Early access to superannuation

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Eligible Australian and New Zealand citizens and permanent residents can apply to access up to $10,000 of their superannuation before 30 June 2020. They can also apply to access up to a further $10,000 from 1 July 2020 until 24 September 2020.

Eligible temporary residents can apply for early release of up to $10,000 of their superannuation until 30 June 2020.

Eligibility

To apply for early release of superannuation, Australian and New Zealand citizens and permanent residents must satisfy any one or more of the following requirements:

you're unemployed
you're eligible to receive one of the following:

JobSeeker Payment
Youth Allowance for job seekers
Parenting Payment (which includes the single and partnered payments)
Special Benefit
Farm Household Allowance

on or after 1 January 2020, either:

you were made redundant
your working hours were reduced by 20% or more
you were a sole trader and your business has been either suspended or there's been a reduction in your turnover of 20% or more

There are different eligibility requirements for temporary residents.

How to apply

You can apply now through your myGov account under Australian Taxation Office (ATO) services.

If you don't already have an account, set one up by selecting 'Create an account' and link your account to ATO services.

Find out more about early access to super and how to apply.

Australian Taxation Office

Examples of the early access to super

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Example if you're a sole trader – Rachel the sole trader

Rachel is a sole trader with a catering business. At the end of July 2020, Rachel seeks to apply for an early release from her superannuation for the 2020-21 financial year.

Due to the economic effects of the coronavirus, Rachel’s turnover for July is $5,000 compared to $10,000 on average per month for the second half of 2019. Rachel therefore determines that her turnover has reduced by more than 20% compared to her average turnover over the last 6 months of 2019.

Rachel self-certifies that she is eligible for early release and applies to have $10,000 released from her superannuation.

Example if you're an employee – Ed the bartender

Ed works in a popular bar in Melbourne. As a result of COVID-19, Ed has had his work hours reduced from 40 hours on average in the second half of 2019 to 20 hours per week on average in May 2020. As a result, Ed determines that his hours over the last month have reduced by more than 20% compared to the average of his hours over the last 6 months of 2019.

Ed decides to apply for the early release of $8,000 of his superannuation in May 2020 to help pay his rent and other living expenses. Ed self-certifies that he is eligible for early release on myGov. He could have applied for up to $10,000, but chose not to. Ed cannot seek any further early release of superannuation in 2019-20 on the grounds that he has been affected by economic effects of COVID-19.

However, Ed finds after 1 July 2020 that his hours continue to be reduced by more than 20% compared to the average of his hours in the last 6 months of 2019. Ed decides to make a second application and self-certifies through myGov that he is eligible for early release. He is able to apply again for a release of up to $10,000 of his superannuation. Ed submits a second application for the full amount of $10,000 this time.

For each application, the ATO approves Ed’s early release and notifies both him and his superannuation fund. Ed has received a total of $18,000 of his superannuation in 2 separate payments. He will not be taxed on this amount and is free to spend this money on anything he chooses, or save it for future expenses. He is also free to recontribute any unused amounts to his superannuation in the future (within his contribution caps).

Early access to superannuation

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