyalty tax. The sources of pricing that we attribute to a home insurance premium or any interest premium are the underlying risk factors that emerge in the writing of that policy.

Thank you. We have a question from microphone #1.

I'm please to introduce Ben Galvan, shareholder from Finance Sector Union.

My name is Ben Galvan from the Finance Sector Union. And I'm here representing our members across Suncorp who are employed by Suncorp. Suncorp has been a leader in adopting new technologies, including artificial intelligence models. As these tools are introduced, what is the broad goal of AI capability improvements at Suncorp? And in particular, are you going to ensure everyone benefits from these improvements, including your employees?

So including?

Including your employees.

Thanks, Mr. Galan. And thank you also for your personal constructive engagement through our recent enterprise bargaining process, the team of advisers that at the Board meeting. As you know, artificial intelligence has been around at Suncorp for time because insurance is a data-rich business, and we actually have a very mature set of AI capabilities and indeed, experts in our organization. And we're building and integrating AI use cases across our business. And there's no doubt that it will transform the customer experience because we're getting rid of repetitive tasks for our people. There's still a lot to be worked through in operational transformation. And there will be potential changes to roles in some circumstances. But it's quite extraordinary how much training Suncorp is all really doing of our general workforce around upskilling and reskilling so that people can actually use these tools in doing their job. So obviously, we as a Board look closely at the commitment to continuous retraining, reskilling and helping our workforce do that transformation at the same time remaining true to delivering the best outcomes we have. So I'm sure that we'll continue to have this conversation with you as it evolves. And CEO at the recent results presentation did give investors some examples of some of the use cases and early days, but it's looking promising and a good experience for our employees. Thank you, Mr. Galan. Microphone #2.

Chairman, may I please introduce [indiscernible], who is a shareholder.

I'm pleased you got the [indiscernible] here because I get a bit nervy and I won't stop midstream.

That's all right. You can just take your time is fine.

I'd like to compliment the management and the Board for putting forward the return of capital with consolidation because I don't know a few people took into account, but whether you took in account about the cost of delivery because when I looked at the shareholder here, 83,000 of them are shareholders with less than 1,000. And if we conclude up to 5,000, that's 130,000 shareholders that much probably could benefit. The other point I want to point out investment relations was role can put a face to me now is all the promotion about on-market buyback and even the return of capital we consult. It's based on theoretical. The only guarantee that come out of those two is the number of shareholders on the registry. The rest, it's basically I'm happy to go with the return of capital with consolidation because it is from a risk assessment point of view, but if it doesn't go right, at least all of us benefited in some way. So -- and what I can see, I'm just a hobbyist investor, not a room serious investor is all the financial metrics that promotes for support for on-market buyback is very similar to what the return of capital consolidation achieved, the way I understand it. And I'm a bit dubious -- I don't know if you Investor Relations reported to you about my question since what I'd like to ask you people is from the Board experience, and I imagine you have been in a number of years, with on-market buybacks, who predominantly gets that pool of $400 million are likely to get the $400 million. My suspicion is it's probably the big end of tail. Can you confirm that?

Thanks, Mr. [indiscernible] I'll make a couple of comments, then I can, the CEO to comment or even the CFO, who's in the front row. So firstly, the Board is really active in looking at how we manage our capital and very disciplined, and we have to be very disciplined because we have to be here for the long term. And the return of capital as a result of the bank sale was considered through the lens of both retail shareholders and institutional shareholders. And we are very mindful of the fact that we have such a significant shareholder base well represented here today, including by the Australian Shareholders' Association. And the Board always will have regard to the totality of our shareholder base. So in the buyback, shares are purchased on market from existing shareholders who choose to sell their shares at the prevailing price. So we don't -- there's no disclosure of the counterparty selling their shares but updated distribution of holdings will be included in our 26th annual report.

Just asking probably a broader experience, just a general remark, who ends up with most of the money in a number of companies or buybacks?

I mean I might just take a step back, and I'll have a shot at this because I was the former CFO and quite excited about this topic. But if we had our [indiscernible], and we had no limitation around franking credits, our disposition would be to return capital through a special dividend. Now obviously, with the sale of the bank and the business now having a significantly higher contribution of its earnings coming out of New Zealand, our ability to generate franking credits has been reduced over the sale process. So we would love to distribute through special dividends. I don't think we want to put at risk at any point, the ordinary dividend being partially franked because I think everyone in this room benefits from the franking credit distribution. So that's the first thing. If we could do it through a special dividend, we do it. Undertaking a capital return through an off-market buyback really is not effective anymore and you won't -- you really don't see them in Australia. So you come back to an on-market buyback. Now whoever participates in an on-market buyback, the principles of it are very similar to what we did with the bank sale. In other words, the shares on issue reduce, the returns stay the same and grow, the EPS improves and the return on capital improves. And so while the shareholder doesn't necessarily really get in a form of a special dividend, they get it through the capital growth of their ordinary shares.

But you treat that through the return of capital with consolidation, the [indiscernible]

Similar principle, but typically, consolidation of shares and that process is a very heavily administered and it takes a long time, as you saw in the bank. You have to get the tax office, you have to get other approvals, and that takes some time. So I think -- and we look at all of the options, the principles of a share consolidation and on-market buyback are broadly the same. It's more efficient, faster and easier to do an on-market buyback, and the benefits of it, I believe, whoever participates in that flow through to all of our shareholders.

But I'm trying to get out of your people. Who are the greatest participants in the on-market buyback?

Well, it will be the largest shareholders.

And thank you for saying that because a lot of people won't admit it. I've asked them.

Well, I mean, I think that's just the nature of on-market buybacks, but my point is that the share count reduces increases. The EPS increases...

Because something happened with the return on a couple with consolidation. Yes. Then the next question I'm going to ask is known to. You might not like this, but I've been known and like I won't say it. So why do the top end of town like on-market buybacks. They seem to be of this with AMP and all those places before we get into and even David did the top of the town as you for the on the market buyback or company as a whole consider those on-market buyback.

We don't talk to the top end of town guy run the company through the top end of town. The top end of town, as you described it, would prefer a special dividend...

I [indiscernible] very much...

No, they do. They like the special dividend. They like the franking credits because they can distribute those franking credits ultimately their end custodian through the custodian to the end shareholders. So I think the hierarchy of capital return for all shareholders, irrespective of the big or small is special dividend, fully franked on-market buyback, and obviously, off-market buybacks are not possible, and yes, if you are selling a business of scale and you have a significant capital return like we did with the Australian Life business sale and the bank, then the most efficient way to do that is to go through the longer administrative process with all the authorities and do a share consolidation, which is what we did with those asset sales. But for ongoing capital return. And we are hopeful that the on-market buyback process will be ongoing because we still remain with excess capital after the $400 million that we're proposing in FY '26. And we believe that over time, we will continue to accrete capital into our balance that the on-market buyback is the most efficient and effective way for us to continue to return capital to shareholders.

Thanks, Steve. Thanks, Mr. Bill. I might allow some other shareholders to ask a question, if that's okay. And I assure you, the CFO will meet you after the meeting and dig further into this. Jeremy, got it? Thanks, Jeremy. Thanks, Mr. [indiscernible]. The next question is from microphone #1, I believe. We go with microphone #2.

