Introducing ‘payday super’
From 1 July 2026, employers will be required to pay superannuation guarantee payments at the same time as salary and wages. Rest welcomes this decision to make the superannuation system fairer and more equitable – giving members and other working Australians a greater opportunity to achieve their best possible retirement.
This change will also make it easier for members to track their employer super contributions and check that payments have come through as expected. We know this is especially important for casual workers, whose hours can vary significantly from week to week.
The Government will consult in the second half of 2023 on the implementation of the changes and more details will be shared with members as they become available.
Rest also welcomes additional funding to the ATO to better act on cases of underpayment of Superannuation Guarantee, including setting targets for the recovery of unpaid super. To put it into perspective, in 2021-2022, almost half (48%) of people who reported unpaid super to the ATO were under 35.
Better targeted superannuation concessions
The Government confirmed its intent to reduce the tax concessions available to people with a total superannuation balance over $3 million from 1 July 2025, which was announced earlier this year. The change increases the taxation on the earnings that correspond to the proportion of an individual’s balance greater than $3 million from 15% to 30%.
Rest is supportive of measures that seek to improve the fairness and equity of the superannuation system, and therefore supports changes to the concessional tax treatment of superannuation that appropriately tax earnings in super.
Building a clean energy future
The Government has announced it will commence development of a broad sustainable investment framework for Australia.
In addition to this, the Government has announced it will establish a national Net Zero Authority to help drive the transformation to a clean energy economy to support workers, communities and regional areas in the transition to a lower-carbon economy.
These measures will help funds like Rest act on opportunities to invest in transition to a net zero future. Click here to view Rest’s roadmap to net zero emissions by 2050.
Rest continues to call for Super Guarantee on Paid Parental Leave
As a fund representing more than one million women, including around one in every five young Australian women, Rest is urging the Government to add Superannuation Guarantee payments to the Paid Parental Leave scheme without delay.
This much-needed improvement will make retirement outcomes more equitable and address the gender gap that continues to disadvantage women.
