Lisa Darmanin (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's my pleasure to continue my remarks from earlier today in this debate. Those opposite in the coalition want to delay payday super. They say that it's too much too soon and that it will overwhelm business. Well, in a contemporary payroll environment, that argument does not withstand scrutiny. Payroll software is automated, digital reporting is routine and businesses already run payroll cycles weekly or fortnightly. The idea that contributing to a worker's retirement savings with the same regularity as their wages is somehow an unreasonable ask belongs to another era. The longer we wait, the more workers will miss out and the harder it will be to recover unpaid superannuation for them.

This is also a matter of intergenerational fairness. Every delayed contribution widens inequality between generations, entrenches disadvantage and undermines confidence in our system. Payday super addresses this directly, ensuring that younger Australians receive the value they have earned over the entirety of their careers. Superannuation is fundamentally workers' money. It is not employers' cash flow, and it is not optional. When it is unpaid, workers lose not just wages but future security. Payday super fixes that. It ensures accountability, protects workers, rewards honest employers and strengthens trust in the system.

Those opposite have a very long record of opposing superannuation reform not on the basis of economics but on the basis of ideology. They opposed its introduction, they delayed the increase of the super guarantee to 12 per cent and they proposed allowing people to raid their retirement savings for short-term problems, undermining long-term security. Let's not forget the dark chapter of superannuation management under the Morrison government during the COVID-19 pandemic. We saw Australians being encouraged to raid their super early to the tune of $20,000, leaving a gaping hole in their future retirement savings. In total, $36 billion was withdrawn from the system then. Over 700,000 Australians effectively depleted their super accounts, and 70 per cent of those people were under 30. It was a shocking case of kicking the can down the road. We will not even begin to see the impact of that decision until 2050. Twenty-five years of compounding interest went down the drain. For early career workers, the impact of that $20,000 cashout will be far greater than the lump sum withdrawn.

In closing, those opposite have consistently treated superannuation as something optional, something secondary, something disposable. Workers deserve better than ideological objections. They deserve policy that is rooted in fairness and facts. Our retirement income is internationally respected. It stands alongside Medicare and universal education as a defining pillar of Australian social policy. But no pillar stands forever if it is not protected and built on. Payday super will improve retirement balances particularly for women, carers, part-time workers, young people and workers in fragmented industries. It will create accountability where there has been ambiguity. Dignity in retirement begins with every pay slip linked contribution every fortnight. What you earn now grows for tomorrow. This is a long-awaited reform. Workers have asked for it, regulators have recommended it, economists have modelled it and now the parliament has the opportunity to deliver it.

Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Greens welcome the Labor government's Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025 and Superannuation Guarantee Charge Amendment Bill 2025. We will be supporting this legislation. This reform has been a long, long time coming. There are a bunch of folks who have been working behind the scenes and campaigning publicly for this legislation for a long, long time, including the Super Members Council, the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia and Super Consumers Australia. They have demonstrated relentless advocacy and persistence, and it is because of them and folks like them that this long-overdue reform is now finally going to become law.

This will be, when it passes through this parliament, a win for fairness, a win for transparency and a win for accountability. Importantly, it's a win for millions of Australian workers who have been shortchanged and ignored for far too long. The number of people who are missing out on their superannuation payments is staggering. It's absolutely staggering. The Super Members Council analysis of ATO data shows that in 2022-23, 3.3 million Australians were not pay the superannuation that they were owed. They were not paid the superannuation that they earned.

Let's be really clear about this. Superannuation payments belong to workers. They belong to the people to whom those payments are due. Those 3.3 million Australians who were not paid the super they earned in 2022-23 collectively missed out on $5.7 billion. That's $5.7 billion in unpaid super in a single financial year. That is $110 million a week that should have been going into the pockets and the bank accounts of Australian workers but wasn't. That money belongs to those workers; it doesn't belong to their employers. It belongs to the people who were doing the work.

For decades now, employers have been able to use their employees' superannuation as an interest-free loan, in effect, to top up their cash flow. The quarterly payment system, which has been in place for a long time now, has basically allowed widespread wage theft to hide in plain sight. Too many businesses have treated unpaid super as optional or as a buffer to offset their own financial mismanagement. This bill will finally change that situation.