So Ms. Chairman, may I please introduce George Bomber, who's a shareholder.

Welcome, George. It was nice to speak with you earlier this morning.

Madam Chairman, I must say you did a great job of the previous years, and thank you for your services.

Thank you.

I think what the gentleman prior was trying to ascertain was he felt that minority shareholders weren't looked after. If you're doing a share buyback, it's quite possible that you could write to all the shareholders and say we're doing a share buyback at x number of dollars, if you'd like to participate, send us [indiscernible] in, and you can participate in that. And that might solve the problem that gentleman is talking about the 1 shareholders not being as well looked after some major shareholders. I just wanted to clarify that point. My other question was how long does ANZ have to keep the Suncorp name. And if it's a long-term project, maybe we should have Suncorp insurance. Some of the things that the ANZ Bank have done since they've taken over to the banking haven't been very good for customers. And I think that the association of the 2 names, if they're going to keep it for a long time, should be clarified in that regard. The other thing you were talking about before was the income that you've got and you -- one of the things that you mentioned was the advantage of capital gains. Now we have a government in Australia that is silly enough to think that they are going to tax unrealized capital gains. And if that's the case, that is going to have a major pullback in your income because you're less money than working to produce the income because you pay tax on the capital gains and you don't have that money keep growing.

Thanks, George. I'll just make a comment on the brand sharing arrangements. And then Steve, you can talk about taxes. So when we agreed the sale of Suncorp Bank with ANZ, we did agree with a brand-sharing arrangement of the Suncorp brand for a period of up to 5 years. We're now just past 1 year on that brand-sharing arrangement. I can assure you, again, at our Board meeting yesterday, we keep an eagle eye on our brand health and our reputation. And in fact, in our long-term incentives, we have a reputation metric, which needs to be satisfied. So this is something the Board thinks about. But it's certainly not expected to go any longer than 5 years, the brand sharing, may be shorter. And the people responsible for our brand also here today and heard your comments around Suncorp insurance.

Look, I don't think I'll buy into the capital gains. I'm not an expert on capital gains tax necessarily very much focused on tax reform and insurance. GST, as I mentioned, stamp duty and emergency services levies. And I think the only way to really fundamentally reform those taxes and the impact on insurance policies and pricing is to have broad tax law, and if they have broad tax reform, I can pick that up and they can also pick up your capital gains tax issue.

Can I continue?

I just need to -- I've got someone in the queue, Mr. Pelgic from microphone #1. So if you just let Luisa and he'll put you in the queue.

Thanks. Chairman, Ma'am, please introduce [indiscernible], who is a shareholder.

Welcome, Ms. [indiscernible].

My first question -- I have two questions. My first question, impinges on previous speaker. And that is in view of the recent disturbing allegations against ANZ. Have we autonomy to be able to maintain the ethical status that have been discussed earlier today, especially given we've only got 4 years as us. And after that, we sort of ANZ. Can we go on being ethical in the way we should?

And your second question, I'll talk about the ones if that's okay.

Well, the second question is more about the people aspect of policy. I suspect there are many others like me who are old and who like having people at bank branches. Now we're more and more being steered into using machines, ATMs. And they're all very good and convenient at times, but they can't answer questions. They can't help us sort out a difficult question, for example, what to do about a term deposit. There are various things that machines just can't do. Even AI, let us not forget, is artificial intelligence, and it can't quite rack up with the memory and experience of a banker who has been in the business long enough to remember previous trends, previous outcomes that AI might not be able to compute.

Thank you, Ms. Headcraft. In terms of our own operations, I assure you that ethical conduct and imposing enforcing a code of conduct is something that the Board and the People Committee looks at regularly. In terms of the bank, the bank is now owned by ANZ, and it's actually not appropriate for me to answer questions that really should be addressed to ANZ as I'm not in their boardroom. But we do have we have 4 people from ANZ who are outside today. Mr. Bush Ms. [indiscernible], Ms. Irving and Mr. McFadden, and they have been asked to join us here today outside to really give shareholders like yourself an opportunity to ask those questions around banking, whether that be the availability of people in branches, how to use technology, et cetera. So I'm going to ask the ladies sitting in front of you, [indiscernible] guide you out at the end of the meeting to meet with the ANZ team. Thanks, [indiscernible]. Microphone #2, Luisa.

Chairman may I please introduce John Withington, ASA is a proxy shareholder.

We haven't got passed the first matter at Mr. Whittington, you're up twice.

Madam Chair I've got two questions for the Chair-Elect. So again, do you want to time or...

Yes, give us a man, we need to get this meeting done before dinner. You can give us -- but give them to me both, and I'll decide whether or not to give them to the Chair-Elect because I am still the Chair.

Okay. Well, it is -- for Mr. West, one of the basics of retail shareholders is being diluted without combination in capital raisings. Will the Chair-Elect, commit to retail shareholders today that if Suncorp was as capital during his tenure that the preferred method of capital raising will be a by a renounceable offers such as [indiscernible], such offers as the only that treat retail shareholders fairly and equally?

The second question?

And the second question is, despite our requests over recent years, Suncorp is in the minority of its peers by not providing an AX release between 1 and 2 weeks before all analyst briefings given giving retail shareholders the details of how to participate in such briefings and in listen-only mode, and therefore, be on an equal information footing to institutional shareholders. Will Mr. West commit to ensuring retail shareholders are treated equally and such ASX releases are made during his tenure?

Thanks, Mr. Whittington. And just for the benefit of other shareholders in the room, Duncan West and myself did meet with Mr. Whittington and others from the Australian Shareholders' Association Head of this meeting. And we have previously answered this question, but I think Mr. Whittington down can speak very briefly to that, but you do know the answer, sir.

Yes. So to your -- thank you for your questions, and I look forward to many more in the future. On the second question, the answer to that is yes, we will commit to that. On the first question about capital raising, I can't commit to the future approach to capital raisings. Obviously, at the time of any potential capital raising, we will look at all of the factors that are around at that point in time and choose the most appropriate approach depending on the circumstances. Obviously, as a Board, we are -- have been and will continue to be very mindful of all shareholder outcomes, including but not limited to the fairness of those outcomes, and I think we have a strong track record, as a Board of taking into account all shareholders, including retail shareholders when making capital decisions.

Thanks, Duncan. Steve, perhaps...

Yes. I just want to make an additional point, and we've talked a lot about capital returns and, now we're talking about potential capital raisings, which figures costs we don't need to do other than for something that we would acquire at some time down the track. But I would make the point that through Christine's tenure, the Chairman's tenure, we will probably one of the very few financial services companies that didn't need to raise capital through COVID. We never diluted our current shareholder base with dilutive capital raisings. And I think that's a very proud statement to make. We were one of the few. So I thought I'd make that point in addition to the discussion on capital returns and raisings.

Thanks, Steve. Thanks, Duncan, and thanks, Mr. Wittington. I might -- doesn't look like we've got more questions in the room on this.

Sorry, we've got a couple more questions. Chairman, may I please introduce Gary Bilby, who's a shareholder.

Thanks, Luisa. Good morning, Mr. Bilby.

