ATO support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples superannuation

Last updated 22 June 2023

Emma Rosenzweig, Deputy Commissioner, Superannuation and Employer Obligations
Speech at the Indigenous Super Summit
22 June 2023
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Thank you and good afternoon everyone.

Acknowledgement of Country: I acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and community. I pay respect to them and their cultures, and Elders past and present.

Normally I am on Kaurna (Gar-na) country in Adelaide, however today I am in Townsville so I would like to acknowledge the Bindal and Wulgurukaba (Wool-goo-roo-kaba) Elders and families on whose land I am meeting you today.

Thank you for inviting me along to speak. The Indigenous Superannuation Summit is a great opportunity for Government and industry to work together to enhance the experience that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have when interacting with government.

While I recognise today’s focus is superannuation, I will talk about some of the ATO’s work to support reconciliation across both the tax and superannuation systems.

ATO’s commitment to reconciliation

Our vision for reconciliation is an Australia in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have access to:

culturally appropriate support
greater social wellbeing
equal employment opportunities
improved economic outcomes.

To support this vision, we have developed our ATO Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). The RAP outlines our commitment and dedication to the inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in our services to the community, including to support their participation in the tax and superannuation systems.

We launched our first RAP in 2007, committing to the long-term journey of reconciliation in Australia. Our focus has been to embed respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, communities, cultures, and histories in how we work.

We are about to renew our long-standing commitment through our sixth RAP, due for release next year.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander client experience – engagement and access

As part of our RAP, we continue to explore ways to grow existing services and build new relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders.

We work across government and with the community to better understand the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and the complex challenges experienced. These challenges can include, but are not limited to:

language differences
navigating personal identification requirements
lack of access to services, including due to geographic isolation
digital exclusion, and challenges with digital accessibility and ability
ongoing and intergenerational impacts of trauma
legislative constraints in being able to apply policies in relation to family structures, kinship relationships and responsibilities (which is particularly the case with accessing super after the death of a member)
understanding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ values, perspectives and experiences.

By better understanding these challenges we can tailor and improve our services and channels to engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Some of our existing channels include:

Helpline

Our Indigenous Helpline available on 13 10 30, is an avenue for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to contact us about their individual tax and superannuation enquiries. We currently receive approximately 35 to 40 thousand calls to the helpline each year.

We understand that some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have difficulty providing identity documentation, and our Helpline staff can support them with these challenges.

Tax Help program

The ATO also runs a Tax Help program with ATO trained community volunteers providing free help to fellow community members. This program has been in place for over 30 years and for 2023, will be available towards the end of July. A number of Tax Help volunteers provide a Tax Help service specifically for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members of the community. We expect the numbers and locations of centres for this year will be known towards the middle of July.

We have also developed Tax Help communication products which have been translated into 13 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages.

Face-to-face engagement

With COVID restrictions behind us, the ATO is again taking an active role in face-to-face initiatives for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

We continue to work with the First Nations Foundation and participated in their recent Financial Wellness events, which are intended to a be one-stop shop to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The first of these events occurred in Western Sydney and Redfern, New South Wales, in April this year.

The top 3 questions we received at these events were related to:

lost and unclaimed superannuation (which I’ll talk more about later)
early release of superannuation
obtaining a TFN where there is limited identification.

Attendees were surprised with the amount of assistance available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples by the ATO. Also, many were not aware they had several superannuation accounts.

One of the attendees we spoke to was initially hesitant to approach the ATO desk because he didn’t know where to begin. He knew he had super from having worked in at different places over the years. We found a couple of active accounts as well as some lost super, and he was happy to see his super of around $25,000 in ATO online. He appreciated that he’d been able to take his time to talk to us and didn’t feel pressure or rushed. This is an example of someone who would have been unlikely to contact us, noting that calling us can become overwhelming and he didn’t feel confident to have a go at ATO online.

Assistance provided through these events can really have life changing outcomes for people.

Each year the ATO also partners with Radio 4MW to update their listeners on tax and superannuation help and support resources. Some examples of the kinds of information we cover include:

how to lodge your tax return quickly, securely, and smoothly
the ATO’s Reach Out program – which provides tailored support and education to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander small businesses meet their tax and superannuation obligations
ATO’s dedicated webpage ato.gov.au/indigenous, which provides more information about ATO support services.

