Changes to Employer Superannuation Obligations for New Employees

Contents

• What are the current superannuation obligations?
• What has changed?
• What is a stapled superannuation fund?
• What do I need to do?

What are the current superannuation obligations?

It is already a requirement to ask each new employee for their super fund details when they commence employment with you. This is usually done by providing them with a ‘superannuation standard choice form’ to complete and return. This provides you with the details of their super fund, so that you can set this up in your payroll system and make superannuation contributions on the employee’s behalf, thereby meeting your superannuation guarantee obligations.

Under the current rules, if an employee does not provide details of their superfund, then you can pay contributions on behalf of the employee to a superfund of your choice (employer default fund), to satisfy your superannuation guarantee obligations.

What has changed?

From 1 November 2021, you can no longer use an employer default fund in the situation where no super fund details have been provided. Instead, you must obtain details of the employee’s ‘stapled superannuation fund’ from the ATO, and pay their superannuation contributions into that fund.

The aim of this change is to stop new super accounts from being opened each time an employee starts a new job.

What is a stapled superannuation fund?

This is an existing superannuation account that is linked, or ‘stapled’, to an employee and follows them as they change jobs.

What do I need to do?

From 1 November 2021 when a new employee starts:

• Provide them with the superannuation standard choice form like you always have.
• If they do not choose a super fund then you can request their stapled fund details via logging into the ATO online services.
• Your tax agent can assist you in obtaining the details of an employee’s stapled superannuation fund.
• Should the ATO not be able to provide details of a stapled superannuation fund for an employee, you then revert back to paying contributions for that employee into your employer default fund.

For more details about this change and how to request stapled super fund details you can visit the ATO website. Remember that our team at BLG Business Advisers are Wollongong Accountants and are always available to help you so please talk with us about any questions you have.

We wish you and your business every success!

*This information is relevant at the time of publishing and is subject to change*