During your presentation, you indicated the focus is going to be on the insurance business. I'm confused because then you sell off the New Zealand Life Insurance. So my question, I've got two questions. This is one of the is the focus now on insurance business only in Australia. The second question is, I have real concerns concerning about cybersecurity, does Suncorp have insurance if things go pear shape?

Two good questions. Thank you. The first one is, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, we have insured [indiscernible] businesses in Australia and in New Zealand. We have divested of our life insurance businesses, but we have a range of different insurance. We have our commercial insurance portfolio in Australia, in New Zealand and our personal loans portfolios. And obviously, it includes personal injury insurance, CTP insurance, but we do not have a life insurance business anymore. We -- as part of the simplification program, as Steve put up on his slide, that was definitely a decision by the Board that we would no longer participate. The second question in relation to cybersecurity. Yes, we do have lines of cyber insurance. But for myself and the Board and certainly the Risk Committee is far -- is a far deeper look than just what insurance is available. So we have, we run a number of different simulations and scenarios during the course of the year with the team to look at our own cyber resilience. We bring external experts into this because this has been a growing phenomenon. As I've said during my tenure, I've seen a tenfold increase in the number of scams and frauds. And cyber criminals are at the forefront of using generative AI, artificial intelligence tools. So this is something we constantly look at. But yes, we do have lines of so overall insurance cover. Thank you. And we have another question from microphone #2, and then we might go to the next agenda item, I think.

I think we've got two more questions here. Chairman May, please introduce Rob Pile, who's a shareholder.

Am I committed to continue on the same theme as before?

No, sorry, Mr. [indiscernible] because we've got other people, we've got a lot of business to get to. And I did say to you that our CFO, Jeremy Robson, will talk with you offline at the end of the meeting on that topic. And...

But I'd just like to make one statement. The way I understand here is, I'm trying to make it a clinical, the way I see it, the on-market buyback is basically used in everyone's entitlement theoretically. And they seem to love it for some reason, this old market by, and then they would claim that what you, as a company, you do know a good job, yet I consider them if you're doing a good job,, and they go on the on-market buyback, they basically deserted us. They're deserting the company, which we possibly you people are artificially pushing the product out of the share market, the price of Suncorp. I'm staying loyal to you. Why don't I know I can buy, get on market, but don't have faith in the company. But obviously, people who utilize the on-market [indiscernible], especially the top the 220 and so on, I consider deserting the company.

Okay. Thanks, Mr. Pilc, and our CFO, Jeremy Robson, will catch up with you at the end of the meeting. I think the CEO did speak well to that topic. I'm actually now going to go to online questions. I'm sorry -- I have one more at microphone #1.

And one more, and one more 2.

At one more microphone #2. Okay. Well, go online while we're waiting for those details.

Thank you, Chairman. We have received some questions online for this item of business. The first question is asked by Mr. Stephen Mayne. The retirement of Christine McLoughlin after today's meeting will mean that the largest 30 companies on the ASX by market capitalization will all be chaired by a man. Have just successfully chaired an ASX 30 company, could Christine, please comment on why Australia is one of the worst records globally in terms of women rising chair versus public companies? Also, thank you for pioneering AGM best practice with hybrid meetings, early proxy disclosure and extra [indiscernible]. Does Duncan commit to continuing this next year?

Well, I'll take all of that. Thank you. Stephen, I would love to be able to change the world. I'd even love to be able to change something in this country. I can assure you around the table, there is a genuine commitment to diversity in the broader sense. And I can hope you can see that from people in front of you today. And I know that the Chair Elect and the Board will continue to have that focus and Steve, in leading his building his own team has committed to diversity. Our limiting leadership rate is down to 49% at the moment. Thank you for your feedback, and we will certainly continue with the best practice that we've adopted at this meeting. And when I leave this role, I'll see if I can change the world, but I've just got a couple of more questions in the room. So I might go back to the room before we finish online. So then we have George again.

Yes, just the final question from this microphone. May I please introduce George [indiscernible], who is a shareholder.

Madam Chairman, thank you. One of the iterations today and you look at the Board in the top 200 companies and most of them have between 5 and 9 members. We have 11 members on the Board here. I think sometimes you've got a -- say, a number of people contributing to the same factors and their knowledge. And I think sometimes a Board of that number starts to become unwieldy, and it makes it harder to operate. And I think that as some of these people retire from the Board, maybe you should consider not replacing them because I think that sometimes a smaller number can work quicker and make decisions better because they're more concise. The other thing that I'd like to inquire about was recently, Suncorp made -- give some shares to people that worked in their branches. I would like to know where those shares were acquired. Were they acquired on market? What details were given to the people who received those shares. I spoke to people at my local brands. They had no idea what to do with them. They said, "George, what should I do with them?" I gave them some advice, and I said you can't sell them on market, if you like. But I don't know whether they were given a cost base and then if they sold them. If they were given them as a free gift, where they advise that the cost the value of those shares was taxable. They given that information that they could include that on their tax return. And so I think that if you're going to give shares to employees that unfamiliar with shares, you need to be very precise and give them all the information that is required so that they don't finish up getting in strife with the tax department. Thank you.

Thanks, George. I'll speak quickly to Board size and then Belinda, who many different roles is also responsible for the people function. So you can perhaps speak to the second question about people in branches who received shares. In terms of Board size, we remain -- Suncorp remains a highly regulated company post the sale of the bank. And we do look at the size and composition of the Board through the lens of issues we are addressing at any point in time. And there's an incredible pace of change at the moment, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, whether that's technology, cyber resilience, energy transition, geopolitical issues, supply chain, climate. So it's really important that we have a board that is contemporary. And I think what will happen over time is that the Board led by Duncan will continue address we see appropriate size, but really, even more importantly, what is the appropriate skill set. And that will include an orderly runoff as directors retire. So we certainly discussed this in the last couple of months as a Board and the entire Board is committed to making sure we have the right skills and the right size. So thank you for asking that question. Belinda, perhaps on the guidance of shares to employees.

Thank you Firstly, the question, the shares are acquired on market, and I think we've covered how that occurs already. In terms of advice, a generic tax solar is provided to employees at the time. However, we do not provide personal tech advice to any individual employees.

Our CEO will make a couple of comments.

Just add one point. Isn't it a great thing for all our employees to be shareholders, and I'd like them all to be customers too. And so I take your point for people who are unfamiliar with shareholding, then it can be a bit daunting and there are tools available to them. Obviously, advice that they can get, but the concept here is we want all of our share -- all of our employees to be shareholders just like everyone in this room. So that's the goal. This year, we have provided gift shares to our employees. It's around $750 worth of gift shares, and I think overwhelmingly, the team enjoy that, and they like to be linked into the success of the organization, just like all of us in the room here.

Thanks. Thanks, Steve. Thanks.

[indiscernible] where is it the office is that a [indiscernible]

Well, as I mentioned, there's material available for the employees to undertake all of that analysis with their tax returns.

I think we'll keep in that okay. We've got another question in the room, and then I'm going to go online.

Chairman, please introduce Clyde Ashton with a shareholder.

I noted the financial returns suggestion to the Nomination Committee. [indiscernible] important role in relation to the Board. Can you collusion advise the make of the his committee?

