Stapled Super Fund – What you should know about recent changes to super in Australia
The recent change to super in Australia only applies if you employ an employee who does not give you their Superannuation Fund Details.
- Employee gives you their superfund details = process as normal
- Employee does not give you their superfund details = super stapling applies – see below for more info.
From 1 November 2021, you’ll have an extra step to take if you have new employees and they don’t choose a super fund.
If they don’t choose or tell you their superfund details, you will now need to request their ‘stapled super fund’ details from the ATO.
Failing to do so could cost you a ‘choice liability’ penalty.
So, what is super stapling?
A stapled super fund is an existing super account of an employee that follows them as they change jobs.
The introduction of super stapling by the ATO means working Australians will be attached to one super fund for life unless they choose otherwise.
This change aims to stop your new employees paying extra account fees for unintended super accounts set up when they start a new job.
What you need to know
You may need to request stapled super fund details when:
- your new employee starts on or after 1 November 2021 you need to make super guarantee payments for that employee, and your employee is eligible to choose a super fund but doesn’t
- You may still need to request stapled super fund details for some employees even though you don’t need to offer them a choice of super fund. This includes if your employees are temporary residents or they’re covered by an Enterprise Agreement or Workplace Determination made before 1 January 2021.
- You and your representatives can request stapled super fund details for your employees if you have full access to Online services for business. You need to review and update these accesses to protect the privacy and safety of your employees’ personal information.
- You must meet your choice of super fund requirements and any stapled super fund obligations by the quarterly due date or you may face penalties.
What you need to do from 1 November 2021
Step 1: Offer your eligible employees a choice of super fund
You need to give your eligible new employees a Super standard choice form and pay their super into the account they tell you on the form. Most employees are eligible to choose what fund their super goes into.
There is no change to this step of your super obligations.
Step 2: Request stapled super fund details
If your employee doesn’t choose a super fund, you may need to log into our Online services and go to ‘Employee Super Accounts’ to request their stapled super fund details. Your agent or other tax professional can do this for you.
After logging in, you’ll need to enter details such as an employees’ TFN, full name, date of birth and address to then receive the details of their stapled fund.
If the ATO search returns a stapled fund account for your new employee, you must pay your employee’s super using the stapled super fund details,.
So no more chasing employees for their super details when SG payments are due!
Xero: You’ll need to set this up as normal within Xero and use it for their super guarantee and any salary sacrifice payments.
Step 3: Pay super into a default fund
You can pay into a default fund, or another fund that meets the choice of fund obligations if:
- your employee doesn’t choose a super fund, and
- we have advised you that they don’t have a stapled super fund.
Useful Links
The ATO has created a directory via ATO Online Services.
Here’s the ATO link to find out more.
Review your request stapled super fund access permissions
Find out more about the new stapled super fund rules