{"id":"BILL-r7435","name":"Superannuation (Building a Stronger and Fairer Super System) Imposition Bill 2026","slug":"superannuation-building-a-stronger-and-fairer-super-system-imposition-bill-2026","collection":"bill","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":446041,"registerId":"commonwealth-BILL-r7435-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-05-05","status":"royal_assent","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[],"analysis":{"summary":{"status_summary":"The bill received royal assent on 13 March 2026 and is now Act No. 9 of 2026.","complexity_score":3,"likely_questions":["How does the fifteen per cent tax apply to earnings on superannuation balances over three million dollars?","What is the current status of the Superannuation (Building a Stronger and Fairer Super System) Imposition Bill 2026?"],"complexity_factors":["Proportional calculation of tax on superannuation earnings","Application to balances exceeding three million dollars with additional rate above ten million dollars"],"plain_english_summary":"The Superannuation (Building a Stronger and Fairer Super System) Imposition Bill 2026 was introduced into the House of Representatives on 11 February 2026. It forms part of a package of legislation aimed at adjusting tax concessions for superannuation. Specifically, this bill imposes taxes on earnings from superannuation accounts where the total balance exceeds certain thresholds.\n\nThe bill sets out a tax of fifteen per cent on earnings. These earnings are determined by the proportion of the total superannuation balance that is above the three million dollar mark. In addition, for any portion of the balance that exceeds ten million dollars, a further ten per cent tax applies to the corresponding earnings.\n\nThis legislation affects people who have accumulated superannuation savings totaling more than three million dollars. For these individuals, the tax concessions on investment earnings will be reduced for the part of their balance that is over the threshold. Balances of three million dollars or less remain unaffected by these new taxes.\n\nThe parliamentary process for the bill included introduction and first reading in the House of Representatives on 11 February 2026. The second reading was moved on the same day and debated over the following days. The second reading was agreed to on 5 March 2026, followed by the third reading on the same date.\n\nIn the Senate, the bill was introduced and read a first time on 10 March 2026. The second reading was moved and debated on that day, with agreement reached the same day. The third reading was also agreed to on 10 March 2026, allowing the bill to pass both houses.\n\nThe bill received royal assent on 13 March 2026 and became Act number nine for the year 2026. With royal assent granted, the tax imposition measures are now in effect. People with high superannuation balances will need to account for this additional tax when managing their superannuation earnings."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Imposition Act is narrowly focused: it implements a specific tax on superannuation earnings and an additional charge on earnings attributable to very large super balances. It does not expand the policy beyond that core purpose; it delegates technical definitions and thresholds to the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, and contains only mechanistic provisions (imposition, amount, definitions, commencement, severability). Therefore the scope has not grown beyond the original, stated purpose of taxing earnings in large superannuation balances."},"complexity_factors":["Very short Act (6 sections) with a single substantive rule (section 5) — low intrinsic length","Relies on three definitions imported from the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (\"income year\", \"taxable superannuation earnings\", \"very large superannuation balance earnings component\") (section 3) — introduces external complexity","Conditional tax calculation (standard 15% rate vs 15% plus extra 10% for \"very large\" component) (section 5) — simple conditional logic","Cross-reference to a specific Income Tax Assessment Act provision for the imposition mechanism (section 4 references section 296‑15 ITAA 1997) — requires reading into the ITAA to see full interaction","Severability clause (section 6) adds a constitutional fallback (low complexity but legally important)","Commencement timing table (section 2) uses the next quarterly commencement date — minor practical detail"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does (mechanics)\n\n- This Act creates a specific tax on earnings inside superannuation (retirement) accounts. It does so by imposing the tax named in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (section 296‑15) (see section 4).\n- The amount charged is set out in section 5: normally 15% of a person’s \"taxable superannuation earnings\" for the income year (section 5(a)). If a person has a \"very large superannuation balance earnings component\" for the year (a term defined in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 and tied to the $3 million/$10 million thresholds in that Act), the tax is the 15% plus an extra 10% on that very large-balance earnings component (section 5(b)(ii)). In short: 15% on taxable super earnings generally, and an additional 10% on the portion of earnings attributable to very large balances (sections 4–5).