The Nomination Committee at Suncorp is the entire Board. Okay. So I chair the Board and I chair the Nominations Committee, but in the context of chair succession, Lindsay Tanner has took the role of independent director, and he led the chair succession process, which is another part of the role of the Nominations Committee. Thank you for the question. I'll just go back online. I think we have another question online.

We do. Thank you, Chairman. We have another question from Mr. Stephen Mayne, who asks, how long does KPMG being our external auditor? When did their last phase to full competitive tender and how many competitive tenders run during Christine's time on the Board? When is the external audit next schedule to be tendered?

Thanks, Mr. Mayne. We can't comment on when the next audit tender will be, but the Board is committed to regularly reviewing the quality and independence of our external audit arrangement. That's just part of good governance. Obviously, when we do go through a process I won't be chairing the Board, but that will be advised in the appropriate way, shareholders will be informed. KPMG were first appointed as Suncorp audits in 1996. The last competitive tender was held in 2017, '18, and I was on the Board, and that information is publicly available. And that is the only competitive tender during my tenure on the Board. But KPMG importantly does have a partner rotation policy, and that does require the signing and engagement partners who change every 5 years in accordance with the Corporations Act. And as I mentioned earlier today, Scott Guse is retiring as he has reached his tenure, and David Kells will be taking his place as the lead partner. Another question online?

Thank you, Chairman. Mr. Mayne asks another question. What process did we run to select Duncan West is our next Chair? Was a headhunting them involved? And did we interview any external candidates? Were multiple internal candidates competing for the physician with a formal pitch and vote or was this a long-term succession plan which was only subject to Duncan winning the trust of his colleagues since joining the Board 4 years ago? Was it recruited at the time as a potential future Chair?

Thank you, Mr. Mayne. So for all new Director appointments, we do have an external search process using an external firm, and we do have searches in the market at the moment. However, before the Board succession, as I mentioned earlier, Director Tanner led a process and one of the first questions that was put to the Board was whether it was appropriate to go externally as well as internally. And the unanimous view of the Board was that it is preferable to have an internal candidate. If we had people who would be willing to take on the role, they're not easy roles and they're quite demanding. And we were fortunate in that we did have people around the Board table who more than able to chair this company. Duncan was unanimously identified by his colleagues as the preferred or an outstanding candidate. He did not say that about himself, obviously. And there was then a process which -- with the Board when Duncan addressed the Board about how he would take on the stewardship role and his beliefs around the future strategy for the company and other matters that one would expect to Chairman Elect to turn them on to. Lindsay, do you want to add anything? No. So it was very much conducted in a robust way, Mr. Mayne.

Thank you, Chairman. That appears to conclude the questions received via the online platform. And I can confirm that there were no questions received on the phone lines.

Thank you, Belinda. For the information of everyone participating, I can update you that we now have a total of 526 shareholders, proxyholders and other attendees joining the meeting must be selling tickets, and they're not getting sandwiches if they're coming in online. So I'll now address general questions and comments. We'll move to remuneration-related items of business. If you're here with us in Brisbane and you'd like to ask a question on these resolutions, please move to a microphone now. First, I'd like to introduce the advisory vote on the financial year '25 remuneration report, which all shareholders have had the opportunity to review. Your Board believes the remuneration arrangements, as outlined in the remuneration report are strategically aligned and drive high performance. The Board also believes it's awarded fair and reasonable incentive outcomes to the CEO and executive leadership team, having regard to the overall performance of Suncorp. In setting our remuneration arrangements, we have a program of active engagement with institutional investors, proxy advisers and the Australian Shareholders' Association who are here today. And we also take into account informed of the feedback from shareholders more generally. We note that each director has a personal interest in their own remuneration from the company, as described in the remuneration report and the Board recommends shareholders vote in favor of this resolution. I'm now going to put up on the screen, direct details of direct votes and proxies lodged prior to the AGM. People in the room should be able to see that, please? Belinda, are there any remuneration questions we received in advance of the meeting.

Thank you, Chairman. Yes, we have received a question from shareholder Stuart Campbell, who asks. Given the reduction in activities now transacted by Suncorp following the sale of the Banking and Life businesses, how does the Board support the level of remuneration paid the CEO given the reduced level of responsibility?

Thank you, Mr. Campbell. CEO roles in companies that are the size of Suncorp require incredibly significant commitment. And the complexity of CEO roles has also increased more generally driven by the factors was mentioned earlier today, economic pressures, technological disruption. And our CEO's remuneration is externally benchmarked each year to ensure that it's reasonable and competitive. Our People and Remuneration Committee, chaired by Sylvia Falzon on your right, determines the CEO's remuneration, having regard to the CEO's accountabilities and performance. And that Suncorp remains a large ASX-listed high-regulated organization. In fact, this year, we became subject to the financial accountability regime for our insurance business. For the financial year '26, the CEO received no increase in fixed pay and there was no change to his target short-term incentive or long-term incentive opportunity. The CEO's maximum short-term incentive was adjusted to reflect that maximum potential, what was happening at other companies post the introduction of CPS 511 and to drive further drive performance noting that any STI award above target will only be realized if the CEO outperforms challenging STI measures. Because of the application of CPS 511, which is a regular regulatory guidance note issued by APRA, 60% of any STI earned above target will be deferred over a 4- to 6-year period. Next question please, Belinda.

Thank you, Chairman. That concludes the questions received in advance for this item of business. and we can now move to questions in the room.

Thank you. I think, Louisa, you have a question at microphone #2.

Yes. Chairman may I please introduce John Wittington ASA, who is a proxy shareholder.

John Wittington for the Shareholders' Association. As in previous years, the report is one of the better I have read and to a large degree, communicates the structure and outcome very well uses good graphics and doesn't take interminable internal number of pages on unnecessary detail. We also commend you for this year, providing the history of short- and long-term incentive payout percentages on Page 64, as this is very helpful to retail shareholders to determine whether you're in an easy or a hard market. Well done to all of those involved. I just want to pick up slightly on your last response. Last year, as part of APRA requirements, you reduce the CTO's short-term incentive from 150% of fixed pay to 100%. But at the same time, you offset it by increasing his long-term incentive from 100% of fixed pay to 150. So even result. Next year, you'll be increasing, as you mentioned, the short-term incentive to 125% [indiscernible].

[indiscernible] opportunity.

There, but there is no offset reduction in the long-term incentive. This means that the CEO is getting a potential 25% pay increase. And I can understand your relativeness to the other, but that's a pretty substantial pay upside. What justified that?

Thanks, Mr. Whittington. And again, we did have the benefit of meeting with you and your colleagues ahead of the meeting. But for other shareholders, last year, when the CPS 511 requirements, had to be met dictated by APRA, our regulator, we -- like other companies, we're looking at what we would need to do to our remuneration structure to enable us to comply with that. And there is a significant deferral component required in total remuneration to satisfy CPS 511. We spun pendulum, I think, a bit too far in relation to STI target and maximum and the feedback we got from certainly institutional shareholders and yourselves after that was where was the incentive for the upside. And so the People and Remuneration Committee, and I'll give Sylvia a chance to comment, did consider this and believe it's in the best interest of shareholders and fair given where our peers are to create a maximum STI opportunity of up to 125%, but target will remain at 100%. Sylvia, did you want to add anything? I probably said it all.