From 1 July 2026, superannuation will be paid at the same time as wages. In simple terms, what that means is that, when working folks get their wages, they'll get their super payments too. It is simple. It is fair. It means workers and the ATO can spot problems faster. It means unpaid super can be recovered sooner. And it means fewer workers arriving at retirement to discover that tens of thousands of dollars are missing out of their superannuation accounts. This is a positive step and—credit where credit is due—we thank the government for bringing this legislation in. But I do want to say that we need far greater reform of the superannuation system than what this legislation delivers, than what the government's revamped super tax arrangements will deliver next year.

Over time, since the superannuation system was created in Australia, it has drifted away from its original goal of providing for a dignified retirement for working Australians, and it's become less about that and more about functioning as a tax haven for wealthy Australians. That is, it has to be said, mostly the fault of coalition governments, in particular the Howard-Costello government, which introduced a range of reforms to the superannuation system that actually made it less about being a dignified retirement system for workers and more about becoming a tax haven for wealthy Australians. I'll have more to say about that general proposition and that drift in intent of the superannuation system in other speeches that I will make in this parliament.

I do want to draw attention to one matter in this speech, which is the second reading amendment that the Greens have circulated in my name. I foreshadow that amendment now. That amendment does hold the government to a promise that it's already made, which is to regulate the advertising of superannuation funds during employee onboarding. Those protections, the regulatory framework, were in the exposure draft of this legislation, and those regulations that were proposed were widely supported by consumer advocates and the industry super movement. But they've been stripped out of the final legislation. I have to say they've been stripped out of the final legislation without any kind of convincing explanation from the government. That is disappointing, because that reform is about protecting workers at one of the most vulnerable moments in their financial lives. That is when they start a new job.

I want to put the Greens's position very clearly on the table here, which is that new employees in any job shouldn't be subjected to unregulated advertising designed to manipulate them into joining underperforming or unsuitable superannuation funds. It is well beyond time that we regulated the advertising of superannuation funds during employee onboarding. That is simple common sense. It's about making sure that people's retirement savings and their choice of superannuation funds are guided by what is in their own best interests, not by marketing budgets. The government says they'll deal with it later, and our amendment will help ensure that that promise is kept.

While we do support the bill, we need to acknowledge the broader reality for more and more workers in Australia at the moment. People are simply being hammered by a cost-of-living crisis. We have corporations, including supermarket corporations, price gouging hand over fist. It is very disappointing that Labor's final announcement in the early days of the election campaign was that it is going to take on price gouging in the supermarket sector, but it's not going to extend across the entire economy, as the Greens bill does. Can I be very clear: yes, supermarkets are indeed price gouging, and, yes, we indeed need legislation to make price gouging by supermarket corporations illegal. We absolutely do. But narrowly scoping the legislation as Labor is proposing to do, so that it only relates to supermarkets, is ignoring the fundamental and bitter reality for millions of Australians, which is that they are getting price gouged by multiple corporations in multiple sectors of our economy. Do you think the big insurance companies aren't price gouging? Do you think the big airlines aren't misusing their market power to price gouge? Of course they are. Do you think the big banks aren't price gouging? Of course they are.

If we're going to make price gouging illegal in Australia—as we should—it absolutely should apply to supermarkets, but it should also apply to corporate price gouging right across our economy. It should capture the banks, airlines and insurance companies. Let's actually stand up to corporate greed, corporate profiteering, misuse of market power and corporate price gouging. Let's protect the millions of Australians who are getting smashed by corporate price gouging at the moment, and let's make price gouging illegal right across the entire economy. I say to Labor: the make-up of this parliament is such that we could legislate for that tomorrow. If Labor wanted to make price gouging illegal across the entire economy, the numbers are there in both houses of this parliament to legislate for that tomorrow.

The only reason that we're not going to legislate for that is a lack of ambition from the Labor Party. You have to ask yourself: why is the Labor Party so lacking in ambition? I direct people who are asking that question to the corporate donations that the Australian Labor Party takes from so many big corporations in this country. I direct them to the photos of the Prime Minister in his safety vests with big polluting fossil fuel company logos on the chest and on the back of them. I direct people to the revolving door that exists out of the parties of government in this place, including the Australian Labor Party, into the corporate boardrooms of Australia. Too many MPs representing the parties of government, the political duopoly in this country, know that if they run the pro-corporate agenda when they're in this place, they can roll out of the door at the end of their political careers into a cushy position in the boardroom of one of those same corporations that they protected when they were sitting in this place. It is small-c corruption that that still occurs, and it is time we put an end to the practice.