\n- The Act relies on definitions already in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (section 3). It also contains a severability clause so that, if any application of the tax would exceed Commonwealth power, that application is treated as if it were not imposed (section 6).\n\n**Who this affects\n\n- Individuals who hold superannuation balances: the tax applies to the taxable earnings on their super accounts. The extra 10% applies only where the person has a \"very large superannuation balance earnings component\" for the year — in practice, people with very large total superannuation balances (as defined in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997). See section 3 for the cross-references to those definitions.\n- Trustees and superannuation funds: they (or the ATO through fund reporting systems) will need to apply the additional tax rules when calculating and reporting taxable superannuation earnings and the very large-balance component.\n\n**Why it matters (official claim and practical consequences)\n\n- Officially, the Act is part of a package intended to reduce tax concessions available to people with very large super balances. That purpose is implemented by taxing earnings inside super at higher rates for accounts with very large balances (see sections 4–5 and the explanatory material).\n\n- Practical effects, trade-offs and implementation points:\n  - Who pays: individual account-holders with taxable superannuation earnings; the incremental 10% targets earnings attributable to very large balances (sections 4–5). The tax liability is calculated under the nominated provision of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (section 4).\n  - Incentives and behaviour: the change increases the effective tax on earnings inside large super accounts. This can change saving and investment choices for affected individuals (for example, deciding whether to hold additional wealth inside or outside super, changing investment risk, or timing withdrawals). The precise behavioural responses depend on how earnings are attributed to different balance bands under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 definitions that the Act relies on (section 3).\n  - Compliance and administrative burden: the law delegates much of the technical detail (thresholds, apportionment of earnings to balance bands) to the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 definitions and ATO implementation. Trustees, funds and advisers will need to apply those rules and report accordingly, increasing administrative work and potentially raising disputes about apportionment of earnings.\n  - Costs and opportunity costs: affected individuals bear higher taxes on their super earnings; super funds and administrators incur compliance costs. There is an opportunity cost in that funds that would otherwise be accumulating tax-preferred returns inside super may be directed elsewhere.\n  - Implementation risk and discretion: because the Act cross-references and depends on definitions in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, its practical operation depends on those rules and the ATO's guidance. Complex apportionment rules and record keeping create potential for errors, disputes and the need for clarifying rulings.\n\n**Legal structure and limits\n\n- The Act is short and tightly focused: it imposes a tax by reference to an existing Income Tax Act provision (section 4), specifies how much is payable (section 5), imports definitions from the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (section 3), and contains a severability clause (section 6).\n\n**Key sections to read\n\n- Definitions: section 3 (imports Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 meanings).\n- Imposition of tax: section 4.\n- Amount of tax: section 5 (the substantive rates and the extra charge for very large balances).\n- Severability: section 6.\n\n(Statements of purpose in explanatory material are claims about what the measure is intended to do; the Act implements those claims by changing the tax treatment of super earnings as described above. The material trade-offs are higher taxes for owners of very large super balances versus the compliance and behavioural effects described earlier.)"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/superannuation-building-a-stronger-and-fairer-super-system-imposition-bill-2026","history":"/api/acts/superannuation-building-a-stronger-and-fairer-super-system-imposition-bill-2026/history","analysis":"/api/acts/superannuation-building-a-stronger-and-fairer-super-system-imposition-bill-2026/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/superannuation-building-a-stronger-and-fairer-super-system-imposition-bill-2026/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/superannuation-building-a-stronger-and-fairer-super-system-imposition-bill-2026/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/superannuation-building-a-stronger-and-fairer-super-system-imposition-bill-2026/documents"}}