Thank you for the question. And to Christine's point, when we engaged with various shareholders, this was a question that they asked us in particular, when you look at the executive team that report through to Steve, their maximum potential is at 150. So the question was, will you have a CEO who's maximum potential is at 100, that it didn't seem that it was aligned in terms of outperformance. So to Christine's point, we did reach in making that decision in the first year, we had the benefit of also seeing what other organizations have done. And in relation to that, we were reflected on what is more appropriate and fair in terms of the remuneration arrangements for the CEO, hence the change.

Thanks, Sylvia. And also, Mr. Whittington, your comments on the quality of the remuneration report. Sylvia is Chair of the People and Remuneration Committee has been committed to that. So that was welcome feedback. Thank you. Other questions in the room in relation to the remuneration report? We'll go on -- yes, Mr. [indiscernible], question. You need to use the microphone. Is it in relation to the remuneration report?

Yes. I just going back to return of capital, which are obviously adjust some of the metrics? How do you compensate that took -- taken out of the remuneration [indiscernible] domicile or bundle? What I'm trying to say is if we go by [indiscernible] would push it up as people use that to advantage their remuneration, how do you for the effect, it would have towards a remuneration, we take account when we're setting our targets of what our capital strategies are. And you'll recall when we were selling the bank, we actually changed the metrics to any impact, so there's no impact.

There's no impact.

No impact on deciding what to reward, Steve.

Right. Okay. I'm now going to go online.

Thank you, Chairman. We can confirm there are no questions on the phone lines, but we will have received some questions online, and we will now go there. We have received the first question from shareholder [indiscernible] regarding remuneration question on he asks. With regard to the STI metric cash return on tangible equity, why are the targets not released in advance, most other companies of similar metrics do reduce their targets. Suncorp has only 1 serious competitor, which has its own metrics. This information is hardly commercially sensitive, and after releasing these targets, prevents shareholders from assessing progress in this metric and limits transparency in the assessment of this metric. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Gomes. We actually do believe this is commercially sensitive because it's a target that's set for something that's to occur 3 years out. And there's certainly sensitivity around actual and stretch targets. The threshold and stretch for the LTI having determined having regard for the 3-year business plan, cost of capital and investor expectations. And we do have a view that we will retrospectively disclose. And so you'll see what it was we set after the event, but we've taken the decision as a Board not to prospectively disclose. Other questions online?

That appears to complete the questions that we have received online.

As that addresses all the questions and comments on the remuneration report. I think, Sylvia, again, for your hard work in chairing that committee and producing that report. Would you please now vote using the voting card in the online portal, the Vote+ app or your paper voting card. If anyone needs any help with us, just put your hand up, we've got people here from the registry that can help you. There's one down here. Details of direct votes and proxies lodged prior to the AGM in relation to this resolution are again on the screen, taking into account the direct and proxy votes shown on the screen and the total number of shares being voted today, it appears resolution 1 will be passed. I thank Sylvia for all of your efforts in the report. And now I'm going to go on to the next item of business, which is to seek shareholder approval for the grant of 149,024 performance rights to your CEO and Managing Director, Steve Johnston. These performance rights will represent the CEO's long-term incentive remuneration for the financial year '26. The purpose of the long-term incentive allocation is to focus your CEO on Suncorp's long-term business strategy, align his interest with those of shareholders and support the creation of long-term shareholder value. As I mentioned earlier, CPS 511 requires long-term incentives to have both financial and nonfinancial measures. And as set out in the notice of meeting, Suncorp's performance measures are based on relative total shareholder return, cash return on tangible equity, relative customer Net Promoter Score, and relative trust and reputation. Further details are included in the notice of meeting, and the Board with Steve Johnston abstaining, recommends shareholders vote in favor of this resolution. [Voting]

I'll now put up the details of direct votes and proxies lodged prior to the AGM in relation to this resolution and now on the screen. Would any shareholder here in Brisbane, who wishes to ask a question on this resolution. Now move to the nearest microphone. I don't think we have any questions in the room. So we'll see if there are any questions online on this matter.

Chairman, I can confirm there are no online or phone questions for this item of business.

Thank you. So given there are no questions on this resolution, we will now confirm that we can vote. So you have your voting cards. In the online pool, the Vote+ app or your paper voting guard. And as I mentioned, details, the direct votes and proxies lodged GM in relation to this resolution are again shown on the screen. Taking into account the direct and proxy votes on the screen, our total number of shares being voted today, it appears that resolution 2 will be passed. The next 3 items of business are to consider the election and reelection of 3 members of your Board. If you're in the room and would like to ask a question on any of these items, please move to your nearest microphone. First, as I mentioned earlier, David Whiteing seeks confirmation of his appointment to the Board through seeking election by shareholders today. To add to my earlier comments, David's technology-related experience is relevant for Suncorp's next chapter as a dedicated mill insurer, enabled by significant technology investments and a major transformation program. In addition, David's perspectives in relation to increasingly important matters such as cyber risk and data security, complement the existing skills of the Board. This includes helping Suncorp to respond to the requirements of CPS 230, another APRA regulatory guideline, as they relate to managing operational risks arising from Suncorp's outsourcing and supplier arrangements as well as David's strong connections to global technology providers. Additional detail is set out in the notice of meeting, including that the Board satisfied that David is an independent Non-Executive Director and we fully support his election today. I'd now like to introduce David to speak further about his experience and commitment to Suncorp before inviting any questions on your election. Thanks, David.

Thank you, Chairman, and good afternoon, shareholders. This is my first Suncorp AGM, and I'm honored to be here seeking election to the Suncorp Group Board. It is an exciting time to be joining the company, particularly as we embark on this new chapter as a stand-alone trans-Tasman general insurer. Since joining the Board in February, I've been incredibly impressed by the way in which Suncorp is approached and prepared for this period of significant change. During this time, I've also been able to contribute to the Board's consideration of the full set of capabilities required to successfully make its transition to be as prepared as possible for the future that will continue to be up by rapid change and uncertainty and to realize Suncorp's full growth potential. I believe my experience gained over more than 30 years leading complex business and technology across multiple geographies and industry sectors, including financial services positions me well to deliver ongoing value to the Board and Suncorp's strategic direction, which is underpinned by key technology investments. The global nature of my experience also allows me to bring diverse insights on emerging innovations in other markets and perspectives relevant to Suncorp's strategy and ambition. I have a strong understanding of the regulatory landscape and the constraints and challenges of the dynamic environment in which we operate. I take great pride in my forward-thinking leadership approach and ability to flex and adapt on any given agenda as required. Given the pace of change we are dealing with, my expertise in large-scale business and technology transformation provides me a strong grounding on how technology can accelerate and underwrite strategic intent. And I believe my exposure to important matters such as cyber risk and data security, brings additional value to your board. Finally, my holistic systems thinking approach that considers people, culture, policy and process continues to serve me well and underpins my strong track record in responsible decision making and governance. I believe that if elected, these complementary skills and experience will assist the Board in providing effective oversight of Suncorp's growth aspirations, such a rapidly evolving landscape, and I trust I will have your support from my nomination to the Board. Thank you.

Details of direct votes and proxies lodged prior to the AGM in relation to David's election now appear on the screen. Belinda, did we have any questions received in advance related to 2 days reelection?

