Release authorities - your obligations when you receive a release authority

What is a release authority?

A release authority is a document we give to an individual or their superannuation (super) fund when either:

• an individual must pay excess concessional or non-concessional contributions tax
• an individual has accepted a once-only offer from us to refund their excess concessional contribution.

When receiving a valid release authority, a super fund is authorised to release an amount from the member's super account according to the instructions contained in the release authority.

The release authority statement is the information a super fund must provide to both us and their member to confirm that they have released the member's money in accordance with the release authority.

The release authority statement is part of the release authority. Super funds can complete this statement or create a statement of their own, as long as it contains all the required information.

For more information about completing the release authority statement, refer to the instructions on the release authority.