To sum up, this is much-needed legislation. It's overdue legislation. It's pro-worker legislation, and it is legislation that delivers on the fundamental Australian value of fairness. The Greens will be supporting it. I move the second reading amendment standing in my name:

At the end of the motion, add ", but the Senate:

(a) notes that:

(i) the bill does not include provisions that were included in the exposure draft legislation to regulate advertising of superannuation funds during employee onboarding, and

(ii) regulating advertising of superannuation funds during employee onboarding is an important reform to protect workers from being influenced to join unsuitable superannuation products when they commence a new job; and

(b) holds the Albanese Labor Government to their previous commitment to introduce legislation to regulate advertising of superannuation funds during employee onboarding commencing by 1 July 2026.

Tyron Whitten (WA, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As someone that grew a small business from two brothers, a ute and a wheelbarrow into one that employed over a thousand people, I have more experience than most people in this place to talk on this matter. Helping small businesses is a topic that I'm passionate about, so, when a bill like this comes along from bureaucrats and politicians that have never built a business and have never had to manage books or employees or cash flows and they add more onerous compliance measures to struggling businesses, I see red. We're seeing record numbers of businesses go to the wall as they try to navigate the utterly toxic landscape that all levels and all sides of government have presided over. Federal, state and local government have all contributed to the demise of small business. I couldn't agree more that people are entitled to their superannuation, and we need to ensure that businesses are making those contributions. But what most people won't appreciate is just how much those couple of months to pay employee's superannuation matter to a small business, especially when times get tough. It gives employers some breathing room to plan resources, to make sure they are staying afloat and to make sure their employees get paid. Superannuation arriving a few weeks earlier, which you still can't access for 30 years, will cripple some small businesses through lean times.

I've never been involved in or come across a small business that doesn't value their employees, but it shows how little people in this place understand how the world really works. So let me help you out. If the business folds, you don't get paid it all, and we've lost another small business. As if to show how little Labor cares about small business, they are also going to shut down the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House, a facility that was designed to make it simple for small business to make a single lump sum payment of their super obligations and then let the ATO split that up to eligible super funds. This small concession to ease the red tape on businesses is gone. To replace it, just go out and get some commercial software—more cost for small business—like money grows on a tree when you have a small business. Nobody here really cares.

The sad reality for the mum-and-dad businesses out there is that Labor makes the demands, Labor changes the rules, and small business foots the bill. They don't care. They'll act like they're doing Australians a favour as they make owning a small business impossible and push every Australian into the arms of big multinational employers—the only ones that can afford to comply with the never-ending mountain of red tape. But it shouldn't surprise anyone. This is the same Labor government that introduced their much-touted same job, same pay rules, forcing businesses to overpay some workers and underpay others. What about 'same effort, same pay'? Or 'same skill, same pay? What about 'same value proposition to your employer, same pay'? The Labor just sees workers as numbers on a spreadsheet.

In their socialist haze, they don't realise that every worker is different. Some work incredibly hard, are very talented and deserve to see the rewards for their efforts, while others are happy to sit back and let the slack be taken up by others. We've all seen it. Of course, Labor is full of lifelong politicians, coming through the union pipelines, who have never built anything in their lives. They don't care about hard workers getting ahead; they only care about making their union friends happy. Once again, small business suffers as their best workers leave for higher paying jobs because the business can't afford to raise the wages above an average worker to keep them.

People are individuals; they are not interchangeable. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. It's not the government's job to prescribe the value of workers. Even if a business survives the ridiculous industrial relations laws of Labor, they still have to contend with one of the most complex and oppressive tax systems in the world. Australia is in the top three countries in the world in length of tax codes—income tax, payroll tax, FBT, GST, stamp duty, excise, royalties, levies. Australian businesses pay almost $100 billion a year to manage their tax affairs, and that figure only includes the deductible costs, not the value of time lost in dealing with this nightmare. Every time a new tax is brought in and every time a new regulation is brought in, we lose more Australian mum-and-dad businesses to the abyss of bankruptcy. The big end of town might be able to deal with the changes. They can afford to comply with them at a moment's notice with deep credit lines. Small businesses just go under. Who would be an entrepreneur in today's climate? Then the workers have fewer employers to choose from. They have less bargaining power as options diminish. Australia is heading towards complete capitulation, where the only reasonable jobs left will be government jobs, as we snuff out anything that resembles innovation with our ever-mounting rules and regulations.

