If you are a full-time, part-time or casual employee between 18 and 70 years of age, your employer is required to make superannuation contributions on your behalf (known as the Superannuation Guarantee) for any month in which you are paid $450 (before tax) or more.
If you are under 18, you must be working more than 30 hours a week to be eligible to receive superannuation contributions from your employer under the Superannuation Guarantee.
If you are covered by an award or workplace agreement, you may be eligible to receive superannuation contributions from your employer on all of your earnings even if you are under 18, working part-time and earning less than $450 per calendar month—some awards extend superannuation to a wider range of employees, or to all employees.
The amount of superannuation support your employer is required to pay for you is currently set at 9 per cent of your ‘earnings base’. An earnings base can be defined in many ways and is often defined in the relevant award or workplace agreement. If the earnings base is not defined anywhere, superannuation is calculated on salary or wages paid for your ordinary hours of work (excluding overtime).
Your employer must tell you which superannuation fund your superannuation contributions are paid into.
Access to superannuation payments is not generally available until you reach a specified age (currently 55, but rising to 60 for those born after 30 June 1964).
Federal awards and agreements are often complex documents, and sometimes it’s hard to locate the award or agreement that covers your employment. If you need help, contact the Australian Government's Fair Work Australia site [opens in new window] or phone 1300 799 675.
Further information