Superannuation Explained for New Migrants (2026)

Superannuation, almost always shortened to 'super', is Australia's compulsory retirement savings system. The idea is simple: instead of relying only on a government pension when you stop working, every working person builds up their own pot of money over their career.

Here is the part that surprises most new arrivals: super is paid by your employer on top of your wage, not taken out of it. If your job advertises a salary of, say, $70,000 'plus super', the super is extra money your boss is legally required to put aside for you. It goes into a super fund (an investment account in your name), not into your bank account.

You generally can't touch this money until you reach 'preservation age' and retire (for most people that's their late 50s to 60). That feels frustrating when you're new and watching the balance grow without being able to use it, but if you're a temporary resident planning to leave, there's a way to get it back when you go (see the DASP section below).

• Your money is invested by the fund and grows over time.

• Super fund earnings are taxed at a low rate, which is part of why super is a tax-effective way to save.

• Permanent residents and citizens keep their super in Australia for retirement; temporary residents can claim it when they leave.

The legal minimum your employer must contribute is called the Super Guarantee (SG). From 1 July 2025 the SG rate is 12% of your ordinary time earnings - this was the final step in a series of scheduled increases, so 12% is the current rate for the 2025-26 year and beyond.

Example: if you earn $1,000 in ordinary wages in a fortnight, your employer must pay an extra $120 into your super fund. You still receive your full $1,000 wage (less normal income tax).

There is no minimum income to qualify anymore. Until 30 June 2022 you only got super if you earned at least $450 in a month - that threshold has been removed. Now you're entitled to super no matter how little you earn. The one exception: if you're under 18, you must work more than 30 hours in a week to be entitled to super for that work.

From 1 July 2026, new 'Payday Super' rules begin, meaning employers must pay your super on each payday rather than just quarterly. The rate stays at 12%. Until then, employers must pay at least four times a year (28 October, 28 January, 28 April and 28 July).

Check your payslips and your super fund's app or statements to confirm super is actually being paid. Unpaid or underpaid super is unfortunately common - if yours is missing, you can report it to the ATO. As a migrant, knowing this is your money and your legal right matters.

In most jobs you can choose which fund your super goes into. When you start, your employer gives you a 'Superannuation standard choice form'. You have three realistic options:

• Choose your own fund and give the employer its details.

• Do nothing and let your 'stapled fund' apply. A stapled fund is an existing super account that's linked to you and follows you from job to job, so you don't end up with a new account (and a new set of fees) every time you change employers. The ATO tells your employer what your stapled fund is.

• If you have no stapled fund (common when it's your first-ever Australian job) and you don't choose, your employer pays into their default fund - which must be a 'MySuper' product, a basic, no-frills account without unnecessary features or high fees.

To compare funds, use the ATO's free YourSuper comparison tool. The personalised version (via your myGov account) shows your own existing accounts and lets you compare them against other MySuper products on fees and past performance. A practical tip for migrants: try to keep just one super account. Multiple accounts mean paying multiple sets of fees and insurance premiums, which quietly eats your balance. You can usually consolidate accounts through myGov in a few minutes.

If you came to Australia on a temporary visa, worked here, and then leave, you can apply to have your super paid out to you. This is the Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP). Permanent residents and citizens generally cannot use DASP - it's specifically for temporary residents who depart.

You can generally claim a DASP if all of these apply: you accumulated super while working on a temporary resident visa under the Migration Act 1958 (visa subclasses 405 and 410 are excluded); your visa has ended (expired or been cancelled); you have actually left Australia; and you don't hold any other active Australian visa.

Apply through the free DASP online application system on the ATO website, which lets you claim from both your super fund and any super the ATO is holding. Never pay a third-party 'super refund' service to do something you can do yourself for free.

Timing matters: if you don't claim within 6 months of leaving Australia and your visa ending, your fund transfers the money to the ATO as 'unclaimed super money'. The good news is you can still claim it after that - it isn't lost - but it's simpler to organise before or soon after you leave. Make sure your fund has your correct contact and bank details before you go.

DASP is taxed before it's paid to you - this is a final tax, so it doesn't form part of your normal Australian tax return. The rate depends on the component of your super and, importantly, on whether you ever held a Working Holiday Maker visa.

Standard DASP withholding rates: the 'tax-free component' is taxed at 0%; the 'taxed element' of the taxable component is taxed at 35%; and the 'untaxed element' is taxed at 45%.

Working Holiday Makers pay much more. If you held a subclass 417 (Working Holiday) or subclass 462 (Work and Holiday) visa at any time, the DASP working holiday maker rate is 65% on both the taxed and untaxed elements of the taxable component. This higher rate applies to your whole DASP if you were ever a WHM, so backpackers should budget for keeping roughly a third of their super after tax.

Because of these rates, it's worth checking your balance: for small amounts the after-tax payout may be modest, but for someone who worked in Australia for a year or two it can still be a meaningful sum to take home.

Two things you should never pay a third party for: getting a Tax File Number (TFN) and claiming a DASP. Both are free on official government sites. Apply for your TFN only at ato.gov.au - lookalike sites that charge a 'processing fee' for a TFN are a known scam.

Be wary of fake job offers that ask for money upfront, anyone guaranteeing a visa outcome, and 'agents' who aren't registered. By law, only an OMARA-registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner (immigration lawyer) can give you immigration assistance for a fee. You can check whether someone is registered on the OMARA register, and you can report suspected visa scams to Australia's Border Watch, anonymously if you prefer.

Super, tax and visas all interact, and rules change. The figures in this guide (the 12% rate, DASP tax rates, eligibility) were verified against the ATO and Department of Home Affairs in 2026, but immigration and tax settings are reviewed regularly. For anything that affects your visa status or a non-straightforward situation, confirm the current position on homeaffairs.gov.au and ato.gov.au, and for a complex visa case it's worth paying a registered migration agent or immigration lawyer rather than guessing.