One Nation won't sit idly by and let small businesses and real competition die out. Successful businesses mean more choices for Australians—more real opportunity. When was the last time the government at any level had any idea to help a small business? One Nation is the only party that will help small business in a meaningful way and bring back an innovative and dynamic Australia where small business can flourish and employees have more options. In summary, I am not advocating that employees shouldn't get their super on time. I am shouting from the rooftops, 'For the love of God, somebody please help small business!'

Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm pleased that I was here in the chamber to hear that contribution, because it gives me the chance to speak to people who might be listening to the work of this parliament and point out how completely divisive that contribution was. I see you in the chair there, Acting Deputy President Sterle, as a man who ran your own business in the trucking industry. I see you as a representative of one of the largest unions in the country, the Transport Workers' Union. While you're in the chair, presiding over the Senate, you haven't forgotten all the struggles you had to get your truck, to keep it on the road, to meet the compliance and to do the work that keeps Australia moving—getting all of your business up and running. Then there is your association with the Transport Workers' Union, representing people with little power who are on wages and also representing the biggest companies in Australia who deliver all the things we need everywhere around this fine country.

Yet, in that contribution, from a person who's come in and styled themselves as a businessman—I just had a quick look. He was born in Gosford. He can't be too bad. I come from that area of the world. It's a beautiful part of the world. I hoped there might be a little bit of joy somewhere in the middle of that contribution. And he's made his money out of earthworks. Well, hey—fantastic! I'm the daughter of an Irish immigrant. I know a bit about dirt and roads. I love it. I ran a small business for my parents. I did all the bookwork from age 11 in that business with pride and determination. We needed to keep that business alive to keep our family going and to keep all those people employed. So every single time someone gets up in this chamber—predominantly from the Liberal and National parties, now joined by One Nation—and diminishes the contribution of senators who bring rich lives to this place, it gets my goat. It gets my goat because it sets one group of Australians against another, and that's all it is designed to do.

This parliament runs better and this country runs better when everybody brings their talents, knowledges and understandings of that complex world out there into the debate in service of the nation, instead of grandstanding and saying, 'Hey, I'm a big business owner, and I'm the only one who knows about this stuff.' It's just a joke, and it diminishes what we do. The reality is it's that sort of attitude that we see today that would have prevented superannuation ever becoming a thing. 'Small business or workers? Workers or small business?' There is this divisive narrative when the reality is that it's workers in great small businesses, which populate the entire country, that drive our economy.

Let's talk about the great small businesses—the really good ones. They don't want to rip off their workers. They want to pay them what is fair and reasonable. They want to pay above award to make sure they keep their staff employed, because that's their business. Their business is an investment in people as well as an expression of their own capacity. I can tell you what small businesses are sick and tired of, whatever sector they're in. Small businesses that are doing the right thing by their employees and paying superannuation properly are sick and tired of being undercut by dodgy businesses who think they can rip off their employees and keep the money themselves. Sadly, that attitude still prevails in part of this country. Not every business owner is doing the right thing by their employees. This isn't a change for the great employers; it's to make sure that the dodgy ones do what they should have always been doing but have excused themselves from doing.

The reality is that this is a battle that has been fought for a very long time. I note that the SDA, the union that I'm very proud to be associated with, have really been making sure that people understand what this payday super thing is about. They wrote to their members in June of this year, and it's as simple as this:

What does pay day super mean?

Currently, there's no requirement for employers to pay your superannuation on the same day as your pay and it is generally paid quarterly.

Well, what's wrong with that? You probably would have heard a defence from Senator Whitten of paying not quarterly but perhaps just once a year. They'll call that efficiency. But thing is that it costs workers. It costs workers because when your super is only paid quarterly the benefits of compound interest are lost for the individual employee. The money is sitting with that employer for three months when it could have been earning interest for that employee.

