Accessing your super due to financial hardship

It’s important that you consider how an early withdrawal of your super due to financial hardship may impact:

• your retirement income
• any tax you may need to pay
• any insurance cover you have through the Fund − if you want to keep it, you’ll need to have enough money in your super account (read the ‘When cover stops’ section in the Insurance in your super guide available at australiansuper.com/InsuranceGuide)
• any impacts it will have on benefits you’re receiving, for example Centrelink, WorkCover, family tax benefits and child support payments.

To be eligible for early release of your super due to financial hardship, you’ll need to meet all the criteria for either Category 1 or Category 2 below. Temporary residents in Australia can’t apply for a financial hardship payment.

Category 1

Regardless of your age, you can apply if:

• you haven't received a financial hardship payment from any super fund within the last 12 months, and
• you’ve received eligible Commonwealth income support payments from Centrelink or the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) continuously for at least 26 weeks with no breaks – this doesn’t include Youth Allowance as a full-time student, ABSTUDY and Austudy, and
• you’re receiving these payments when you make your application for payment under financial hardship, and
• you’re unable to meet reasonable and immediate family living expenses.

Category 2

If you’ve reached 60 years of age plus 39 weeks, you can apply if:

• you’ve been receiving eligible Commonwealth income support payments payments from Centrelink or DVA for at least 39 weeks in total since reaching 60, and
• you’re unemployed or employed for less than ten hours a week when you make your application for payment under financial hardship.

This depends on whether you meet the criteria for Category 1 or Category 2 above.

Category 1

The minimum amount of super you can apply to withdraw early on financial hardship is $1,000 (or your account balance, whichever is less). The maximum amount of super you can apply to withdraw is $10,000 (before tax). You can only receive one payment in any 12 month period.

If you want to keep your super account open, you’ll need to leave a minimum of $1,000 in your account after making any withdrawal.

When you’re under age 60, a financial hardship payment is paid as a super lump sum. The taxable component of the taxed element of your withdrawal is taxed at the lower of your marginal tax rate or 22% (including Medicare levy).

Category 2

You can apply to withdraw any amount in your super account, and you can request more than one withdrawal per year.

When your aged 60 or older, a financial hardship payment is taxed as a super lump sum and will generally be tax free.

If you don’t meet the criteria to access your super on grounds of severe financial hardship:

• You may still be able to apply on compassionate grounds. Applications due to compassionate grounds are made via the ATO. You can learn more at applying on compassionate grounds and accessing your super early.
• the National Debt Helpline may be able to help with free financial counselling. Call 1800 007 007 (Monday to Friday, 9.30am–4.30pm), or visit ndh.org.au
• read about support for managing urgent debt or living costs at moneysmart.gov.au

You can apply to us for the early release of your super due to financial hardship by using one of the following options:

• Account online (the quickest way): Log in to your account and go to Account’, then ‘Online forms’. Under 'Start an online form', select 'Make a withdrawal', choose your financial hardship withdrawal type, then follow the prompts to complete and submit your request. If you don’t have online access set up, register now.
• Paper form: By downloading and completing the Apply for a super payment due to financial hardship form and return it to us with certified copies of your identification ID, as detailed in sections 4 and 8 of the form.

We’ll require the following information with your application.

1. Membership and personal details and proof of your identity

We’ll require your AustralianSuper member number, personal details and proof of your identity (ID) with your application. If you can’t find your member number, you can use our Find my member number tool. If certain personal details, such as your name, have changed or are incorrect on your account, complete the Change my details form or contact us.

You can prove your ID by electronic verification, which is the easiest option, or by attaching certified copies of your ID to your financial hardship application. 

For more information, visit australiansuper.com/IDHelp.

Providing proof of ID electronically

If using electronic verification, you’ll need to use any two (2) of the following government-issued identification documents:

• valid passport
• valid driver’s licence
• Medicare card.

Providing proof of ID with your completed form

If you’re not using electronic verification to prove your identity, we’ll require you to provide correctly certified copies of two (2) of the following ID documents:

1. A valid passport, driver’s licence or government-issued proof of age card.
2. A utility bill or bank statement issued within the last three months.

For information on how to correctly certify your ID documents, see the 'How to certify your documents' section at the end of the form or visit australiansuper.com/IDHelp.

2. Centrelink Customer Reference Number (CRN) or Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) number

Centrelink

If you’re receiving Centrelink income support payments, we’ll need your Centrelink CRN to process your application. 

Providing a CRN authorises AustralianSuper, and its administrator, to use Centrelink’s Confirmation eServices to perform a Centrelink superannuation confirmation enquiry of your details. 

This information helps us confirm you’ve received the eligible income support benefits for either 26 continuous weeks (Category 1) or at least 39 weeks in total after turning 60 (Category 2).

Department of Veterans Affairs

If you are receiving DVA income support payments, we’ll need your DVA number and a letter from the DVA, confirming the payment type and the period the payment that has been made for, so we can process your application. Visit dva.gov.au to learn more.

3. Claim amount and bank account

Tell us how much you’d like to withdraw and where to deposit your funds. Please note the bank account you choose to deposit your funds must be in your name or jointly in your name.

Once we’ve received all the required information and assessed your application, approved financial hardship claims are usually paid within 5 business days.