Home > Woodside AGM 2026: HESTA steps up, Aware Super backslides

Woodside AGM 2026: HESTA steps up, Aware Super backslides

5 May 2026

Woodside Energy, Australia’s biggest oil and gas company and renowned climate wrecker, held its annual general meeting (AGM) on 23 April.

As usual, the company couldn’t escape scrutiny for its dangerous oil and gas expansion plans, from a significant rally outside the AGM venue to several protestors causing disruptions inside the meeting room.

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But when it comes to major investor votes, two particular investors stand out: HESTA and Aware Super.

HESTA

In good news, HESTA took a positive step forward this year by publishing a statement scrutinising Woodside’s oil and gas expansion strategy! The fund noted that:

Woodside’s current strategy does not adequately mitigate the climate risk posed by its focus on oil and gas expansion.
It would like to see Woodside’s board challenge the assumptions underpinning the company’s oil and gas growth-focused strategy.
It doesn’t believe the board’s sustainability committee has the necessary skills to deliver a more ambitious climate transition approach.

To back this commentary up, HESTA also voted against the re-election of two members on the board’s sustainability committee, as well as against CEO bonuses and executive pay arrangements.

HESTA members: thank your fund and request greater action!

Take action!

Thank HESTA and request greater action.

Submit a complaint to AustralianSuper and demand a clear stance against Woodside’s oil and gas expansion plans.

Submit a complaint to Aware Super and demand a clear stance against Woodside’s oil and gas expansion plans.

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Your message to HESTA

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Your message

Please feel free to personalise the message! Let ANZ know if you are a customer or shareholder.

To HESTA,

I’m getting in touch to thank HESTA for publicly scrutinising Woodside’s oil and gas expansion-focused strategy.[1]
As the expansion of the fossil fuel sector accelerates the climate crisis, we urgently need more major investors taking a stance against the dangerous coal, oil and gas growth plans of portfolio companies.

HESTA is the largest Australian super fund to publicly scrutinise Woodside’s focus on oil and gas growth and has set a baseline example for others to follow and improve on. But there is more work to be done.

I would like to request that HESTA takes its recent commentary further by:

1. Citing the risks posed by, and calling for an end to, Woodside’s specific gas growth projects—such as the Browse LNG export project—in future public commentary on the company.

2. Publishing a clear, time-bound escalation pathway for raising further pressure on Woodside to end its oil and gas expansion plans.

We need more investors bringing their engagements with fossil fuel companies out from behind closed doors and into the public domain if we are to see stewardship efforts drive real-world emissions reduction from these major polluters. 
Fossil fuel producers and their financial backers’ culpability for the climate crisis will only increase while those companies continue to expand production.

I call on HESTA to demonstrate climate leadership by taking the further steps requested above.

[1] https://www.hesta.com.au/about-us/media-centre/statement-woodside-agm-april-2026

Sincerely,

Your message to Aware Super

Subject

Your message

Please feel free to personalise the message! Let CommBank know if you are a customer or shareholder.

To Aware Super,

As a member, I am writing to submit a formal complaint about Aware Super backsliding on its climate-related stewardship efforts at Woodside. I demand an explanation for this.

I understand that Aware Super voted for all director re-elections at Woodside this year.[1] This is despite having voted against the re-election of multiple key board directors between 2023 and 2025, to voice the fund’s “dissatisfaction” with Woodside’s climate strategy and signal “…displeasure over the company's efforts to cut emissions.”[2] [3]

This is the first time since 2022 that Aware Super hasn’t sought board accountability through binding director votes at Woodside.[4]

Aware Super must disclose its rationale for backing off pressure and supporting the re-election of four directors on Woodside’s sustainability committee this year, despite no material progress from the company towards delivering a Paris-aligned climate transition plan.

By weakening its public scrutiny of Woodside’s board, Aware Super has backpedalled on climate action and sent confusing signals about its stewardship of major polluters.

Aware Super must now demonstrate its climate commitments are more than greenwash by taking a clear stance against Woodside’s dangerous oil and gas expansion plans, following HESTA’s recent scrutiny of the company’s strategy.[5]

Fossil fuel producers like Woodside and their financial backers’ culpability for the climate crisis will only increase while those companies continue to expand production.

To resolve my complaint, I demand that Aware Super:

1. Publishes its rationale for backing off pressure and supporting the re-election of all Woodside board directors this year.

2. Publishes a clear position against Woodside’s oil and gas growth-focused strategy, with specific reference to the risks posed by projects such as the Browse LNG export project.

I expect Aware Super to resolve my complaint within one week.