Who does this most particularly affect? It most particularly affects young people. Every Australian, whether you're 65 or 70 or 16, should get paid properly. You're entitled to be paid for your work and contribution, and this reform in the matter that we're discussing in this debate here in the Senate this evening will help ensure that workers actually receive the super that they're owed. They'll get it when they're owed it with their pay on their payday.

What is the problem that we're trying to solve here? The ATO actually have a pretty good eye about what's happening with some of these matters. In a typical ATO investigation of an unpaid super case, a worker has missed out on nearly two years worth of super contributions. For the average 35-year-old, failing to recover this money could reduce their retirement savings by around $32,000 in today's dollars. How do we prevent that? We enact this piece of legislation so that every Australian who gets their pay will get their super on the day they get their pay. It's a commonsense move, and it gives people a chance to see that superannuation coming in.

What we've seen sadly is that some disreputable business owners who aren't running their business as efficiently and effectively as they should consider the money that should be their employees', the superannuation of their employees, as their own personal loan to do whatever they want to do with. What happens then as that money stays in the employer's account is that not only is the compound interest lost to the employee but if the employer should happen to go bust the impact is going to be even more severe for that worker, be they young, middle aged or older. If you're 35 years old and you're missing out on super from a liquidated business, that could leave your retirement balance over $90,000 worse off in today's dollars. This is an untenable proposition, and that is why Labor is undertaking payday super. It's a once-in-a-generation reform to fix unpaid super and to give Australian workers access to the fullness of the money that they're entitled to by law on the day that they receive their pay.

The scale of this problems is something that has to be addressed, and it would never, ever be addressed by a Liberal-National coalition government. They turned a blind eye to it. They're the ones who rejected superannuation. They were the ones who said, 'It's going to kill small businesses across the country.' If it was up to the Liberal-National coalition, there would be no Australian with superannuation of any kind at all except very wealthy people who seemed to have always had it. But now we have this dignified retirement capacity for Australians. It's Labor's invention, supported, delivered and advanced to the point now where this is an important addition to make sure super does what it's supposed to do.

The Australian Taxation Office have estimated that $5.2 billion in super went unpaid in one financial year alone. That's just one year—2021-22. Think about that across the country. That's people going to work, doing their job, waiting to get paid, expecting that they're going to get their super in a quarterly instalment, not being able to check it in their payslip because it's not there and trusting their employer. Guess how much it's costing? It's $100 million a week. That's a lot of money that could be moving around in regional economies in western New South Wales that I support where employers have decided: 'No, no, no. We're in control of the payslips. We're in control of the time that you get it. We'll choose when you get it.' It's $100 million a week that workers earned and never received documented by the ATO.

We cannot let this continue, not if we are true to our values as Australians. Australians always say out loud and proud that we believe in a fair go. Part of a fair go is getting your fair pay, and part of your fair pay invested in the future that you're entitled to have as a dignified retirement is your superannuation. When we put this legislation through the parliament and it's finally approved—despite the opposition—this will improve the lives of millions of Australians. Every worker will benefit from this.

This legislation does a few critical things. It's going to come into play not immediately but from 1 July 2026. Employers will be required to pay the super guarantee contributions at the same time as the wages are paid instead of quarterly, and I know that there are always challenges with businesses making a transition. But if you can't make a transition in your business by 1 July 2026 you have to wonder how good you might be at running your business, where everything is constantly changing all the time. You have to problem solve every day in multiple ways. Nonetheless that's been taken on board, and the ATO have committed to making sure that there will be a soft approach to this as people get on board. Employers have to ensure that the contributions are received by the employee's super fund within seven business days of payday, and that was a bit of a change that was negotiated with key stakeholders. The outcome we get is the change that will make it easier for employees to track their super, for the ATO to detect mis-payments earlier and before debts become unrecoverable. Track your super, watch to make sure that you're getting your fair share and interrupt a process with your employer if that's not happening as it should be. Under the new framework, the super guarantee charge is going to apply for each payday an employer fails to pay super in full and on time.

These super guarantee changes talk about critical terminology that is really important to getting this right. The first thing is notional earnings. Notional earnings are compensation of employees for the investment returns they missed out on due to a late payment. That's an incentive for businesses to pay this part of your wages, the superannuation part, on time. There's a section called an administrative uplift. That's an additional charge to reflect the cost of enforcement to incentivise voluntary rectification. Businesses can be very, very busy. They can become overwhelmed at times. There might be change in staff. Things go wrong, but the incentive of the administrative uplift is to make sure that people get things back on track in a reasonable time. It's an incentive not to step outside the system, to do the right thing, to give your staff a fair go, to pay, as the law requires you, in full on the day that payment is due for wages and the superannuation contribution.

