COVID-19 Early release of super report (20 April–31 December 2020)
Eligible individuals financially impacted by COVID-19 were able to apply online through myGov between 20 April 2020 and 31 December 2020 to access:
- up to $10,000 of their super during the 2019–20 financial year, and
- up to $10,000 of their super again between 1 July and 31 December 2020.
Eligible temporary residents were able to access up to $10,000 of their super in 2019–20 only.
This page provides data on applications received during the 20 April – 31 December 2020 program.
You can download a printable version of this information: COVID-19 Early release of super program report (20 April – 31 December 2020) (PDF, 805KB)This link will download a file
Total applications
Between 20 April 2020 and 31 December 2020, we received 4.78 million applications – totalling $39.2 billion of super requested for early release.
We approved 4.55 million applications for 3.05 million people, totalling $37.8 billion of super requested for early release.
We rejected or cancelled 232,000 applications, amounting to $1.4 billion.
Amounts approved for release by the ATO may differ to amounts released by super funds. This is because super funds only released amounts available in the super fund account. For example, if a person requested $10,000 and only had $7,000 in their super fund account, the super fund only released $7,000.
Applications were rejected if a person attempted to submit more than one application in the same financial year. Applications may have been suspended where errors were made. In some cases, these applications were later cancelled, rejected or approved.
Find out about:
Applications by financial year
- 954,000 people applied for early release of super in the 2019–20 financial year only (between 20 April and 30 June 2020).
- 604,000 people applied for early release of super in the 2020–21 financial year only (between 1 July and 31 December 2020).
- 1,495,300 people applied for early release of super in both financial years (between 20 April and 31 December 2020).
Requests by fund type
APRA funds
There were 4.5 million approved applications to release super from Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) regulated super funds, totalling $37.4 billion.
SMSFs
There were 40,000 approved applications to release super from self-managed super funds (SMSFs), totalling $395 million.
Applicants could request release of super from up to five funds in one application, up to the $10,000 limit each financial year.
Applicants by gender
Male:
- Of all approved applications, 2.6 million (56%) were from males.
- The approved amount for release for male applicants was $21,900 million.
Female:
- Of all approved applications, 2.0 million (44%) were from females.
- The approved amount for release for female applicants was $15,915 million.
Unspecified:
- Around 460 approved applications (less than 1%) were from people who didn't specify their gender.
- The total approved amount for release was $1.6 million.
Applicants by state and territory
The following table shows the percentage and number of applicants approved based on state or territory.
Table 1: Approved applicants by state and territory
State or territory
|
Percentage (%)
|
Number of
approved
applicants
|
NSW
|
30
|
1,349,000
|
QLD
|
26
|
1,165,000
|
VIC
|
23
|
1,027,000
|
WA
|
11
|
519,000
|
SA
|
5
|
250,000
|
TAS
|
2
|
88,000
|
NT
|
1
|
62,000
|
ACT
|
1
|
42,000
|
Unknown
|
1
|
47,000
|
Applicants by income range
Tables 2 and 3 show the number of approved applicants by income range for each financial year.
Table 2: Approved applicants by income range, 2019–20 financial year
Income range
|
Percentage (%)
|
Number of
approved
applicants
|
0 or less
|
2
|
42,700
|
$1 – $18,200
|
12
|
294,400
|
$18,201 – $37,000
|
25
|
605,200
|
$37,001 – $90,000
|
46
|
1,128,300
|
$90,001 – $180,000
|
9
|
221,100
|
Over $180,000
|
1
|
20,900
|
Unknown
|
5
|
140,500
|
Table 3: Approved applicants by income range, 2020–21 financial year
Income range
|
Percentage (%)
|
Number of
approved
applicants
|
0 or less
|
2
|
37,800
|
$1 – $18,200
|
10
|
202,900
|
$18,201 – $45,000
|
31
|
652,600
|
$45,001 –$120,000
|
43
|
911,100
|
$120,001 – $180,000
|
4
|
75,100
|
Over $180,000
|
1
|
18,900
|
Unknown
|
9
|
196,700
|
Applicants by request category
The following tables show the percentage of approved applicants in each request category, and the dollar value of approved applications for residents and non-residents.
