COVID-19 early release of super – interim report: 2019–20 applications
In the 2019–20 financial year, eligible individuals adversely financially affected by COVID-19 were able to apply to access up to $10,000 of their superannuation early, between 20 April 2020 and 30 June 2020.
This page provides interim data about applications received for this period.
You can download a printable version of this information in portable document format: COVID-19 early release of super interim report: 2019–20 applications (PDF, 749KB)This link will download a file
Interest in the program
The COVID-19 early release of super measure was announced as part of the government’s economic response to the coronavirus on 22 March 2020. Royal assent was received on 24 March 2020.
Prospective applicants were encouraged to register their interest in the program prior to applications opening on 20 April so they could be advised when the application form was available. 975,000 individuals registered their interest between 24 March 2020 and 19 April 2020.
See also:
Applications
Between 20 April 2020 and 30 June 2020, we received around 2.54 million applications – totalling $20.6 billion requested for early release from super.
From those applications, around:
- 2.45 million were approved – totalling $20.1 billion requested for early release from super
- 66,400 were rejected – totalling $420.7 million requested for early release from super.
- 19,000 were cancelled due to errors or because clients withdrew them.
Amounts approved for release by the ATO may differ to the amounts released by super funds. This is because super funds will only release amounts available in the super fund account. For example, if an individual requests $10,000 and they only have $7,000 in their super fund account, then the super fund will only release $7,000.
Rejected applications are where an individual has attempted to submit multiple applications in the same financial year. Applications may be suspended where errors have been made. In some cases, these are later cancelled, rejected or approved.
Find out about requests and applications by:
Requests by fund type
APRA funds
There were 2.7 million approved applications to release super from an Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) regulated super fund, totalling $19.9 billion.
SMSFs
There were 22,000 approved applications to release super from a self-managed super fund (SMSF), totalling $215 million.
Applicants could request release of super from up to five funds in one application.
Applicants by gender
Male:
- 1.4 million (56%) approved applications were from male applicants
- totalling $11.6 billion requested for early release from super.
Female:
- 1.1 million (44%) approved applications were from female applicants
- totalling $8.5 billion requested for early release from super.
Applicants by residency status
Residents:
- 87% of approved applicants were Australian residents
- totalling $18.6 billion requested for early release from super.
Non-residents:
- 13% of approved applicants were non-residents
- totalling $1.5 billion requested for early release from super.
Applicants by state and territory
The following table outlines the percentage and number of applicants approved for release based on the applicant's state or territory.
Table 1: Approved applicants by state and territory
State or territory
|
Percentage (%)
|
Number of approved applicants
|
NSW
|
30
|
738,000
|
QLD
|
25
|
617,000
|
VIC
|
23
|
557,000
|
WA
|
11
|
280,000
|
SA
|
5
|
130,000
|
TAS
|
1
|
48,000
|
NT
|
1
|
34,000
|
ACT
|
1
|
23,000
|
Unknown
|
1
|
26,000
|
Applicants by income range
The following table shows the number of approved applicants by income range.
Table 2: Approved applicants by income range
Income range
|
Percentage (%)
|
Number of approved applicants
|
0 or less
|
2
|
41,400
|
$1 – $18,200
|
12
|
289,600
|
$18,201 – $37,000
|
24
|
589,700
|
$37,001 – $90,000
|
45
|
1,113,400
|
$90,001 – $180,000
|
9
|
217,700
|
Over $180,000
|
1
|
21,500
|
Unknown
|
7
|
179,800
|
Applicants by request category
The following tables show the percentage of approved applicants in each request category, and the dollar value of the approved applications for residents and non-residents.
Table 3: Residents
Request category
|
Approved applications percentage (%)
|
Total of approved amounts for release ($m)
|
Had a reduction in working hours
|
42
|
9,385
|
Unemployed
|
17
|
3,435
|
Eligible for government benefit
|
17
|
3,390
|
Sole trader – significant reduction in turnover
|
7
|
1,560
|
Been made redundant
|
2
|
495
|
Sole trader – suspended operation
|
2
|
275
|
Eligible for youth allowance
|
1
|
80
|
Eligible for farm household allowance
|
0
|
30
|
Table 4: Non-residents
Request category
|
Approved applications percentage (%)
|
Total approved amount for release ($m)
|
Other temporary resident visa holders who cannot meet immediate living expenses
|
6
|
665
|
Had a student visa for 12 months or more
|
5
|
505
|
Temporary skilled work visa holder
|
2
|
320
|
Daily approvals and accumulated value
On 20 April 2020, at the start of the program, over 300,000 applications were approved. The daily approval number for 2019–20 trended downwards towards 30 June 2020 with averages of:
- 100,000 daily applications approved in April 2020 (20 April to 30 April)
- 40,000 daily applications approved in May 2020
- 26,000 daily applications approved in June 2020.
The accumulated value of applications grew through the period 20 April 2020 to 30 June 2020. At 30 June 2020, the accumulated value of super approved for release was $20.1 billion.
Data overview for COVID-19 early release of super applications we received between 20 April and 30 June 2020.