If you work in Australia, your employer pays extra money into a retirement account for you. This is called superannuation in Australia, or “super” for short. It is one of the first things new arrivals hear about, and one of the most confusing.
This guide explains how super works in plain English, how much your employer must pay in 2026, how to choose a fund, how to check you are actually being paid, and how temporary visa holders can claim their super when they leave. The founder of this site has lived in Australia since March 2013, so we know how easy it is to lose track of super when you move between jobs and visas.
Quick Summary
| Topic | What you need to know |
|---|---|
| What super is | Money your employer pays into a super fund for your retirement, on top of your wages |
| Employer rate (2026–27) | 12% of your qualifying earnings |
| Who gets it | Almost all employees, including casuals and most temporary visa holders. Under 18s only if they work more than 30 hours in a week |
| When it is paid | From 1 July 2026, with every payday (Payday Super). It must reach your fund within 7 business days |
| Choosing a fund | Give your employer a Superannuation standard choice form, or they use your existing (stapled) fund |
| Checking your super | ATO online services through myGov, or your fund’s app |
| Leaving Australia | Temporary residents can claim it as a DASP after leaving and once their visa has ended |
| DASP tax | 35% (taxed element) for most visas; 65% if you ever held a Working Holiday visa (417 or 462) |
What Is Superannuation in Australia?
Superannuation is Australia’s main system for saving for retirement. When you work, your employer must pay a percentage of your earnings into a super fund. This money is paid on top of your wages, so it should not come out of your normal pay.
Your super fund invests the money for you, usually in shares, property, bonds and cash, so the balance grows over time.
The catch is that super is locked away. For most people, you cannot take it out until you reach your “preservation age” and retire, apart from a few special cases. The big exception for newcomers is the Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP), which we cover below.
Super vs your normal pay
Think of your total pay as two parts:
- Your wages – paid into your bank account, minus income tax.
- Your super – paid into your super fund by your employer, at 12% of your qualifying earnings.
If you are offered a salary “plus super”, the super is extra. If you are offered a “package including super”, the super is already inside that number, so your take-home pay will be lower. Always check which one it is before you accept a job. Our guide to the average salary in Australia explains how to compare offers.
How Much Super Does Your Employer Pay in 2026?
The minimum employer contribution is called the super guarantee. According to the ATO, the rate is 12% of your qualifying earnings for both 2025–26 and 2026–27.
Qualifying earnings include your pay for ordinary hours, most allowances, bonuses, commissions and paid leave. Overtime is not included, so you will not get super on overtime hours under the minimum rules.
A simple example
Say you earn $1,000 for your ordinary hours in a week. Your employer must pay at least $120 into your super fund for that week. That $120 does not appear in your bank account, but it is still your money.
Who Is Eligible for Super?
Almost every employee in Australia gets super. The ATO says your visa type and tax residency generally do not matter, as long as you have work rights. You are usually eligible if you are:
- Full time, part time or casual.
- A temporary resident, such as a working holiday maker or international student (with a few exceptions).
- An independent contractor paid mainly for your own labour, under a contract directly with the business.
There is no minimum income anymore. Even a small casual job should come with super. There are two key exceptions:
- If you are under 18, you only get super for weeks where you work more than 30 hours.
- If you are paid for private or domestic work (for example, babysitting or cleaning in someone’s home), you also need to work more than 30 hours in a week.
If you are self-employed (for example, working as a sole trader with an ABN), nobody pays super for you. You can still make your own contributions if you want to.
Payday Super: What Changed on 1 July 2026
Before 1 July 2026, employers only had to pay super every quarter, within 28 days of the end of the quarter. That meant many workers did not notice missing payments for months.
Under the new Payday Super rules, your employer must pay super for each payday. Your super fund must receive the money, with the right details to allocate it to your account, within 7 business days after payday. If it is the first payment to a new fund (for example, you just started the job), the employer gets 20 business days.
How to Choose a Super Fund
Most employees can choose which fund their super goes into. When you start a new job, your employer should give you a Superannuation standard choice form or tell you where to get it. Fill it in with your fund details and hand it back.
What happens if you do not choose
- If you already have a super account, your employer asks the ATO for your “stapled” fund. This is your existing account, and it follows you from job to job.
- If you have never had super and do not choose, your employer pays into their own default fund, which must offer a basic MySuper product.
What to compare
When comparing funds, look at:
- Fees – admin fees and investment fees take a slice of your balance every year. On small balances, fees matter a lot.
- Long-term performance – look at returns over 5 to 10 years, not just last year.
- Insurance – many funds include life and income protection insurance by default. This costs money from your balance. Some people want it, others do not.
- Investment options – most people stay in the default “balanced” or “growth” option, but you can usually change it.
The ATO’s free YourSuper comparison tool lets you compare MySuper products side by side, and Moneysmart has a plain-language guide on choosing a fund. Both are free to use.
How to Check Your Super Is Being Paid
Unpaid super is a real problem in some industries, especially for casual and cash-in-hand work. Checking is easy and free.
- Read your payslip. It should show the super amount and the fund it is paid to.
- Log in to your fund’s app or website. Check that contributions arrive soon after each payday.
- Create a myGov account and link the ATO. In ATO online services you can see all your super accounts, including ones you forgot about, and the contributions reported by your employers.
- Ask your employer first. If money is missing, raise it politely with your employer or payroll team. It is often an admin mistake.
- Report it to the ATO. If your employer does not fix it, you can report unpaid super to the ATO. Employers who pay late or not at all must pay the super guarantee charge, and the ATO passes the missing super and interest to your account.