Thank you, Chairman. We have received a question in advance from a shareholder, Mr. Natasha Lee, who asks, while you have almost achieved your target of 40% women on the board, Overall, the Board seems lacking in other forms of diversity, and the focus should be not only on women on the Board, but having a board that better reflects the diversity of the community. Will the Board commit to ensuring greater diversity on Board.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. I think you can see that we have a track record of commitment to diversity. So perhaps given that I'm vacating the chair, I might give the incoming Chair, Duncan West, an opportunity to comment on this. your personal commitments.

Thanks, Christine. Certainly, I and the Board acknowledge that diversity extends beyond gender and includes a broad spectrum of attributes such as cultural background, age, and professional experience. Suncorp has a strong and long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion, both at Board level and across the organization, and this is something [indiscernible]. While gender balance remains a key focus reflected in our current female representative -- representation on the board and in senior leadership roles, we also recognize the importance of broader diversity in shaping effective governance and decision-making. Board renewal, as we've mentioned earlier, is an ongoing process, and the appointment of future directors requires consideration of a range of factors to ensure that the collective composition of the Board is balanced with appropriate skills to effectively govern management's execution of Suncorp's strategic priorities.

Thanks, Duncan. Next question, please, Belinda.

Thank you, Chairman. Shareholder, Mr. Stuart Campbell asks, given the reduction in activities now transacted by Suncorp following the sale of the Banking and Life businesses, how does the Board support the current level of Board members and [indiscernible] the increased quantum direct to fees being paid Surely reduced size business requires less oversight and governance.

Thanks, Mr. Campbell. I think I did address this question earlier, but just to reconfirm that Suncorp has undergone a significant transformation journey over the past 5 years. But the environment we continue to operate in has significantly grown in complexity, from both an operating and a regulatory perspective. And this has added to the Board's workload despite the divestments that yesterday, I chaired my 112th Board meeting of Suncorp. So in addition to the introduction of the financial accountability regime, which comes with an increase in personal accountability on directors in financial services, there are challenges in attracting suitably qualified directors into the financial services industry. So we must remain competitive on our fees. But I will highlight that our directors fees have remained unchanged since 2016, apart from the legislated increases in superannuation, although we did see an increase in the potential fee pool last year so that we could facilitate an orderly renewal. When we look at Board composition, we really look through the lens of what the issues that we're addressing at the time. And I think I mentioned this in my earlier answer. So thank you. Is there any more questions Belinda?

Thank you, Chairman. That concludes the questions received in advance for this item of business, and we can now move to questions in the room.

Luisa, microphone #2, Chairman, may I please introduce John Whittington, ASA, who is a proxy shareholder.

Madam Chair. The last one for your tenure.

Thank you. That's good. We want to these roles.

The earlier question is Lee sort of half took my first question, but I just wanted to clarify one thing is she suggested that gender diversity was a and not according to my calculations with the appointment of Mr. Whiteing, it no longer meets the 40% female target, and in fact, that's, we look for 40% female and 40% male. And we feel our departure is going to get worse. So certainly, I appreciate Mr. West's comments, and we'll be holding him to go in the future with keeping gender and other diversity move forward.

Thanks, Mr. Whittington, and I can assure you, this entire Board is committed to ensuring that we maintain diversity. We've got 2 searches that are currently in the market at the moment, and we will ensure that we -- by the time we're sitting in front of you at next year's AGM, we have achieved the back of the 40% target.

Okay. Madam Chair, it seems that this...

That was my last question.

Well, my last time you last time?

How many [indiscernible].

Madam Chair, it seems that Mr. Whiteing has not yet shares and Ms. Brown has not added to the taken shareholding she had last year. We would encourage both to increase their stake in the company earlier rather than leave it to the last minute. And if the company's growth prospects, as Head as described in the annual report, it would be better financially for them to do so sooner rather than later.

Well, Mr. Whittington, as I discussed with you when we met, our directors have up to 4 years to satisfy the minimum shareholding requirements. And David joined the Board in February and Gillian has only been here for, I think, coming up 2 years. But the, to prescribe when people have to buy shares makes an assumption about two things. One is whether there's any sensitive information that they're privy to and they're precluded from trading. And the second is personal circumstances. So our view is that it provided the director to satisfy the requirement within the 4 years from the October following their appointment and comply with our requirement, which is equivalent to 100% of their base net fee then that is [indiscernible].

I wasn't suggesting you prescribed when they buy, I was just encouraging them to do so sooner rather than later.

I suspect they've got their own financial plan, but thanks. Other questions in the room?

We've just got one more from the floor. Chairman, may I please introduce Rob [indiscernible], who was a shareholder.

Thanks, Mr. [indiscernible]. Now we're not -- we're now talking about the [indiscernible]. have missed a David Yes, yes, yes.

I'd like to put my position in first about how I feel about technology. I personally don't trust it. And I see values in it like on the reliance on this and from Internet point of view, the advertising and stuff like that. But I don't have faith, I don't I'm pretty well -- I know a bit about technology because I used to sort of work in that area. And like a lot of mentioned at last slide, previously when technology was introduced, it never relied it gained efficiency internally. It never relied on [indiscernible] profit from the consumer. And what I wanted to say is, I notice you -- it says that your forward thinking. What do you think of this plain thing, and then they ask people to vote.

That's a different question to a technology question.

Well, it is but technology because I made inquiries we've computed share and it market, and they said that I can interface [indiscernible] the fire you here. I think I mentioned it about 2 years ago to you, and all we need is for them to sit on a panel and there's no need for you people to know the votes at all. And when you put up your display, they can interface with the display devote, the only concession, I believe, when it comes with the resolution is possibly you need updated information during a merger and takeover. So I'll ask him whether David agrees that have the skill, the technology to do that.

I might answer the question if I can because David is incredibly notable and experience in technology, but just the issue with the display of the votes. It's actually best practice now, as Mr. Mayne pointed out before.

You people are pushing technology on the consumers and everyone and I'm trying to push technology on new people to use all the functionality that's available.

And we get the data that's put up, it's verified. So the data that's put up is for the benefit of shareholders in the room to know that those shareholders -- how those shareholders and proxyholders who are not in the room have voted. And the other thing with technology, Mr. Pelgic is we now have 549 people online participating in this AGM and that's 549 people who presumably couldn't travel to Brisbane. So this is something that valued by many of our shareholders.

I'll go along with that technology. But I'm tired, as far as I can for my better research on the technology capability, there is no need anymore for you people to be updated regularly during voting system. On my understanding, what I've researched is that you can bring up the register company and ask them how the votes are coming in. And then it just improves transparency because from what I can understand, you can ring up someone and say, please change your vote [indiscernible] going along as we were hoping to. Like I said, I'll make a concession for mergers and takeovers because you need to have a bit of an idea. So do you...

I would just note your comments, Mr. Pelgic.

I'll ask that. Do you agree that we have the technology to do what I suggested today but on [indiscernible].

We have the technology. On how we use the technology is really a decision for the Board, and we note your comments.

So you do like transparency, better transparency.

I think we are incredibly transparent. That's why we're putting the votes up, and they are all of the numbers are verified by our registry. Thank you.

Thank you, Chairman. I can confirm that there are no online or phone questions for this item of business.

