Madonna Jarrett (Brisbane, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

This bill is another step in strengthening a system that delivers on its purpose of providing income for a dignified retirement. Schedule 1 to the bill amends the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act to streamline the super choice-of-funds process during employee onboarding. When starting a new job, Australians deserve to know their options and make informed choices about their super fund.

Stapling has also been introduced, to ensure employers pay superannuation contributions to an employee's existing super fund if that employee doesn't make a choice. Now, if an employee doesn't make a choice of fund, their employer can request the stapled fund details from the ATO, and this really prevents employees unintentionally opening new super accounts every time they start a new job. It also supports our government's commitment to empower employees to make informed decisions, informed choices, by making it easier for them to see, consider and select their existing super fund when they start a new job, if that's what they choose to do. To be clear, though: as under existing choice-of-fund rules, the employees will still be able to choose any available super fund. This amendment also supports our government's commitment to reduce unintended duplicate accounts, which can erode savings over time, as we all know, with duplicate fees or extra insurance premiums.

I look around at my young sons and their friends as they're starting work and I guarantee you: their superannuation fund is not top of mind for them. It's really easy, I think, when changing jobs, to lose track of things like your super and to inadvertently open another fund—especially when it's dropped in front of you when you're signing many, many papers for a new job and while you've got a hundred and one things going on in your mind and you may even be a bit nervous. These changes will also give employers, though, more timely and accurate superannuation details, supporting their readiness for our government's payday super reforms.

Schedule 2 to the bill amends the Corporations Act 2001 to impose a ban on advertising superannuation products to employees during onboarding, but with certain exceptions. Again, Australians deserve protection from inappropriate advertising when they provide their superannuation details to an employer when onboarding. This is a key moment for employees when they start work, and they should be able to engage with their super in a safe and informed way, free of inappropriate pressure or product promotions.

There was a review called Your Future, Your Super, which uncovered some inappropriate behaviour where software providers were undermining stapling and directing employees to advertising of products, including those associated with the software provider. Our government really wants to put a stop to that inappropriate behaviour. This amendment introduces a ban on advertising super products to an employee, specifically at the point of onboarding when starting a new job, as I've said.

The following exceptions will apply so that only certain types of superannuation products can be shown or advertised to employees: the employee's super fund, the employer's default fund, and MySuper products that meet the following conditions. First, they have to pass the Annual Superannuation Performance Test. Second, the person advertising the product must not be related to the super fund that is offering the product—pretty important. Third, the person advertising the MySuper product has to have requested an employee's stapled fund and must provide those details to the employee if available. Finally, the advertisement must be accompanied by clear and unambiguous disclosures.

For clarity: MySuper fund products are default superannuation products which are subject to strict regulation and an annual performance test. And the condition to show an employee their stapled fund is an important consumer protection that will provide the necessary information in order to make a better-informed decision. Just for clarity, the ban does not apply to a person advertising in the ordinary course of business.

Our government consulted with stakeholders on this amendment, and there was broad support for the changes and, importantly, an understanding of the benefits superannuation stapling brings to reducing unintended duplicate accounts. By requiring stapling as a condition of advertising a MySuper product during onboarding, the bill strikes a pretty decent balance. It gives employees as much transparency as possible while providing flexibility for service providers to ensure that their systems are ready, and it aligns with the implementation of Payday Super.

These amendments reinforce our government's commitment to supporting Australians to make informed choices about their superannuation while providing strong consumer protection. They will protect employees from being unduly influenced and from making uninformed decisions. Under the existing choice-of-fund rules, employees will still be able to choose any available super fund.

These reforms build on our government's broader work to strengthen super: legislating the purpose of super, lifting the super guarantee to 12 per cent, boosting the low-income super tax offset and paying superannuation on paid parental leave. We have implemented major reforms to ensure that funds deliver for their members, from the financial accountability regime to stronger reporting standards, and expanding the performance test from around 80 products to more than 800.

Let's move on to some other matters in the bill. In Australia we love our sport. It's part of our national identity. Schedule 3 of the bill provides targeted tax exemptions to help Australia host the men's and women's Rugby World Cup in 2027 and 2029. These games aren't just two events on a calendar. They're part of a long national tradition of hosting sports that brings people together. World Rugby chose Australia in 2022 for a good reason: we are a country that competes. The men's and women's World Cups will draw hundreds of thousands of international visitors, which will boost local tourism. It'll pack our hotels, fill up our pubs and restaurants, pack out our stadiums, and showcase Australia on the world stage in the lead-up to the Brisbane Olympics in 2032.

Hosting the Rugby World Cup will generate jobs. It'll deliver long-term benefits to local communities, including increased participation in sport, especially among women and girls. The amendments will provide income tax exemptions for event delivery companies and joint venture partners, and there'll be a withholding tax exemption for certain payments to foreign entities up to 30 June 2031. These settings align with what's been put in place previously for other major global sporting events hosted here, including the famous 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. They're critical to ensuring that Australia remains competitive and an attractive destination for global events.

Moving on to schedule 4 of the bill, this puts Australia's new tax treaty with Portugal into law, adding to the attractiveness of Australia as an investment destination. This is actually the first agreement of its kind between our countries, and it opens the door to deeper commercial, investment and innovation links by cutting withholding-tax rates on dividends, interest and royalties. It means fewer tax barriers, cheaper access to foreign capital and stronger incentives for Australian and Portuguese businesses to invest. This helps strengthen our tax integrity.

Finally, the convention supports the government's plan to make multinationals pay their fair share of tax and, again, strengthens the integrity of the tax system. It helps prevent tax evasion and avoidance by providing mechanisms for tax authorities to exchange information and to provide assistance in the collection of tax debts. Exchange of information is very important in that regard.

Schedule 5 of the bill amends the income tax laws to specifically list 11 entities as deductible gift recipients. I won't read them all, but a couple I'll mention are Community Foundations Australia and Partnerships for Local Action and Community Empowerment. Specifically listing an organisation encourages philanthropic giving and supports our not-for-profit sectors, as donors may claim income tax deductions for donations to organisations with deductible gift recipient status. To maintain the trust and integrity of the deductible gift recipient system, the schedule also removes entities that have either voluntarily asked to be removed or no longer operate for the purposes for which they were originally provided DGR status.

The last schedule of the bill relates to wine. In Australia we love a good drop, and we have some of the best wines in the world—some of them not too far from here. Schedule 6 delivers on the Albanese government's 2025-26 budget commitment to provide tax relief for Australian wine producers. Currently, all eligible wine products can receive a rebate of wine equalisation tax of up to about $350,000. The changes this bill introduces increase that cap to $400,000 per financial year from 1 July 2026. And we didn't stop at wine. Through regulations, we're making matching changes for brewers and distillers too. From 1 July, the excise remission cap for eligible alcohol manufacturers will rise from $350,000 to $400,000 a year for beer and spirits entered for home consumption. That keeps wine, beer and spirits all in step.

Together, these changes back our local producers. They keep money flowing through our regional towns. They support jobs. They support investment. I say cheers to that, and I commend the bill to the House.

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