You will need your Tax File Number (TFN) for your super fund and for myGov. Give your TFN to your fund. Without it, your fund may not be able to accept some contributions and you can pay extra tax.
Combining Multiple Super Accounts
Newcomers often change jobs several times in their first year, especially working holiday makers doing farm work or hospitality shifts. If you did not give each employer your fund details, you may end up with several accounts, each charging fees.
The fix is simple. In ATO online services, you can see all your accounts and usually transfer (roll over) the smaller ones into the fund you want to keep. Before you do, check whether any account has insurance you want to keep, because closing the account usually ends that cover.
Can You Add Extra Money to Your Super?
Yes. You can make voluntary contributions, either from your pre-tax pay (salary sacrifice) or from money you already paid tax on. There are yearly caps. For 2026–27, the ATO lists the concessional (before-tax) cap as $32,500 and the non-concessional (after-tax) cap as $130,000. Your employer’s 12% counts towards the concessional cap.
If you are on a temporary visa and plan to leave, extra contributions rarely make sense, because super claimed on departure is taxed heavily. If you are staying long term, it may be worth looking into with help from Moneysmart or a licensed financial adviser.
Claiming Your Super When You Leave Australia (DASP)
If you worked in Australia on a temporary visa, you can usually claim your super after you leave. This is called a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP). It is a common search for working holiday makers and former students.
Who can claim a DASP
According to the ATO, you can generally claim if all of these apply:
- You built up super while working on a temporary resident visa (except subclasses 405 and 410).
- Your visa has expired or been cancelled.
- You have left Australia and do not hold any other active Australian visa.
- You are not an Australian or New Zealand citizen, or an Australian permanent resident.
New Zealand citizens cannot get a DASP, but may be able to move their super to a KiwiSaver scheme instead.
How to apply step by step
- Before you leave: make sure all your employers have paid your super, give your funds your TFN, and find all your accounts through ATO online services.
- Start your online application on the free ATO DASP online application system while you are still in Australia. Write down the details you enter, because you will need them to resume it later.
- Certify your ID if needed. If a fund holds $5,000 or more, it may ask for certified copies of your ID. This is much easier to arrange while you are still in Australia.
- Keep your Australian bank account open if you can. Payment by transfer to an Australian account is usually the simplest option.
- Submit the application after you leave and once your visa has ended. The online system checks your immigration status with Home Affairs automatically.
The ATO says a DASP is generally paid within 28 days of a complete application.
How much tax you pay on a DASP
| Payment component | Most temporary visas | Working Holiday visa (417 or 462) |
|---|---|---|
| Tax-free component | 0% | 0% |
| Taxable component – taxed element | 35% | 65% |
| Taxable component – untaxed element | 45% | 65% |
For most people, almost all of their super is in the “taxed element”. So a working holiday maker with $5,000 in super would normally receive around $1,750 after the 65% DASP tax. The fund takes the tax out before paying you, and the DASP does not go in your tax return.
The 65% rate applies if your super includes contributions made while you held a Working Holiday visa, even if you later moved to another visa.
What if you forget to claim?
If you do not claim, your fund will transfer your super to the ATO as unclaimed super once it has been 6 months or more since you left and your visa has ended. It is not lost. You can still claim it from the ATO later as a DASP.
Claiming a DASP does not affect future visa applications. If you later come back as a permanent resident, any super still held by the ATO can usually be moved back into a super fund.
When Can Permanent Residents Access Super?
If you become a permanent resident or citizen, you cannot claim a DASP. Your super stays invested until you meet a “condition of release”, which for most people means reaching your preservation age (60 for anyone born after 30 June 1964) and retiring. There are only a few early-release cases, such as severe financial hardship or certain medical conditions, and they have strict rules.
Be careful of anyone who offers to help you get your super out early for a fee. The ATO warns that illegal early access leads to penalties and extra tax.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the super rate in Australia in 2026?
The super guarantee rate is 12% of your qualifying earnings in both 2025–26 and 2026–27. It is paid by your employer on top of your wages.
Do casual workers get super?
Yes. Casual, part-time and full-time employees all get super. The only exceptions are under-18s and people doing private or domestic work, who only get super for weeks where they work more than 30 hours.
Do working holiday makers get super?
Yes. Working holiday makers get the same 12% super as other employees. When they leave, they can claim it as a DASP, but it is taxed at 65%.
How do I find my lost super?
Log in to myGov, link the ATO and open ATO online services. It shows all super accounts in your name, including any held by the ATO as unclaimed super, and lets you combine them.
Is super paid on overtime?
Not under the minimum rules. Overtime is not part of qualifying earnings, so your employer does not have to pay super guarantee on it. Some awards or contracts may give you more, so check your employment agreement.
How long does a DASP take?
The ATO says a DASP is generally paid within 28 days of your completed application. Incomplete applications or missing ID documents can make it take longer.
Final Thoughts
Superannuation in Australia can feel complicated at first, but you only need to get a few things right. Give your new employer your fund details on day one, make sure your fund has your TFN, and check every few weeks that contributions are arriving. With Payday Super, that is now easier than ever.
If you are on a temporary visa, start your DASP application before you fly home and keep your Australian bank account open. If you are staying for the long term, choose a low-fee fund and keep everything in one account. Small steps now can make a big difference to your balance later.
Related Guides
- Get a Tax File Number (TFN) in Australia
- How to Open a Bank Account in Australia
- Minimum Wage in Australia
- Average Salary in Australia
- Working Holiday Visa Australia
Official Resources
- ATO – Super from your employer
- ATO – Choosing a super fund
- ATO – Departing Australia superannuation payment (DASP)
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