Stapled Super Funds: What you need to know when hiring new employees

As of 1 November, if you employ new staff and they do not nominate a super fund, you may need to request their existing super fund (‘stapled super fund’) from the Australian Tax Office (ATO).

A stapled super fund is an existing super account linked, or 'stapled', to an employee so it follows them as they move employers. This aims to reduce account fees, avoiding new super accounts being opened every time an employee starts a new job.

When a new employee starts, you need to:

• offer them a choice of super fund if they're eligible to choose
• request their stapled fund details from the ATO if they don't choose a fund.

This includes employees who aren’t eligible to choose a fund, such as:

• temporary residents
• employees covered by an enterprise agreement or workplace determination made before 1 January 2021.

You then pay their super contributions into one of the following:

• the super fund the employee chooses
• the stapled super fund the ATO has provided to you
• your default fund (or another that meets the 'choice of fund' rules) if you can't pay into either of the above.

Before you can request an employee's stapled fund details, you need to submit a Tax File Number Declaration or a Single Touch Payroll event to establish the employment relationship.

It’s important to remember, you only request details for a new employee who's started on or after 1 November.

For more information, visit the ATO website at https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/Super-for-employers/Setting-up-super-for-your-business/Offer-employees-a-choice-of-super-fund/Request-stapled-super-fund-details-for-employees/

If you require any assistance please reach out to the C&N team.