Yet, less than a week ago, the Australian government launched reforms to national superannuation system. Their objectives include making payments easier and reducing the number of duplicate accounts Australians possess. The Australian Taxation Office made a major announcement in June 2025. They made the case for why 21 percent of Australians should avoid having more than one superannuation account. These amendments were passed by the federal parliament on Tuesday. From July 1, 2026, superannuation payments must be received at the same frequency as wages for employees of the same employer.
That’s why we were over the moon when Treasurer Jim Chalmers dropped this week’s news. Together, these reforms could increase the average accumulated retirement balance for a 25-year-old worker by roughly $6,000 in today’s dollars. The new legislation mandates that these super payments be deposited at least quarterly. Moreover, these payments need to adhere to the quarterly payment deadlines set out by current law. This is to help make sure that folks are getting regular contributions to workers’ retirement savings.
Modeling behind these reforms indicates that simply prohibiting delayed payments would be enough to significantly decrease the prevalence of duplicate superannuation accounts. This simple change would dramatically increase the benefit to employees. Based on estimates, employees would save anywhere from $16 million to $280 million. This major growth in savings is due to a decrease in redundant households.
Yet doubts have recently surfaced about how well the reforms will work to prevent the opening of per account. Xavier O’Halloran, CEO of Super Consumers Australia, noted that these reforms are aimed at combating delayed payments. He cautioned that they would still not fully fix the issue of people being misled into opening multiple accounts.
“We now have a half-finished reform. People will get paid their super faster, but many will still be misled into creating multiple accounts, costing them tens of thousands in retirement income.” – Misha Schubert
Beginning July 1, 2026, the new enhanced onboarding process will better educate employees on the stapled funds they might already have. This modification will go a long way in preventing workers from accidentally making two accounts. Specifically, it aims at new hires going to other funds via hiring channels. About 325,000 people a year come in to fill a vacancy on these platforms looking for these advertised funds.
Though these efforts were laudable, O’Halloran gave a wary judgment of whether these reforms would come close to realizing the lawmakers’ bigger aspirations. He claimed that the reforms were intended to achieve more than just preventing payments being made late. In addition, they wanted to address the shady practices that create and maintain fake accounts.
“It was meant to stop people [from] being influenced into creating duplicate accounts they never wanted, and that part has been dropped.” – Xavier O’Halloran
For employers, this has dire financial consequences. The estimated cost of the ban on retrospective reimbursement is approximately $234 million annually. This has led to discussions about the balance between protecting workers’ retirement savings and the financial burden placed on employers.
Misha Schubert stressed that we need to make sure every worker gets all their superannuation that they should. Ms. Lemming said the changes would be a “game-changer” for workers right around Australia.
“It’s going to be a game-changer for ensuring that workers across our country get every dollar of the super they have earned but never received.” – Misha Schubert
Schubert highlighted that the new law will simplify tracking of underpayments and skipped contributions. We anticipate this change will encourage further transparency across the superannuation system.
As the federal government continues on this path of reform, it is ever more important that advocates hold them accountable for how these changes are applied. The collaboration among policymakers, consumers, and employers will be vital in ensuring that the intended benefits are realized without unintended consequences.
