Alice Jordan-Baird (Gorton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that the reforms to the low-income superannuation tax offset (LISTO) the Treasurer announced on 13 October 2025 will:

(a) increase the LISTO by $310 to $810; and

(b) raise the eligibility threshold from $37,000 to $45,000;

(2) acknowledges that these reforms will deliver a more secure retirement for 1.3 million Australians, of which around 60 per cent are women, with the total number of Australians eligible for LISTO increasing to 3.1 million;

(3) takes note of the legislation currently before the Parliament that ensures superannuation is paid on time to help more Australians get the secure retirement they need and deserve; and

(4) further acknowledges that only the current Government will protect Australians' superannuation because of our commitment for Australians to earn more, keep more of what they earn, and to retire with more as well.

This motion goes to the reforms of the low-income superannuation tax offset, or LISTO that the Treasurer announced in October this year. These reforms will deliver a more secure retirement for 1.3 million Australians, of which around 60 per cent are women, with the total number of Australians eligible for the LISTO increasing to 3.1 million. Only the Albanese Labor government will protect Australian superannuation, because of our commitment that Australians earn more, keep more of what they earn and retire with more. I'm really pleased to move the motion before the House today, recognising the significant impact this reform will have for people across Australia and in my electorate of Gorton.

Low-income workers are too often undervalued in our society—retail workers, hospitality workers, administrative assistants, cleaners, disability and aged-care workers, and farm workers. They put food on our table, care for our loved ones, and keep our workspaces, schools and community facilities clean. These are people who have worked their whole lives in service of our community, and it's not fair that this sometimes means they don't get to have financial stability in their retirement. Our government's reforms to the low-income tax offset will give low-income earners more security and stability in their retirement. The changes announced by the Treasurer last month increase the offset from $310 to $810, directly boosting low-income earners' retirement savings and allowing them greater financial security in their future. By raising the eligibility threshold from earning $37,000 per year to earning $45,000 per year, more individuals will also be able to access the offset—more than 2,000 people in my electorate of Gorton.

I've worked in takeaway food service. I've been underpaid. I've been treated poorly by customers, and my contribution has been undervalued. I know that working in retail and hospitality can be a hard slog. It takes a toll on your physical and mental health. You work long hours on your feet with few breaks. More often than not, your pay doesn't reflect your skills, your experience or the challenges of your work. It's not right that people working in these jobs are held back in their retirement. The low-income tax offset is a tangible step towards rectifying this injustice. The LISTO makes a contribution into a person's super, in addition to their employer's contribution, if they meet the requirements. Depending on their circumstances, the LISTO could see an extra $15,000 added to an individual's retirement savings. This amount will make a huge difference to these individuals' lives, giving them the security and peace of mind that their retirement is taken care of.

This reform isn't just about economic justice. It's also about gender equity. Sixty per cent of low-income workers are women, and workers in industries dominated by women are still paid less than in those dominated by men. For these reasons, women end up with much less super than their male counterparts. This reform will mean 1.3 million more Australians—around 55 per cent of whom will be women—will have a more secure retirement, reducing financial inequity between men and women and ensuring that women have financial security and autonomy in their retirement.

I want to talk about how these changes will affect those in my electorate of Gorton. At the most recent count, nearly 15 per cent of people in Gorton worked as clerical and administrative workers, over 10 per cent as community and personal service workers, and nine per cent as sales workers. These are people I see in my office on their one afternoon off a month. These are people who spend their weekends at community events, even though they often work long hours in demanding conditions. These occupations are some of the lowest paid in our workforce, but without them everything would grind to a halt. They deserve the dignity of savings for when they retire, just like any other worker.

Labor is the party of super. It was Prime Minister Keating who created the compulsory superannuation system, ensuring every Australian has savings when they retire, and it is clear from a decade under the coalition that only Labor will protect super. I'm really proud to be part of a government that is building on Keating's legacy, defending the dignity of low-income workers and working towards a more equitable system.

Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there a seconder for the motion?

Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this motion, which claims that only the Labor government will protect Australian super. Well, if that's how Labor want to be judged, they should hang their heads in shame, because the facts are clear: Labor is not protecting your super.

On this government's watch, more than 12,000 Australians—many nearing retirement—are facing over a billion dollars in losses from their super following the collapse of First Guardian and Shield. This is the biggest failure in Australian history. It happened under Labor, and they've been asleep at the wheel since. That's not what protecting your superannuation looks like.

I've met some of these people. These aren't rich people. These aren't wealthy people. I've met a detective from Queensland. I've met members of the Save Our Super group like Melinda Kee; Peter Spencer-Franks, a bus driver; Brad Waterman; Denise Cocquyt, a teacher; and Mike Poland, who I met last week in Perth. They've lost everything. On a personal note to them: thank you for coming to see me to tell me your story. More so, thank you for stepping up despite what you're facing, despite you working all your life and now having no super because of a failure by government and a failure by ASIC, which I'll get to. You stand up, and you will be the face, and you will fight and advocate on behalf of those 12,000 other Australians. Thank you.

These are Australians who played by the rules. They trusted that the system would protect them, but it failed and they tell me they've been left with nothing. The government ignores them. Their letters go unanswered, or they're answered by bureaucratic nonsense. They just want the government to acknowledge that they exist—that's all—and to work with them. People caught up in these failures have been pushed to the brink, and there is a real human cost. Very, very sadly, one person has taken his own life over this.

I want to say this to those impacted. I will work with you. Please take one day at a time. Lean on your family and friends and the Save Our Super group for support. If you need help, please go and get it. There is nothing wrong with that. There will be brighter days ahead. I acknowledge what you've gone through. I'm listening and I'm working with the minister to try and find a solution.

I truly hope I can work with the government. I've mentioned that the minister, Minister Mulino, is working well with me. He's very engaging and—credit where credit is due—he's doing the best he possibly can under a very difficult set of circumstances. But let's be clear. This government have failed. First, in 2022 they commissioned a review by the Treasury into regulation of the managed investment schemes, the very structures used by First Guardian and Shield. Submissions to the review called for tighter regulation, stronger oversight and greater transparency. The response by this government—nothing. The review was buried, with no reforms and no action.

Second, they let ASIC fail and haven't held them to account. ASIC was warned about First Guardian back in 2019 but took years to take any serious action. Later they raised concerns about Shield with Macquarie but failed to tell the other platforms about it. That silence led to super losses that could have been avoided. ASIC is now taking action, which is good to see, but the horse has bolted. It's too late. Twelve thousand people have lost their superannuation. They're acting like the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. And what has the Treasurer done? Absolutely nothing. He hasn't even bothered to update the statement of expectations for ASIC, a basic tool every government has used to set standards for the agency—and when I say 'he hasn't' I'm talking about the Treasurer, not about Minister Mulino.

Instead of protecting your super, Labor is focused on raiding it. We saw that in the paper today, with Premier Allen, who has bankrupted a state and now is talking about raiding your superannuation to keep it afloat. The motion claims Labor will protect Australian super, but their record tells a very different story. This government has overseen the biggest superannuation failure in history, left Australians exposed by allowing ASIC's enforcement shortcomings to go unchecked and looked for ways to raid your super themselves. Australians deserve better.

Kara Cook (Bonner, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Every Australian worker deserves two simple things: to keep more of what they earn and to retire with dignity. But for too long low-income workers—those keeping our cafes running, caring for our elderly and cleaning our schools and hospitals—have been left behind. The Albanese Labor government is fixing that. The low-income superannuation tax offset, the LISTO, exists to make sure low-income earners don't pay more tax on their super contributions than they do on their wages. It's automatic, it's fair and it's essential. Under the Liberals, it was frozen for eight long years. Labor is changing that. From 1 July 2027, we will increase the LISTO from $310 to $810 and lift the income eligibility threshold from $37,000 to $45,000. This means low-income workers will finally receive a fair tax concession on their super. This change will benefit 1.3 million Australians, with an average boost of $410 to their super. That's around $15,000 extra at retirement. In Bonner alone, over 7½ thousand workers will keep an extra $415 a year. That's the barista in Belmont, the hairdresser in Hemmant and the cleaner in Carindale—real workers keeping more of their own money.

