Sam Lim (Tangney, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Building a Stronger and Fairer Super System) Bill 2026 and the Superannuation (Building a Stronger and Fairer Super System) Imposition Bill 2026. These bills deliver more help to low-income workers and reform the superannuation system to make it stronger, fairer and more sustainable.

From 1 July 2027 we are boosting the low-income superannuation tax offset, also called LISTO, by $310 to $810, and the eligibility threshold will go from $37,000 to $45,000. These changes are to ensure that low-income workers receive a fairer tax concession on their superannuation contributions. This aligns with the government's third round of tax cuts, which will take effect in 2027. With these changes, more than 770,000 additional Australians will be eligible for LISTO in 2027-28, and 490,000 Australians will receive a higher LISTO payment. These changes bring the total number of Australians eligible for LISTO to 3.1 million, of which around 60 per cent are women. These changes will have an impact across Australia, including in my electorate of Tangney—especially for women in Tangney.

The gender superannuation gap is worse in Tangney than in many other electorates in Australia, with a 37 per cent gap between men's and women's super savings across all age groups. Unfortunately, this gap only widens with age as people near retirement. The median woman in Tangney aged 50 to 59 has 41 per cent less in super than the median man in Tangney of the same age.

A few months ago I met with a woman in my electorate of Tangney. She is a former educator who later changed careers to work in the aged-care sector. She currently works part time as a support worker in aged care with elderly clients who depend on her and really value all the assistance and care she dedicates to them. Her career has been devoted to serving and caring for others. Her job is not easy, and her salary is not very high. She's one of the women in Tangney who work in the sectors that traditionally have been lower paid and heavily feminised. When we met, we discussed some of the challenges she is facing as she approaches her retirement age, including superannuation. These challenges are all weighing heavily on her shoulders as she decides on when she can afford to retire and what her retirement might look like when she does stop working. After years of hard work and contributions to Australian society and community, she would like to have peace of mind and stability in her retirement. Her story and her words sit with me as we discuss this legislation.

Women's economic equality is a core focus of our government, and I see how these changes will help address the current superannuation gender inequality that we see in our communities. These reforms build on other important changes that we have made since coming to office, including promoting greater equity in women's superannuation, paying superannuation on paid parental leave and introducing payday super. Women currently take the majority of Commonwealth paid parental leave, so this change also helps to address the superannuation gender gap that develops during this period in a family's life. When I think back to my constituents who approached me, I know there are other women in Tangney who are in similar challenging positions. Lifting the LISTO is a step that will help make super fairer for women and help narrow that gap.

The workers who stand to benefit from this change represent an essential part of our workforce. This includes more than 100,000 sales assistants, 50,000 administrative workers and 50,000 aged and disability carers, carers like my constituents who provide important day-to-day support for some of the most vulnerable members of our community. These proposed changes in this bill mean a boost to the super of more than 9,300 low-income workers in Tangney. Of these 9,300 people in Tangney, 62 per cent of the beneficiaries will be women. Depending on an individual's income over their careers, workers could receive a potential benefit at retirement of around $15,000.

I think it is important to talk about who will benefit from these changes and how many people are expected to be impacted. These changes will benefit around 1.3 million Australians, including around 750,000 women and around 550,000 young people under the age of 30. More than 750,000 additional Australians with income between $37,000 to $45,000 will now become eligible to LISTO, including more than 450,000 women, and almost 500,000 Australians with income below $37,000 will receive a higher LISTO payment, including almost 300,000 women. It is also important to note that there are 14 times as many people who will benefit from the boost to LISTO as there are people with more than $3 million in their superannuation.

This legislation also implements the government's policy to better target the tax concessions that are available to individuals whose superannuation balances are greater than $3 million. The legislation maintains the concessional treatments of superannuation for all taxpayers while also making superannuation tax concessions more targeted for those with large balances. It is helpful to go through the background on these changes. Superannuation tax concessions cost the budget more than $60 million a year. They will exceed the cost of the aged pension in 2040. The existing tax breaks strongly benefit a small number of people with high balances that go well beyond what is needed for a comfortable and dignified retirement. Around 38 per cent of the super earning concessions go to the top 10 per cent of income earners, while 54 per cent of the super earning concessions go to the top 20 per cent. In making such changes, superannuation concessions will be better and more targeted. These reforms reflect practical changes to the design and implementation of the original policy and take into account more than two years of feedback.

Starting in the 2026-27 financial year, the tax rate applied to earnings on superannuation balances between $3 million and $10 million will be up to 30 per cent. The tax rate applied to earnings on balances above $10 million will be up to 40 per cent. There will be no change to the taxation of earnings corresponding to balances below $3 million, which will continue to be taxed at up 15 per cent. These changes are expected to affect fewer than 0.5 per cent of Australians with super accounts, and the higher tax rate on balances of more than $10 million will affect fewer than 0.1 per cent of people with super. These changes we are making are consistent with the government's legislated objective of superannuation. That is to preserve savings to deliver income for a dignified retirement, alongside government support, in an equitable and sustainable way.

The changes to LISTO have had strong support in my community and in families across all of Tangney. In my conversation with families, women and young people, it is clear these changes are both fair and practical. There are changes designed to ensure people on a lower income are not placed at a disadvantage. These changes provide a fairer tax concession on their super contribution while also making a real difference in efforts to narrow the superannuation gender gap. These changes make sure everyone has concessions to save for retirement through super while also improving the equity and sustainability of the superannuation system by reducing concessions for small numbers of individuals with very large super balances. I support this bill.

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