There is an additional charge called a choice loading, an additional penalty if the employer fails to pay into the employee's chosen fund. Sadly, sometimes employers—and I've very unhappily heard there are some kickbacks for some of the employers—say: 'No, we're not going to put it into the super fund that you want. We're going to put it into the one that we want.' That's just not on. That's absolutely not on. It's your super; it's your choice. You should get what you want. So we're going to make it a little more likely that the recalcitrants will do the right thing.

What I would say to Australians is that Labor in government supports small businesses, fair wages and superannuation. This legislation should pass the Senate because it will improve the lives of Australians as they're earning their pay and, importantly, in dignified retirement. It's Labor's vision for a great Australia.

Barbara Pocock (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025. I associate myself with the remarks of my colleague Senator McKim. The Greens welcome this bill, and we will be supporting it. It is long-overdue reform, and I want to acknowledge the work of many people that have brought us to where we are today: the Super Members Council, the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia and Super Consumers Australia. They have pushed so hard to secure these reforms.

This bill requires employers to pay superannuation guarantee contributions at the same time as they pay their employees their take-home pay. It intends to strengthen Australia's superannuation system by reducing the superannuation guarantee gap and to help deliver a more dignified retirement for all Australians. It makes it clear to businesses that treat unpaid super as optional, or as a buffer to their own financial management, that this behaviour is not acceptable. This bill finally changes that behaviour. From 1 July 2026, superannuation will be paid at the same time as wages.

But workers need stronger protections and more progressive reform. Superannuation is a crucial right. It's not an optional extra. It's a workplace entitlement that protects a decent life in retirement for millions of Australians. According to APRA, as of 30 June 2025, Australians held over $4.3 trillion in superannuation assets. However, we know that too many workers are missing out on their hard-earned superannuation. The ATO estimates that $5.2 billion worth of superannuation went unpaid in 2021-22. That is an enormous sum, and it's essentially theft. Noncompliance with the superannuation guarantee is unevenly spread across employers, with greater prevalence in small and microbusinesses and in certain industries.

Superannuation has made such a difference to the lives of millions of Australians. Right now, however, Australian women are still retiring with a third less super than men are. A quarter of all women in this country retire in poverty, and many women's organisations and researchers—and I was one of them—across Australia, at the moment that super was introduced, pointed to the structural inequality between the genders that is built into our super system, which piggybacks off our wages system and thus reproduces pay inequity in retirement incomes.

The Greens successfully moved amendments to legislation in the last parliament to criminalise superannuation theft, and now it's a criminal offence for employers to withhold super payments. Those reforms sent a strong message to employers that, if they steal superannuation from their workers, they will pay the price. In the most egregious cases, they will face criminal prosecution and go to jail. Victims of super theft are disproportionately young and low-paid or migrant workers, and most commonly they're working in the accommodation and food services, retail and construction sectors. We know that unpaid superannuation can reduce an employee's retirement income or even delay their retirement. Now superannuation theft is a crime, just like wage theft, and this is what happens when Labor can work with the Greens to enact meaningful reforms for workers.

The Greens believe that we must reform our superannuation system further. Young workers should receive the same financial rights as everyone else. Currently, workers under 18 are only entitled to super if they work more than 30 hours a week. This rule means most workers under 18 miss out on superannuation because they don't work enough hours each week, and this costs them thousands of dollars in lost savings when they reach retirement. We've had them in my office, a number of times, showing me the numbers of the money that they lose, very regretfully, and knowing, as they do, that this will impact on their retirement earnings many decades ahead.

The Greens believe that superannuation is a universal entitlement and that it should be accumulated fairly, regardless of your age. That's why we will be moving an amendment to the payday superannuation bill to make sure that young part-time workers are not left behind. Our amendment makes one thing crystal clear—you can't carve out 16- and 17-year-olds working part-time in retail, hospitality and any other job from receiving superannuation just based on their age and hours of work. These young workers are already some of lowest paid in our economy, and, too often, they're the first to miss out on super. By including under-18 workers, regardless of their hours, in the super system, we can give young people a head start on saving for their future, while recognising their valuable contributions to the workforce, often from a very early age and making a really significant contribution.