What did those opposite do when they had the chance to support workers in their retirement? The answer is nothing. The LISTO remained frozen for eight long years. Wages went backwards for five consecutive quarters. Under Labor, we now have the strongest annual real wages growth in five years and the longest period of real wages growth above 0.7 per cent in a decade. We've legislated to protect penalty rates because workers rely on them. Only Labor backs workers. The coalition never have.

Economic inequality is gender inequality. Women face higher health costs, carry more unpaid care and retire with less super. More than 750,000 additional Australians with income between $37,000 and $45,000 will now become eligible for LISTO, including more than 450,000 women. Almost 500,000 Australians with income below $37,000 who were already eligible will also receive a higher LISTO payment, including almost 300,000 women. The workers who stand to benefit from this change include over 100,000 sales assistants, over 50,000 admin workers and over 50,000 aged-care and disability carers, the majority of whom are women.

We know the facts. Women take more time out of the workforce to care for children and ageing parents. Women are more likely to work part time or casually. Women earn less across their lifetime. The result? Between the ages of 60 and 64, men have a median super balance of $205,000; women have $154,000—almost a quarter less. From the age of 60, 62 per cent of men have super, compared with just 52 per cent of women, and one in four women over 60 live below the poverty line. Almost 60 per cent of older female renters live in poverty. This is unacceptable. Labor will not allow another generation of women to retire poor. Because Labor unfroze and expanded the LISTO, women—especially those in aged care, early education and health—will keep more of what they earn.

This sits alongside expanding paid parental leave to 26 weeks, paying super on parental leave and passing payday super laws to stop employers from ripping off workers' retirement savings. Together, these reforms are life changing. Superannuation is a Labor idea and a Labor achievement. It was built so Australians could retire with security earned through work, not inherited through wealth. By reforming the LISTO, the Albanese Labor government is ensuring a fairer superannuation system for the many, not the privileged few. Australian workers deserve dignity in retirement, and this Labor government will always fight to deliver it.

Nicolette Boele (Bradfield, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In September this year, I was privileged to be invited to participate in a panel run by Super Members Council to discuss this LISTO, the Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset. It was an excellent event with a sterling line-up of talented women. Panellists included Georgia Brumby, the Deputy CEO of Super Members Council; Jo Kowalczyk, the CEO of Women in Super; and Georgie Dent, the CEO of the Parenthood. Collectively, these women have worked for years to make the everyday lives of Australian women better. The topic for discussion on the day was the subject of this very motion: the need to reform the Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset, or LISTO.

The LISTO was introduced in 2012 and provided a payment of $500 into super for people earning less than $37,000 a year. It was designed to ensure that low-income earners don't pay more tax on their super contributions than on their take-home pay. The problem was that it had not changed since 2012, when it was introduced. The income threshold of $37,000 was out of date, and the amount of the payment itself had been devalued as a result of not keeping up with inflation. With 63 per cent of people benefiting from LISTO being women, the panel and I that day were in firm agreement that it was in need of updating. So I was pleased when the Treasurer announced in October that the government had listened and would be increasing both the amount of the LISTO and the threshold for eligibility in line with what the experts and industry had been calling for.

I was equally pleased to see the way in which the government proposed to fund the changes to LISTO. The LISTO changes, it was announced, would be paid for by tweaking the government's proposal to reduce tax concessions on earnings in superannuation accounts with balances over $3 million. Tax reform is another topic entirely—one which, although needed, successive governments have shied away from. I welcomed the announcement during the last term that the government planned to reduce tax concessions on earnings of super balances above $3 million but held concerns about some of the finer details of that proposal.

