How a member can request a rollover
Under the portability rules, members of most super funds can request that their super benefits be transferred or rolled over into a fund of their choice.
To transfer the whole balance of a super account between Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) funds or to a self-managed super fund (SMSF), a member may be able to submit an electronic portability form (EPF) through our online services. They'll need a myGov account linked to the ATOExternal Link.
We'll verify the member's identity and membership details before sending the EPF to the transferring fund for processing. There's no obligation to verify member information when actioning an EPF. Where the receiving fund is an SMSF you may choose to use the SMSF verification service (SVS), which will confirm the SMSF can accept electronic rollovers.
If a member can't request the transfer online, or chooses not to, they can use a paper form to request the transfer the whole balance of their account:
If the member submits their request using a paper form, you need to verify their information using the:
- SuperTICK or the Member Account Attribute Service (MAAS) for Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) regulated funds, and
- SVS where the receiving fund is a SMSF.
A member must complete a separate rollover form for each account they wish to transfer.
If they wish to transfer a part of their super account, they should contact the fund that holds the account to find out what information is required.
Beware of illegal early access of super schemes
Some SMSFs may be set up to illegally gain access to super when no condition of release has been met. This may occur when:
- individuals start an SMSF to illegally gain access to their super
- promoters of illegal schemes convince individuals to start an SMSF
- fraudsters steal the identity of individuals to gain access to their super without their knowledge.
You should review the latest guidance from APRAExternal Link.
Find out how we are stopping schemes to illegally access super.
Receiving an electronic portability form
All APRA funds must be able to receive and action an EPF. We send the EPF to the transferring fund electronically via SuperStream.
Checks we do first
Before sending you an EPF, we will:
- authenticate the identity information your members provide against the information we hold
- confirm the individual is a member of both the transferring and receiving funds
- ensure that the rollover or transfer is not being made to funds suspected of illegal early release
- ensure that the transferring and receiving funds are regulated funds and not wound up.
We will not send EPFs to funds that are not subject to compulsory portability such as:
- defined benefit accounts
- accounts with unfunded public sector super schemes.
Receiving paper forms
Transfers between APRA funds
The member can send the form to either the transferring or receiving fund.
You must validate their information before actioning a paper rollover request. You can use the MAAS or SuperTICK for TFN validation because the legal requirements of the message are the same.
If the service returns an 'unmatched' response, it means we have been unable to verify the TFN provided with an appropriate level of confidence.
You must ask your member for further proof of identity information within 5 business days. If you haven't received a response within 10 business days of making the request, you must make reasonable further enquiries of the member to obtain the information.
You don't need to re-validate the member's information if you already hold a matched response from either SuperTICK or MAAS.
See more about member account reporting and validation.
Transfers to SMSFs
Super benefits can only be rolled over to a complying SMSF that is regulated. As the transferring fund, you must verify the SMSF and member details using the SVS.
The SVS will verify the following:
- SMSF status (Complying or Regulated)
- the TFN of the individual is associated with the SMSF
- no verified date of death exists for the individual/SMSF member associated with the SMSF
- electronic service address (ESA) details in the request match those held by the ATO.
- SMSF bank details in the request match those held by the ATO – some SMSF administrators offer omnibus accounts. For further details refer to Rollovers.
Information for completing the rollover
If you are the trustee of the transferring fund you may request further information from the member:
- to assist with confirming their identity
- to confirm the destination of the payment
- if all mandatory information isn't provided to you on the paper form or EPF.
You must request any further information required within 5 business days of receiving the request. Then you must complete the rollover within 3 business days of receiving that information.
Find out about the next step, reporting to receiving funds and members.