We took a policy to the last election to extend the superannuation guarantee to all under-18-year-olds, ensuring they're paid contributions regardless of how many hours they work. Under current laws, to be eligible for super, under-18s need those 30 hours a week from the same employer. However, most young people juggle part-time work with school and with study and, therefore, are unable to reach the required 30 hours a week. As a result, hundreds of thousands of young workers are missing out on super. It's a small, sensible change that we're proposing that will make a big difference for thousands of Australian workers starting out at work while also studying. The Greens believe every worker deserves super on payday, no exceptions, no exclusions and no excuses.

We know that our super system needs improvement in other ways also. We need greater public investment options, fairer rates of taxation, ethical investment structures and to ensure more equitable retirement incomes, particularly for women and other disadvantaged groups. The Greens have circulated a second reading amendment, as my colleague Senator McKim spoke of, that holds the government to a promise that it's already made—to regulate advertising of superannuation funds during employee onboarding. These protections were in the exposure draft of this bill. This is a really important reform that would protect workers from being influenced to join unsuitable superannuation products when they start a new job. The Greens will continue to hold the Labor government to their previous commitment to do this before 1 July 2026.

In conclusion, this is a bill that aligns with Greens values of fairness, economic security and intergenerational justice. However, we do not accept that this where the reform journey ends. Our superannuation system must evolve to meet the realities of modern work and to address entrenched inequality to ensure that women, First Nations people and insecure workers are not left behind. It means that workers and the ATO will spot problems faster. It means unpaid super can be recovered sooner and that fewer workers arrive at retirement to discover that tens of thousands of dollars are missing. Superannuation is one of the key pillars of our economy, and the Greens welcome this simple, fair and long-overdue bill, and we would be delighted to see our amendment supported to ensure that all of those young people, 16- and 17-year-olds, making significant contributions to our labour market are not robbed of their super just because they don't work enough hours, even though their contributions to their workplaces are very meaningful and important.

Richard Dowling (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Fundamentally, this bill is about fairness—fair pay, fair timing and a fair future.

(Quorum formed) I was just getting started and really hitting my stride. I got one line in, but I feel like I've had time to reflect and I can do it with even more gusto this time. Let's see how far I get through.

As I was reflecting, superannuation is not a bonus. It's not optional. It's a legislated entitlement. Yet right now millions of workers are being short-changed. Across this country, super is often paid months late, if it's paid at all. This is not a small administrative delay; it's a multibillion dollar breach of trust. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025 and its companion, the Superannuation Guarantee Charge Amendment Bill 2025, seek to fix that. From 1 July 2026, employers will be required to pay super contributions into an employee's fund within seven days of each payday rather than quarterly. Should they fail to do so, under the new framework, the penalties will be strengthened. The framework will include notional earnings, administrative uplifts and penalties for failing to use a worker's chosen fund. As other speakers have reflected on, the worker is the one who chooses the fund that works for them and sets them up for retirement. That should be the primacy of how that choice is made. Repeated noncompliance with this framework can attract penalties of up to 50 per cent of the unpaid amount.

It's only fair. Workers should not bear the burden of another's delay or oversight. It's a simple change aligning super with wages, and it will make the system fairer, more transparent and harder to exploit. It will ensure that unpaid super is detected and recovered earlier, before an employer collapses or disappears. In that sense, it's not a small reform; it's a modernisation of our great $3.7 trillion national saving system—the envy of the world—and it is urgent because time in superannuation is not neutral. A dollar in super delayed by three months is denied its chance to compound. Multiply that by millions of workers, and the national loss can run into the billions. Indeed, Treasury estimates that around 2.8 million Australians miss out on their full superannuation entitlements every year. Collectively, that's around $5.2 billion annually—$5.2 billion that should be building retirement savings but, instead, sits in employers' accounts or is lost entirely.