Thank you, Belinda. As that addresses all questions and comments on David's election, would you please now vote using the voting card in the online portal, the Vote+ app or your paper voting card? Details of direct votes and proxies lodged prior to the AGM in relation to David's election are now showing somewhat controversially seems on the screen. Taking into account the direct and proxy vote shown on the screen and the total from of shares being voted today, it appears this resolution will be passed. Congratulations, David. I'll now move to the reelection of Ian Hammond. As I mentioned earlier, Ian has extensive knowledge of financial services industry and expertise in financial reporting and risk management. I'd particularly like to acknowledge his significant contribution as Chair of the Audit Committee. During his tenure, Ian has played a crucial role in the sale of Suncorp Bank in New Zealand Life, the business interruption response post-COVID and the introduction of IFRS 17. More detail is set out in the notice of meeting. Ian joined your Board in 2018, and he is seeking reelection for his third and final term. I and Ian's fellow directors are fully supportive of him standing for reelection today. I'll now invite Ian to speak about his experience and continued commitment to Suncorp.

Thank you, Chairman, and good afternoon, hello, shareholders. Thank you for participating in the meeting. It has been a privilege to serve you since joining Suncorp's Board in 2018. And with my -- the support of my fellow directors, I'm pleased to offer myself for reelection for another term. I am both a shareholder and a customer of Suncorp, and I believe I make a valuable contribution through my extensive experience in financial services industry [indiscernible] in financial and risk management. As Christine said, I'm currently the Chairman of the Board's Audit Committee and a member of the Risk Committee. I have spent a significant proportion of my career providing assurance and advisory services to a large number of Australian and international insurance companies, particularly during the 26 years I spent as a partner of PwC, which included leading the audit of some of Australia's largest financial institutions. I have also held a number of non-executive director roles on the boards of both large ASX-listed companies as well as community organizations, exposing me to a broad range of perspectives across a diverse group of stakeholders. I am privileged to Chair Mission Australia, a role brings me closer to the everyday challenges being faced by some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable members of our communities. Through the delivery of major social housing projects right across Australia, I'm also afforded key insights into the construction, home repair and home maintenance industries, which are important parts of Suncorp's supply chain, particularly as we support customers impacted by extreme weather. I'm only too aware of the critical nature of this work having visited Suncorp's customers, for example, in Brisbane and the Gold Coast impacted by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred outfit. Looking ahead, I am encouraged by the customer focus of Suncorp's strategy, which at its core aims to address the complex challenges of insurance affordability and accessibility. The measured adoption of technology will underpin Suncorp's future, and it is a responsibility, I don't take lightly as a member of your Board. On that front, I am keen I have a keen interest in digital and technology trends and spend considerable time both here and abroad gaining contemporary insights on advancements in this space. I look forward to continuing to serve you, our shareholders and would appreciate your support today.

Thank you, Ian. I'll now put up the details of direct votes and proxies lodged prior to the AGM in relation to Ian's reelection, and you should now see them on the screen. Would any shareholder here in Brisbane, who wishes to ask a question on this resolution, please move to the nearest microphone? We have no questions in the room, Belinda on Ian's reelection. Do we have any questions on this resolution online or via the phone line?

Thank you, Chairman. We have no questions on the phone line. However, we have received a question via the online platform. The question comes from shareholder, Mr. Stephen Mayne. Ian Hammond have an reelection question. I am puzzled. While there was a modest 7.9% vote against in Hammond's reelections, which were commendably disclosed early. So such a question can be asked. Did one of the proxy advisers recommend gains reelection. And if so, what grounds did their site? Did Ian or the chair engage directly with any of the owners of the $1 billion-plus worth of shares, which are voted against his reelection today in order to understand their concerns and persuade them to change their vote?

Thank you, Mr. Mayne. All proxy advisers recommended voting for the reelection Ian Hammond, with almost 92% voting in favor, which is a resounding positive. And as I mentioned earlier, Ian has been an effective and committed director for Suncorp and conducts himself with the utmost professionalism. He's chaired the Audit Committee through a challenging period. One of the earlier questions today when I talk through the various simplification steps that we've gone through, Ian at the helm with the Audit Committee has been extraordinary. The small number of votes against were for a variety of reasons. And we do meet with all institutional share -- or we may offer to meet with many institutional shareholders ahead of the AGM. And where -- we don't seek to influence how investors vote, but we're giving investors the opportunity to ask questions as we indeed do with the Australian Shareholders' Association. Thank you.

Thank you, Chairman. That concludes the questions received by the online platform for this item of business.

Thanks, Belinda. As that addresses all the questions and comments on Ian's reelection. Would you please now vote using the online voting card in the online portal, the Vote+ App or your paper voting card. Details of direct votes and proxies lodged prior to the AGM in relation to Ian's reelection again shown on the screen. Taking into account the direct and proxy votes shown on the screen and the total number of shares being voted here today, it appears this resolution will be passed. Congratulations, Ian and thank you for joining [indiscernible]. The final item of business, getting close to lunch, is to consider the reelection of Sally Herman. As I mentioned, when introducing Sally, she brings to Suncorp strong expertise in running retail banking and insurance products, setting strategy for financial services businesses and working customers, shareholders, regulators and government. Sally has been a director since 2015, was Chairman of the Risk Committee for 6 years and chaired Suncorp's Board Customer Committee when it was first established. Sally has invaluable corporate memory of the Board's deliberations and has been a tireless contribution to our Board and committee discussions. The Board and I can attest that she can conduct herself with clear independence of judgment. Sally is seeking reelection for her fourth and final term to facilitate measured Board renewal which, as I mentioned earlier, is extremely important. I and Sally's fellow directors are delighted to support her reelection and delighted that she has agreed to stand. Sally, I'll now invite you to speak to your commitment to Suncorp.

Good afternoon, fellow shareholders. It's an honor to stand before you today seeking your continued support for my reelection at the Suncorp Group Board of Directors for as the Chair says my final term. Since joining the Board in October 2015, I've been privileged to serve our shareholders to one of the most transformative periods in our history. As part of a dedicated trans-Tasman insurer, I am more committed than ever to helping to guide this organization to continue to deliver sustainable long-term value creation. As the Chair said, I'm a current member of the Risk Committee and until the end of 2023, I had the privilege of chairing that committee during a period of unprecedented challenge and change. In this role, I oversaw the risk management framework that guided us through the successful bank sale completion and the effective management of the transitional arrangements, major natural hazard events, including the devastating 2022 East Coast floods and subsequent extreme weather events, where strong risk management was critical to supporting our customers and communities. Our evolving regulatory landscape and rapidly changing digital environment, including strengthening our cybersecurity and defense against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. And our approach to climate change adaptation, integrating climate risk considerations into our strategic planning and operational frameworks. I do bring to Suncorp deep expertise gained over more than 3 decades in financial services, including over 15 years Board experience in financial services organizations with a particular focus on governance, regulation and compliance. 16 years with the Westpac Group, where I ran large business units across institutional and retail banking, wealth management and insurance and also executive experience in Australia and the United States which provided me with very diverse perspectives on financial services markets and exposure to leading complex transformations and navigating crisis periods, including the global financial crisis. I do believe this experience supports my reelection and importantly, enables me to continue to provide continuity on the Board while we undertake Board renewal that the Chairman has talked about. This will ensure that your company maintains the highest standards of governance and strategy oversight as we execute our strategic plan. I want to take a moment to thank Christine McLoughlin for her outstanding leadership of the Suncorp Board. She is the person of the highest integrity and with a deep commitment to our shareholders, employees and customers. She's led by example, always going into communities affected by natural disasters to support both our customers and the Suncorp team on the ground. On a personal note, I have loved working with Christine and wish her every success.

