You must meet all conditions
We can only approve a release of your super if you meet all of the following conditions.
Condition 1 – You meet residency requirements
You are (or have been) a citizen or permanent resident of Australia or you are (or have been) a New Zealand citizen.
If you:
- are currently a temporary resident, you don't meet this condition and you're not eligible to apply. For more information, see Temporary residents and superannuation.
- were a temporary resident and you are not currently an Australian citizen or permanent resident or New Zealand citizen, you don't meet this condition and you're not eligible to apply. However, you may be eligible to be access your super through a Departing Australia superannuation payment.
Condition 2 – The expense is eligible
You meet the eligibility requirements of the compassionate expense that you’re applying for.
Condition 3 – The expense has not been paid or it was paid by borrowed money that has not been fully repaid
The expense for you or your dependant has not been paid or was paid by borrowing money that you have not yet fully paid back.
If you or your dependant have borrowed money to pay the expense, you:
- can only apply to repay part or all of any outstanding amounts of the amount borrowed which you're not able to repay without accessing your super.
- will need to provide extra documentation with your application.
Condition 4 – You can't pay some or all of the expense without accessing your super
Accessing your super early is a last resort that should only be considered after all other financing alternatives have been exhausted.
Before applying you need to consider all other options of paying the expense (in part or in full) to limit the impact on your super balance to only what is absolutely necessary. You may be asked to provide evidence of the alternative options you explored to pay for part or all of the expense.
Condition 5 – You have all required evidence
You must have evidence to support your claim for compassionate release of super.
This includes evidence of:
- eligible expenses
- the nature of the dependent relationship, if you're requesting access to pay expenses for another person
- the alternative options considered to pay for some or all of the expense
- borrowed amounts, including amounts not repaid, where you have borrowed money, obtained a loan, or used credit facilities to pay the expense.