Super Choice Rules

Employers will need to undertake an extra step while onboarding new employees that don’t choose a superannuation fund from 1 November 2021.

Employers will be required to contact the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) if the employee has not chosen a fund and check whether the employee has a “stapled fund”. A stapled fund is an existing super account which is linked, or ‘stapled’, to an individual employee so that it follows them as they change jobs. The change aims to prevent individuals from having multiple superannuation funds and to reduce fees associated with setting up new funds each time an employee changes jobs.

Changes from 1 November 2021:

If a new employee has not nominated a superannuation fund of their choice, then employers need to request stapled super fund details from the ATO when:

The new employee starts on or after 1 November 2021
The employer needs to make super guarantee payments for that employee, and
The employee is eligible to choose a super fund but doesn’t.

How to implement the changes from 1 November 2021:

Step 1: Offer your eligible employees a choice of super fund.

You need to give your new employees a Super standard choice form and pay their super into the account they tell you. Most employees are eligible to choose what fund their super goes into. There is no change to this step of your super obligations.

Step 2: Request stapled super fund details

If your employee doesn’t choose a super fund, you may need to log into the ATO online services to request their stapled super fund details. Your tax agent or other tax practitioner can also do this for you.

You’ll be able to request your employee’s stapled super fund after you have submitted a Tax file number declaration or Single Touch Payroll pay event linking you to them. There is no limit to the number of requests you can make.

Step 3: Pay super into the stapled super fund

If a stapled super fund is provided for your employee, you must pay your employee’s super guarantee contributions to the stapled super fund details that is provided to you.

Step 4: If no stapled superfund details are provided by the ATO

If the ATO advises no stapled fund for that employee is recorded then the employer can pay the employee’s super guarantee contributions into the employer’s default fund, or another fund that meets the choice of fund obligations.

If you need any further details or assistance on the above, feel free to contact our office.