The first area of concern was that the $3 million threshold for the change to the tax concession would not be indexed. The LISTO is a perfect example of a situation where tax policy that is not indexed will soon become unfit for purpose. Within 13 years of the introduction of the LISTO—and some would probably say sooner than that—the LISTO was not operating as it was intended, and the $37,000 threshold for eligibility for additional superannuation payment needed updating. In the last term, in arguing against the need to index the $3 million threshold for super tax changes, the government said that unindexed amounts are regularly included in legislation and that it's simple to amend it when it's necessary. The crossbench's counterargument was that not only would it be simpler to index the amount from the outset but also it would ensure that the legislation remained fit for purpose year in and year out. The LISTO thresholds demonstrate the force of this argument. It has taken 13 years and much advocacy from civil society to achieve legislative change to the LISTO thresholds and make them work as intended in 2025. LISTO recipients, mainly women and those in low-paid—often shift or part time—casual work, such as those in the care industry, would have received a greater benefit for longer with indexation.

So will it be for taxpayers affected by the changes to the superannuation tax concessions for balances over $3 million. They will not have to start paying more tax sooner, because the threshold will be indexed. A secondary concern about the superannuation tax concession changes was that the changes would apply to unrealised capital gains. That was going to hurt farmers and small businesses, who quite legitimately and compliantly often hold large assets inside their superannuation and who would have been forced to pay a tax bill on assets they did not intend to liquidate during the tax year.

Again, the government listened to that concern, raised squarely by the Independents on the crossbench during the debate on the legislation, and have decided that the tax should not apply to unrealised capital gains. These LISTO changes are necessary and overdue. The retirement savings of Australians on low incomes will be boosted, the burden on government during those people's retirements will be reduced, and it's a positive change, which I welcome.

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

Every dollar saved for retirement matters. I'm proud that our government is delivering more help to low-income workers with changes to the low-income superannuation tax offset, or LISTO. The government is raising the eligibility threshold from $37,000 to $45,000 from 1 July 2027 and boosting the maximum payment to $810. We are ensuring that the superannuation system is stronger and fairer for low-income workers, many of whom are women and young people. This change will ensure that low-income workers receive a fairer tax concession on their super contribution. The average increase in the LISTO payment will be $410 for affected workers, and workers could receive a potential benefit of around $15,000, depending on the individual's income over their career.

In 2027-28, more than 770,000 Australians will be eligible for the LISTO, and 490,000 Australians will receive a higher LISTO contribution. These changes are meaningful. I meet with women in my electorate of Tangney who work as sales assistants or in the care sector as aged and disability carers. I speak with young people who are balancing work and study. These changes mean that a total of 3.1 million Australians will be eligible for the LISTO. Around 60 per cent of these Australians are women.

The gender super gap is an issue my constituents regularly raise with me. According to research by the Super Members Council, the gender super gap between men and women in my electorate of Tangney is the worst in Western Australia and also in the whole of Australia. As people near retirement, the median super balance of women in Tangney is 41 per cent less than the median super balance of men. The Super Members Council estimates that more than 9,300 people in Tangney will benefit from the LISTO payment. In my electorate of Tangney, 62 per cent of the beneficiaries will be women. The Albanese Labor government is focused on women's economic equality, including action to promote better and greater equity in women's superannuation. Since July, parents have been eligible to receive superannuation on their government funded paid parental leave, a change I'm very proud to have supported. Paying super on government funded paid parental leave will benefit around 180,000 Australian mothers each year. Families in Tangney, including my own, have told me about how important this change is to reduce the super gender gap.

I also want to briefly touch on the legislation the government passed to deliver pay day super. This legislation will be of particular benefit to women who are overrepresented in paid, casual and insecure work. It will also benefit people in Tangney, which has some of the highest rates of unpaid super in Western Australia. The Super Members Council estimated that almost $40 million in super went unpaid in 2020-21.

The Albanese Labor government is working at every point across women's lives to make sure they are earning more and keeping more of what they earn. This is working. The gender pay gap is the lowest on record, and we continue to invest in increased wages, support increases to the minimum wage and deliver tax breaks and important reforms to superannuation.

Colin Boyce (Flynn, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned, and the resumption of debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.