Table 4: Residents, 20 April–31 December 2020
Request category
|
Approved
applications
percentage (%)
|
Total approved
amount for release ($m)
|
Had a reduction in working hours
|
44
|
18,135
|
Unemployed
|
19
|
6,880
|
Eligible for government benefit
|
18
|
6,645
|
Sole trader – significant reduction in turnover
|
7
|
2,980
|
Been made redundant
|
3
|
1,025
|
Sole trader – suspended operation
|
1
|
455
|
Eligible for youth allowance
|
1
|
150
|
Eligible for farm household allowance
|
0
|
60
|
Table 5: Non-residents, 20 April – 31 December 2020
Request category
|
Approved
applications
percentage (%)
|
Total approved
amount for release ($m)
|
Other temporary resident visa holders who cannot meet immediate living expenses
|
3
|
665
|
Held a student visa for 12 months or more
|
3
|
505
|
Temporary skilled work visa holder
|
1
|
320
|
Applications by month and by age
The following table shows the number of approved applications by month and age.
Table 6: Monthly applications by age
Age
|
April 2020
|
May 2020
|
June 2020
|
July 2020
|
Aug 2020
|
Sept 2020
|
Oct 2020
|
Nov 2020
|
Dec 2020
|
20 years
or under
|
7,000
|
9,700
|
6,800
|
10,300
|
3,100
|
2,300
|
1,900
|
1,700
|
1,700
|
21–25 years
|
100,600
|
100,600
|
60,600
|
98,900
|
22,700
|
15,000
|
10,500
|
9,300
|
9,200
|
26–30 years
|
188,800
|
163,800
|
96,700
|
199,000
|
34,600
|
21,900
|
13,700
|
12,100
|
12,700
|
31–35 years
|
186,000
|
156,100
|
95,700
|
243,000
|
39,000
|
24,300
|
14,900
|
13,000
|
14,700
|
36–40 years
|
152,800
|
128,900
|
83,900
|
231,400
|
37,000
|
23,100
|
13,800
|
12,300
|
14,800
|
41–45 years
|
114,800
|
98,500
|
68,600
|
190,500
|
31,200
|
19,900
|
11,600
|
10,300
|
12,900
|
46–50 years
|
101,600
|
88,300
|
64,700
|
178,700
|
30,300
|
19,200
|
10,700
|
10,000
|
12,800
|
51–55 years
|
78,300
|
69,100
|
51,700
|
139,500
|
25,000
|
16,000
|
9,100
|
8,100
|
10,900
|
56–60 years
|
50,300
|
46,300
|
36,100
|
88,700
|
18,100
|
11,600
|
6,600
|
6,000
|
8,400
|
61–65 years
|
13,800
|
15,400
|
13,000
|
24,100
|
6,300
|
4,300
|
2,500
|
2,400
|
3,200
|
66–70 years
|
1,100
|
1,500
|
1,400
|
1,800
|
600
|
400
|
200
|
200
|
300
|
71 years and over
|
200
|
300
|
200
|
300
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
0
|
100
|
Monthly approvals and accumulated value
The following table shows the number of application approvals and accumulated dollar value by month.
Table 7: Monthly approvals and accumulated value
Month
|
Number of
approvals
|
Accumulated
amount for
release ($b)
|
April 2020
|
995,400
|
8
|
May 2020
|
878,400
|
15
|
June 2020
|
579,400
|
20
|
July 2020
|
1,399,600
|
32
|
August 2020
|
254,600
|
34
|
September 2020
|
154,000
|
36
|
October 2020
|
99,700
|
36
|
November 2020
|
85,400
|
37
|
December 2020
|
101,700
|
38
|
Data overview for COVID-19 early release of super applications received between 20 April and 31 December 2020.