We also offer services across remote areas through key external partners, such as the National Indigenous Training Academy (NITA).

And now, a bit more about superannuation.

Superannuation is about people and their future. It is important for individuals to keep track of their superannuation, to support retirement income over and above the Age Pension. Individuals should be aware of what superannuation accounts they have, how much is being contributed, and what insurance may be provided through these accounts. A key focus for the ATO is improving the superannuation experience for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to help them take control of their super journey.

Online services

An individual can check and manage their superannuation using the ATO Online services on myGov (and the ATO App). This allows, amongst other things, for an individual to:

see details of all their active and closed superannuation accounts
find superannuation accounts that they may have lost track of
track their contributions against relevant caps
combine multiple superannuation accounts
view their employer contributions
apply for release of superannuation on compassionate grounds.

To access our online services, an individual must create a myGov account and link it to the ATO.

Lost and unclaimed superannuation

The compulsory Superannuation Guarantee system has been in place for over 30 years. Anyone who has worked in that time may have superannuation that they have become disconnected with. This is a significant issue for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Lost superannuation is held by superannuation funds and includes accounts that are inactive or the member is uncontactable. Unclaimed superannuation is held by the ATO where monies has been paid to us on behalf of an individual.

As at 30 June 2022, total lost (fund-held) and ATO-held superannuation was $16 billion for almost 6.9 million accounts.

We commenced proactive superannuation account consolidation in November 2019, and as of 30 June last year, the ATO has proactively consolidated almost 4.7 million accounts with a value of $7.1 billion dollars.

While we’re doing all we can to get this money back where it belongs, $16 billion in lost and unclaimed superannuation across Australia is a lot of money. So, we really encourage all Australians to check if any belongs to them.

Alerts are in place on ATO online for individuals that have either lost or ATO-held superannuation amounts. This is designed to draw their attention to their superannuation profile and to take action to consolidate, claim or update their superannuation details where needed.

There is also a notification to all clients in ATO Online, asking if their bank account details are up-to-date.

These notifications only appear for people who use ATO Online. So to support this, as part of Tax Time 2023, we are deploying the super health check which aims to make individuals more accustomed to proactively managing their superannuation, especially during tax time each year.

The super health check is not compulsory but is a web-based initiative which individuals will be directed to via a range of communications and media activities and by their tax agent if they use one.

We know that lots of people either forget about their super, or it feels overwhelming to know what they should be checking. With the super health check, we are encouraging people to check:

their contact details are correct and update
their superannuation balance and employer contributions
for lost and unclaimed superannuation
if they have multiple accounts, and consider consolidating
their nominated beneficiary.

These are the basics that will keep your super healthy.

We also support superannuation funds to be able to reunite their members with their superannuation. We have an automated process to regularly provide superannuation funds with the most recent member contact details reported to us when the fund reports a member as lost.

Funds also have the option of using the ‘Provision of Details Service’ (PODS) which can be used to obtain current contact details that we hold for members at risk of becoming lost.

Teaching superannuation to youth in schools to increase superannuation literacy and understanding

The ATO has a long-standing schools education program. The program plays an important role in educating young Australians about the importance of taxation and superannuation systems to Australia’s way of life. Recently the learning of tax was included in the revised Australian curriculum for all Year 8 students studying Business and Economics.

Young people are more likely to have multiple jobs and therefore have a greater risk of holding multiple superannuation accounts resulting in multiple low balance accounts, multiplication of fees and unnecessary insurance. The learning of Superannuation was also recently included in the new Australian Curriculum for students in Year 10 who study Business and Economics as an elective.

Education is therefore an important component in making the right financial decision that will maximise savings for the future.

Improving quality of member reporting by funds

Some of you have heard me talk at other forums about the importance of quality member reporting by funds. While Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members aren’t identified in the data reported to the ATO, improving data quality is important to all members because of the range of tax and superannuation outcomes that are dependent on the data we hold.

We are engaging with large funds and are particularly interested in the governance frameworks and controls they have over the huge amounts of member data they receive. The level of governance we see provides us with confidence that the data is being managed carefully and correctly.

The future

The ATO will continue to engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through our existing services and stakeholder groups, and is committed to looking for opportunities to improve the client experience for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

I look forward to the ATO’s continued participation in the Indigenous Superannuation Working Group; working together gives us the best chance of having the greatest impact and providing the best experience for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Thank you.

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