[1] https://viewpoint.glasslewis.com/WD/MeetingDetail/?siteId=Aware_Super_Voting&securityId=30700

[2] https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/australia-s-biggest-gas-company-roasted-for-emissions-failure-20250508-p5lxld.html

[3] https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/australian-pension-major-votes-against-woodside-chair-climate-plan-ahead-agm-2024-04-22/

[4] https://aware.com.au/content/dam/aware/au/en/documents/member/governance/voting-summaries/Aware-Super-SP-FY22-Q4.pdf

[5] https://www.hesta.com.au/about-us/media-centre/statement-woodside-agm-april-2026

Sincerely,

Your message to AustralianSuper

Subject

Your message

Please feel free to personalise the message! Let NAB know if you are a customer or shareholder.

To AustralianSuper,

As a member, I am writing to submit a formal complaint about AustralianSuper’s failure to take effective climate-related stewardship escalation steps at Woodside.

I understand that AustralianSuper has supported the re-election of all Woodside board directors since 2023, including members of the sustainability committee.[1] This includes director re-elections this year.[2]

During this time, Woodside has consistently failed to deliver a Paris-aligned climate transition plan, even in the face of significant investor backlash. Instead, the company has continued aiming its business in the opposite direction by approving several new oil and gas projects and progressing others.

AustralianSuper voted against Woodside’s climate strategy in 2022 and 2024, but has since failed to take escalation steps beyond these non-binding advisory votes. By not demanding board accountability for Woodside’s ongoing failure to address investors’ concerns about climate risk management, AustralianSuper is tacitly endorsing this company’s strategy which is undermining the clean energy transition.

This conflicts with AustralianSuper’s stated support for the Paris climate goals and the fund’s duty to manage long-term material financial risks, such as climate risk. Fossil fuel producers like Woodside and their financial backers’ culpability for the climate crisis will only increase while those companies continue to expand production.

To resolve my complaint, I demand that AustralianSuper:

1. Publishes its rationale for supporting each board director’s re-election at Woodside since 2023.

2. Publishes a clear position against Woodside’s oil and gas growth-focused strategy, with specific reference to the risks posed by projects such as the Browse LNG export project.

I expect AustralianSuper to resolve my complaint within one week.

[1] https://www.australiansuper.com/investments/how-we-invest/esg-management#voting-records

[2] https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/australian-pension-fund-votes-against-woodside-ceos-pay-package-2026-04-23/

Sincerely,

Yes, I want to hear more from Market Forces about this campaign

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TOOK ACTION: Super – Woodside AGM – HESTA Aware Super AustralianSuper – Apr 2026

Aware Super

In worse news, Aware Super took a major step backwards by voting for all director re-elections at Woodside this year. This is despite having voted against the re-election of multiple key board directors between 2023 and 2025, to voice its “dissatisfaction” with Woodside’s climate strategy and signal “…displeasure over the company’s efforts to cut emissions.”

This is the first time since 2022 that Aware Super hasn’t sought board accountability through binding director votes at Woodside.

Aware Super has not disclosed a rationale for why it backed off pressure and supported the re-election of four directors on the sustainability committee this year, despite no material progress from Woodside towards delivering a Paris-aligned climate transition plan.

By weakening its public scrutiny of Woodside’s board, Aware Super has backpedalled on climate action and sent confusing signals about its stewardship of major polluters.

Aware Super must demonstrate its climate commitments are more than greenwash by taking a clear stance against Woodside’s dangerous oil and gas expansion plans.

Aware Super members: submit a complaint to your fund and demand a clear stance against Woodside’s oil and gas expansion plans.

AustralianSuper

A blog post about investor votes at Woodside wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the company’s second largest shareholder and perennial climate laggard, AustralianSuper.

An AustralianSuper spokesperson told Reuters that the fund had “voted in favour of the CEO’s share grant and the non-executive directors” at Woodside’s AGM this year. This should come as no surprise, given AustralianSuper’s unwavering support for Woodside’s board director re-elections over the years: but it’s not good enough.

AustralianSuper is responsible for the retirement savings of millions of Australians and has a duty to manage the long-term risks posed by climate change. This means using its position as a major investor to demand and deliver an end to new and expanded fossil fuel projects pursued by investee companies, such as Woodside’s Browse liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project.

AustralianSuper members: submit a complaint to your fund and demand a clear stance against Woodside’s oil and gas expansion plans.

Take action: contact your fund!

Take action!

Protestors outside Woodside’s 2026 annual general meting. Image credit: Marnie Richardson.

Tags:AGM,annual general meeting,AustralianSuper,Aware Super,climate change,climate governance,greenwashing,hesta,investor stewardship,superannuation,Woodside