5 reasons super contributions may be rejected

When a member retires and commences a pension, their super account is typically closed as their balance is transferred to a pension account.

If that member later returns to work and starts receiving Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contributions again, a new super account may be required to accept future contributions.

The challenge is that many payroll systems reactivate an existing employee record rather than creating a new employee record. Because the employee is not treated as a new starter, the clearing house may not send the Member Registration Request (MRR) needed for the fund to establish a new accumulation account.

Without an MRR, the fund may be unable to accept the contribution, resulting in a rejection.

How to avoid it

• Review contribution rejections for retirees who have returned to work.
• Confirm whether the employee still has an active accumulation account with their nominated fund.
• Speak with your payroll provider or clearing house to understand when Member Registration Requests are generated and transmitted.
• Actively maintain start and end dates when employees are terminated and then later rejoins.

A similar issue can occur when an employee previously rolled over their super, closed their account, retired, or otherwise ceased being an active member of the fund.

From the employer’s perspective, the employee remains on the payroll, and their contribution details may not have changed. However, if the employee is no longer an active member of the fund, a Member Registration Request (MRR) may be required before the contribution can be processed.

If this occurs, check whether the employee has a stapled super fund. If not, and no choice form has been provided, you may need to create a new member registration with your default fund.

Many clearing houses only send a Member Registration Request (MRR) when an employee is first established in the payroll system or changes their nominated fund. If no MRR is sent, the fund may not receive the information needed to establish a new account.

How to avoid it

• Confirm employees still have an active account with their nominated fund.
• Investigate repeated ‘member not found’ or ‘account does not exist’ rejection messages.
• Update payroll records when employees advise they have consolidated, rolled over, or closed super accounts.

Employers can sometimes receive the rejection message:

SUPER.GEN.CNTRBTN.22 – No account exists and you do not have a default relationship with the fund to register the employee.

After receiving this message, an employer can register with the super fund and update their payroll or clearing house settings, so the fund is appropriately registered as the default fund.

However, future contributions can still fail if the clearing house does not generate a new Member Registration Request (MRR).

Although the default fund relationship has been updated, the fund may still not receive the registration information required to create a new member account.

How to fix it

• Confirm your default fund relationship is recorded.
• Check with your payroll provider or clearing house whether a Member Registration Request (MRR) has been generated.
• If AustralianSuper is your default fund, you can create the new member account via the Employer Portal to obtain the new membership number.
• Resubmit the contribution only after the required registration information has been transmitted.

Super funds use several data points to match incoming contributions to existing member records, including:

• Surname
• Date of birth
• Employer information
• Other member identifiers

Matching becomes more difficult when member records contain placeholder dates of birth, such as 01/01/2001, instead of a verified date of birth.

When multiple employees share the same surname and employer, a common dummy date of birth can increase the risk of:

• Contributions being allocated to the wrong member account.
• Duplicate member records being created.
• Contribution processing delays.
• Additional investigation and reconciliation work.

How to avoid it

• Encourage employees to provide accurate personal information when joining a fund and continue to keep their account details current as they change.
• Update employee details when corrected information becomes available (some data can only be updated by a member).
• Ensure you’re creating a member with the exact same data that appears on the members’ digital portal or statement. Keep in mind, that sometimes previous employers may have set up the members with incorrect details so the employee may need to correct them with the fund.
• Ensure dates of birth held in payroll systems are accurate and verified where possible.
• If the member is with AustralianSuper, they can email the correct spelling of their name and membership ID to their employer via the mobile app.

Some employers submit contributions for new employees using dummy, placeholder or invalid member numbers.

While this may appear harmless, some SuperStream providers interpret the presence of a member number to mean the employee is an existing choice-of-fund member rather than a new employee requiring registration.

As a result, the provider may suppress the Member Registration Request (MRR) that would normally be sent for a new member.

Without the MRR, the super fund may be unable to establish the account required to accept contributions.

How to avoid it

• Never use placeholder or dummy member numbers.
• Follow your payroll provider's onboarding process for new employees.
• Ensure all required member information is completed before submitting contributions.
• If you're using AustralianSuper as your default fund, you can create a new member number in the Employer Portal and add it to your payroll system before contributing.