Thank You, Sally.

I am energized by the opportunities ahead and we'll be honored to continue to serve shareholders in the next chapter for Suncorp. Thank you for your confidence, and I respectfully ask for your vote.

Thank you, Sally, and thank you also for your very generous kind words. Details of direct votes and proxies lodged prior to the AGM in relation to Sally's reelection, now appear on the screen. Would any shareholder here in Brisbane, who wishes to ask a question on this resolution? Now I move to the nearest microphone. Belinda, that appears to show there are no questions in the room. So do we have any questions on this resolution online or via the phone?

Thank you, Chairman. We have no questions on the phone, but we do have an online question received. It comes from shareholder, Mr. Stephen Mayne. Sally Herman is the nominee director of our investments on the Breville Board. Could Sally, please comment whether she's in regrets about the way she and her colleagues on the Premier Board played the Myer situation as it all went to a pear shape at Myer this week? Please do so we can only talk about Suncorp matters today. Director CVs matter for shareholders, particularly given the index investing in compulsory super forces, millions of Australians to be exposed to the performance of all ASX 200 directors.

Thanks, Mr. Mayne, and I am going to disappoint you because it is totally inappropriate at a Suncorp Annual General Meeting with Suncorp shareholders to quote on the deliberations or actions of other companies. So please ensure decisions are relevant to Suncorp. Are there other questions online?

Chairman, that concludes the questions received via the online platform for this item of business.

That addresses all of the questions and comments on Sally's reelection. No, I'm sorry. No microphone #1, who we got [indiscernible].

I've been very surprised.

Sorry, what is your name?

I'm Anna Day.

Anna Day. Thank you, Anna.

And your former journalist, now retired. But what I've really noticed here is a brilliant women here and is really extraordinary for me to see I don't know why Suncorp has been getting these people on television so that the world knows that women can have these high positions. Is there a policy in the company not to put the women on Board?

No. Ms. Day is not a policy in the company. I think the, we don't actually see it as the role of the Board to be putting ourselves on television. That's the role of the CEO and the leadership team.

So therefore, CEO.

Well, I think there's a number of them in the front row there.

And they're quite often on the television. But no, it is, Suncorp us have a very strong cohort of women on the Board, in the leadership team and in fact, across our operations. Whenever I'm visiting teams on the ground is disasters, we're always very well represented by our [indiscernible]. Thank you. So I think that's all the questions on Sally's reelection. So please now vote using the voting card in the online portal, the Vote+ app or your paper voting card. Details of direct votes and proxies lows prior to the AGM in relation to Sally's reelection are again shown on the screen. Taking into account the direct and proxy vote shown on the ring and the total number of shares being voted today, it appears this resolution will be passed. Congratulations and thank you, Sally sir. So I can now confirm that a total of 553 shareholders, proxyholders and other attendees joined us today throughout today's proceedings. So thank you for taking the time to do that because that really reinforces the value you see in AGMs. Do we have any shareholder questions that have not been addressed during the meeting?

Chairman, I can confirm there are no further questions or comments to be addressed during this meeting.

So that concludes the business of the meeting. The poll will remain open for a further 5 minutes to enable you to complete and submit your online or paper voting card. And if you're here in Brisbane and need assistance with your voting card, please see one of the team members. And if you're online and need assistance, please contact the share registry's online AGM support team on 800-990363. Once the share registry has counted the cast during the meeting, the results of the poll will be announced via the ASX later today and will also be available on the Suncorp website. A replay of today's AGM and webcast will also be available on our webcast -- website. I would now like to invite Duncan West to make some brief comments as Chairman Elect, and then we'll all go and have a cup of tea.

Thank you, Chairman, and good afternoon, everyone. I'm very conscious that I stand between you and the very fine [indiscernible] rolls outside. So I will keep this pretty short. It's a pleasure to be with you here and have the opportunity to address you as the incoming Chairman of Suncorp. As our proudly Queensland-based company with a strong retail shareholder footprint in this state, I would like to extend a special thank you to our Queensland-based shareholders, including those here today in the room. We value your loyalty. It is an enormous privilege to be taking on this position at such an important time for Suncorp. As a member of the Suncorp Board since 2021, I have been at Suncorp's material transformation journey to date. And I am enthusiastic about the opportunities that lie ahead for Suncorp in our new chapter as a stand-alone trans-Tasman general insurer. Having worked in financial services, including the insurance industry for more than 40 years, I deeply understand the critical importance of insurance to the economy and our communities, and the vital role sunk in supporting our customers when the unexpected happens. As you heard through the Chairman and CEO addresses earlier, Suncorp is well positioned to build on its exceptionally strong foundations to drive further momentum and efficiencies and deliver the benefits of being a profitable, well capitalized and customer-focused business that can invest in the future and create value for all our stakeholders across the Tasman. Importantly, this position also provides us an enhanced ability to address some of the very real challenges our customers, communities and the industry continue to face when it comes to insurance affordability and accessibility and the impacts of climate change. These urgent issues are at the core of our strategy and will remain a priority for your Board together with our executive leadership team and bring through our advocacy with government, regulators, the industry and communities. On a personal level, I am committed to serve you, our shareholders and have taken steps to ensure that I have the time and capacity to give the role the attention it deserves. I'm also very appreciative of our important Queensland heritage and the commitments we have made to the Queensland government and wider community. And with my Board colleagues, Steve Johnston and his team, we will continue to respect this. Finally, I would like to join the CEO and my Board colleagues in acknowledging the significant contribution of our outgoing Chairman, Christine McLoughlin. On behalf of my fellow directors and all shareholders, Christine, thank you for your leadership and dedication to Suncorp. Under your stewardship, and together with our CEO, you have led Suncorp through periods of unprecedented challenges and supported the company's evolution in line with changing customer and community expectations and fast-paced workforce and technological changes. Importantly, this has been done with a deep consideration for all our stakeholders. I look forward to building on your legacy and those before you with a focus on driving long-term sustainable growth and shareholder value through the delivery of positive outcomes for our customers and communities across Australia and New Zealand. Thank you, and I hope to meet as many of you as possible following the conclusion of the meeting. With that, I'll now hand back to the Chairman.

Thank you, Duncan. As that now concludes the business of the meeting. I declare the meeting closed. And I'd like to take this final opportunity to thank all of you, our shareholders, for your support. It's been a great privilege to serve on your Board or past decade, including as your Chairman for 7 years. I wish Duncan Steve and the Board well as they guide Suncorp through its next chapter. And I will continue to be a shareholder and a customer. For those of you here at the physical AGM in Brisbane, lot refreshments will be available in the foyer, and all of your Board and leadership team will come out and have an opportunity to ask further questions and just -- we'll just say hello. So thank you so much for taking the time to come in and join us today for this important meeting. Goodbye.