Employees
Most employees are entitled to super contributions from their employer. You may be able to choose the fund it's paid into.
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Overview
If you’re an employee, you are typically entitled to compulsory superannuation (super) contributions from your employer. These super guarantee (SG) contributions must be a minimum amount based on the current super guarantee rate of your ordinary earnings, up to the ‘maximum contribution base’.
From 1 July 2022, you'll be entitled to super guarantee contributions regardless of how much you earn if you satisfy all other eligibility requirements.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re full time, part time or casual, or if you’re a temporary resident of Australia.
If you’re under 18 years old, you must also work more than 30 hours per week to be entitled to super contributions.
Prior to 1 July 2022, you needed to be paid $450 or more (before tax) in a month, in addition to meeting all other eligibility requirements, to be eligible.
Your employer is not required to make super contributions if you’re:
- paid to do work of a private or domestic nature for 30 hours or less each week
- a non-Australian resident and you’re paid to do work outside Australia
- an Australian resident paid by a non-resident employer for work done outside Australia
- a senior foreign executive on a certain class of visa
- temporarily working in Australia for an overseas employer and are covered by the super provisions of a bilateral social security agreement.
To work out if you’re eligible for super guarantee contributions use:
Choosing a super fund
Most people can choose the super fund they want their employer contributions paid into. You may also be able to choose how your savings are invested. Some fund investment strategies offer higher returns with higher risks, while others offer greater security for your money but with lower returns. The YourSuper comparison tool will help you compare MySuper products and choose a super fund that meets your needs.
You can also visit Choosing a super fundExternal Link on ASIC's MoneySmart website for more information.
If you’re eligible to choose a fund, you can do so using the Superannuation standard choice form. Your employer may give you the form when you start employment, by:
- requesting you complete it using ATO online services
- giving you a pre-filled form (paper or PDF)
- downloading the form from our website.
If you are starting a new job from 1 November 2021 and don't choose a super fund, your employer may contact us to request details of an existing super account of yours to pay your super into (known as a stapled super fund). If you have not made a choice and you do not have a stapled super fund, your employer can contribute to their nominated default fund for you.
You’re generally eligible to choose a super fund for your super guarantee contributions if:
- you’re employed under an award or registered agreementExternal Link that doesn’t require super support
- you're employed under an enterprise agreement or workplace determination made on or after 1 January 2021
- you’re not employed under any award or registered agreement (including contractors paid principally for their labour).
You’re not eligible to choose the super fund you want your super guarantee contributions paid into if:
- your super is paid under a state award or registered agreement
- your super is paid under certain workplace agreements made before 1 January 2021 that require super support, including some Australian workplace agreements (AWA)
- you’re a federal or state public sector employee, excluded from super choice by law or regulations
- you’re in a particular type of defined benefit fund or have already reached a certain level of benefit in that super fund.
Even if you are not eligible to choose the super fund you want your super guarantee contributions paid into, from 1 November 2021, your employer may still need to contact us to request details of your stapled super fund.
Types of funds
There are 5 basic types of funds.
- Industry funds
- sometimes open to everyone
- you can join if you work in a particular industry or under a particular industrial award and your employer signs up with the fund.
- Retail funds
- run by financial institutions
- open to everyone.
- Public sector funds
- Corporate funds
- generally only open to people working for a particular employer or corporation
- may offer defined benefit funds to their members.
- Self-managed super funds (SMSFs)
- work like any other super fund, but the responsibility of managing them, (including their investment decisions and legal responsibilities) rests solely with the trustee (you)
- establishing and operating an SMSF is a major financial decision and you should first discuss your personal circumstances with a qualified professional.
Find out more about Growing your super.
Watch:
Stapled super fund information
If you commence work from 1 November 2021, your employer may have an extra step to take to comply with the choice of fund rules if you don't choose a super fund. They may need to request details of a 'stapled super fund' from us for you.
A stapled super fund is an existing super account which is linked, or 'stapled', to an individual employee so that it follows them as they change jobs.
This change aims to save you money on super account fees by stopping unintended super accounts from being opened every time you start a new job.
How a stapled super fund is selected
The stapled super fund selection will be based on information we hold about your super funds.
If you have one existing eligible super account, this will be notified to your employer as the stapled super fund account for contributions.
To be a stapled super fund, the fund must meet a number of requirements. This includes you being a current member of the fund and it must be a:
- complying superannuation fund
- retirement savings account
- complying superannuation scheme.
Where you have multiple existing eligible super accounts, we will apply 'tiebreaker' rules. These rules consider:
- whether we have previously identified an account as a stapled super fund
- how recently contributions have been made to each of the accounts
- the account balances
- how recently each of the accounts were created.
If you are concerned about how the tiebreaker rules will be applied, you should use a super standard choice form to nominate your preferred fund.
Protecting your privacy
When your employer requests your stapled super fund details, we will notify you of the outcome of that request, including the fund details we provide to them. You don't need to do anything as your employer should make super guarantee contributions to that super fund for you.
We take the privacy of your information seriously. If you have concerns about why an employer has requested your stapled super fund details, you should speak to them directly.
If you do not want your super paid into the stapled super fund that we provide to your employer, you will need to complete a new Superannuation standard choice form and give this to your employer.
If you wish to view your current super accounts to check your super, you can view and manage these using online services through myGov.
Most employees are entitled to super contributions from their employer. You may be able to choose the fund it's paid into.