Senator Jane Hume has slammed the spectacle within the superannuation sector and the conflicting views from executives and industry bodies, which she says is the most "frustrating" part of her job.

The Minister for Superannuation, Financial Services and the Digital Economy expressed her exasperation with the super industry's defiance in improving and modernising the system.

"[Every] single reform that we have proposed has been met with resistance. Indeed, superannuation has been proven to be the most frustratingly partisan sector of financial services," she told the recent Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) conference.

Many stakeholders prefer to "shout" about philosophy and legacy rather than work cohesively and propose practicable solutions.

Too often, Hume said, "the super industry lobbyist leviathan" have spoken with a megaphone on the floor of parliament opposing efficiency reforms.

Hume reminded the audience that the super industry is far from perfect and that pockets of underperformance in for-profit and profit-to-member funds exist.

Trustees may have complied with the law but haven't taken into account the next steps by asking whether they are truly delivering a sub-par outcome for members, she said. By way of example, duplicate accounts have proliferated while low-balance accounts were eroded by unnecessary insurance and high fees.

Refusing to fall into the trap of the "circus of characters and commentary", her focus is on what really matters, which is growing and protecting the retirement savings of Australians.

While she describes her relationship with superannuation funds as "amenable and positive", this is not the case with some industry bodies (which she did not name).

"Sometimes there is a disconnect between what I hear from the funds and what I hear from the industry bodies," she said.

Further, what Hume hears from chief executives and boards of funds and then reads something completely different in the newspapers.

"This is my greatest frustration," she said.

For someone like Hume, who has worked in financial institutions and industry super funds, covering policy, investment side, distribution, she would have hoped that her experience would help "make this really important policy area less partisan".

"We're not there yet but I'm very optimistic and hopeful that we'll make some good progress."