From 1 November 2021 when a person moves from one job to another, their super fund will be ‘stapled’ to them as part of the Australian Governments super reform ‘Your Future, Your Super’.
By stapling super funds, employees can stick with a single fund choice as they change jobs, until they are ready to move. The aim of this initiative is that employees will gain more transparency over their super fund choices and can avoid having many, unmaintained funds, saving Australian workers a significant amount of money in unnecessary fees and insurance premiums. The Treasury estimates this could save workers $2.8 billion by 2031.
Stapled Super Fund FAQs
If you are using Sybiz Visipay's SybizSuper functionality and the Sybiz Employer Portal, you can continue paying and processing super in the same way. The main changes are going to affect employers when a new employee starts on or after 1 November 2021.
I have a new employee starting on or after 1 November 2021 - what do I do?
Provide your new employee a super fund choice form. If the new employee does not nominate an eligible super fund, you will need to request the stapled fund of the new employee from the ATO. The stapled fund will then be the default choice for that employee, unless they choose to change it later. Pay the employees super guarantee into their stapled, default fund as per normal methods.
Are there any other reasons why I might need to request a stapled super fund for an employee?
In some cases you may need to request a stapled super fund for employees who are temporary residents, or are covered by an Enterprise Agreement or Workplace Determination made before 1 January 2021.
How do I request a stapled super fund for an employee?
Once you have lodged a TFN declaration or completed an STP submission that includes the new employee you will need to request the stapled super fund of the employee
from the ATO. Further automation of this process in the Sybiz Employer Portal is likely toward the end of 2022.
Which super fund will be stapled to an employee if they already have multiple funds?
The ATO will determine this based on a number of factors including the eligibility of the fund, how recently each fund was created and contributed to, the balances of each fund and whether or not a fund has already been identified as a stapled super fund for that employee.
What do I need to tell my employees?
Unless they are starting on or after 1 November 2021, there is nothing you need to discuss with current employees about these changes. However, now may be an optimal time for employees to review their superannuation arrangements if they believe they may be contributing to multiple funds.
Where can I find more information?
You can visit the
Australian Taxation Association website for more information.