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Commonwealth act
This Act is Australia's main legal framework for tracking down and safeguarding "lost" superannuation (retirement savings) — money sitting in super funds that can't be returned to its rightful owner. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) acts as a central "holding bank" for this money until it can be reunited with the person it belongs to.
If you have super, this law affects you. Specifically, it covers:
Your super is treated as unclaimed money if:
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Direct links to the current provisions in Superannuation (Unclaimed Money and Lost Members) Act 1999.
Zoe has indexed the source text for search and analysis. Use the official register for the original document and download formats.
View on official registerSourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
If you were in Australia on a temporary visa and have left, your employer may have paid super on your behalf. The ATO can compel your old super fund to hand over that money, and you can claim it (called a "Departing Australia Superannuation Payment").
If your super account has a low balance AND hasn't had any activity for a period, your fund must transfer it to the ATO. This was introduced to stop fees eating away at small, forgotten accounts.
Some people's super was parked in special holding funds called "Eligible Rollover Funds." This Act required all ERF balances to be transferred to the ATO by early 2022, as part of closing these funds down.
Super funds can also voluntarily hand money to the ATO if they genuinely believe it's in the member's best interests.
You can search for lost super via the ATO's online services (myGov). When you claim, the ATO can:
Super funds that fail to report or pay unclaimed money face criminal penalties of up to 100 penalty units (currently $31,300 per penalty unit) and interest charges on late payments.
Government employees in state/territory public sector super schemes (e.g. state police, teachers) may have their unclaimed super handled by state authorities instead of the ATO, provided those state laws meet equivalent standards.