In my home state of Tasmania, the effects are even starker. I was reflecting on recent analysis by the Super Members Council, which found that 57,400 Tasmanian workers were underpaid their superannuation in the 2022-23 financial year. That's about a fifth of the entire Tasmanian workforce, so it's significant. The total value of their missing super was $83 million in just one year. I had to go back and check the Super Members Council figures myself and go into the ATO raw data because I almost didn't believe how big these numbers were. On average, each Tasmanian worker lost about $1,450—money they earned and money that should already be compounding in their retirement fund. Over six years, that added up to $443 million just in Tasmania. Tasmania is about two per cent of the national economy, and we're talking about nearly half a billion dollars drained from the savings of ordinary Tasmanians. It's money that could be put towards building homes, funding retirements and strengthening our local economy.

It's not isolated to just one region of Tasmania either. In Clark, where Hobart is based, 11,450 workers were underpaid a combined $16.9 million, and nearly $90 million across a six-year period. In Franklin, 12,000 workers were underpaid $19.2 million in that same year, and $89 million cumulatively over the six years. The story is the same across Braddon, $16.8 million; Bass, $15.7 million; and Lyons, $14.4 million. To put it simply, one in four Tasmanian workers is being short changed. It's an extraordinary figure. It's not a rounding error; it's a system failure.

Superannuation is the economic handshake between generations. Each generation works, contributes and retires with dignity without asking the next to pick up the bill. But a handshake only holds if that system delivers what it promises. When contributions are late or underpaid, the people who hurt the most are young and low-income workers, who lose the benefit of early compounding. The gender impact is also stark. Women, who are more likely to work part time or casually, are disproportionately affected. The bill is not only a fairness reform; it's an intergenerational equity reform. It ensures that a 22-year-old hospitality worker in the northern suburbs of Hobart or a 25-year-old apprentice in Devonport is treated with the same respect as a senior executive in Sydney. They should both get their super paid on time, when they earn it—no delays, no excuses.

By closing the gap on unpaid super now, we also protect future budgets. We know that every dollar that reaches a super fund on time is a dollar that won't need to be funded in the age pension later. That's a long-term cost-of-living security, delivered sustainably and fairly.

Some small businesses have expressed understandable concern about cash flow, but this reform has been designed carefully. It doesn't increase the superannuation guarantee rate; it simply changes when super is paid. The start date is not till July 2026, so it gives employers plenty of time to adapt. Most employers already use the Single Touch Payroll System, which is capable of processing super at the same time as wages. Treasury has also modernised the superannuation guarantee charge framework. The penalties are targeted and more appropriate; employers can make voluntary disclosures before assessment; and the system will focus on compliance through technology, not through paperwork. So this is a pragmatic reform—firm with noncompliance, fair with honest employers and fully achievable with modern payroll systems.

This is federal legislation, but its impact will be deeply local. In Tasmania, where the median income is around $68,000, even small improvements in superannuation timing can lift lifetime savings by thousands of dollars. For local families, that's real money, retirement security or the difference between renting and owning later in life. Tasmania also has one of the oldest populations in the country. Strengthening super now isn't just about today's workforce; it's about ensuring the next generation can retire with dignity without adding to the fiscal load of the state or Commonwealth. The bill helps keep that promise, and every dollar of super paid on time also feeds investment back into the real economy. Super funds invest in renewable energy projects, housing developments and infrastructure—including in Tasmania. By ensuring contributions flow consistently, this reform strengthens the capital base that underwrites our state's future growth.

Australians understand fairness; it's in our DNA. When you work a day, you should be paid for that day—including your super. This bill delivers on that principle. It makes the system transparent and accountable. It supports honest employees and protects workers' entitlements. It ensures that no young worker's future is sacrificed to administrative convenience or corporate delay. It is, quite simply, a promise kept: a fair day's super for a fair day's work.

In conclusion, the superannuation system is one of Australia's great social and economic achievements. It reflects a compact between generations: to save today so that we can retire tomorrow in dignity and with independence. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025 strengthens that compact. It recognises that fairness delayed is fairness denied. For Tasmania, it means recovering some $83 million in lost entitlements every year. Across the nation, it means protecting $5.2 billion in earnings workers have already earned. For the next generation, it means confidence that their super is real, reliable and respected. That is why this legislation is urgent, and that is why I commend this bill to the Senate.

Josh Dolega (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak in strong support of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025 and related bill. This is a reform that is long overdue and essential. The bill delivers on a simple but powerful principle: when Australians are paid their wages, they are paid their superannuation at the same time—no delays and no excuses. For too long, our system has tolerated a gap that has allowed billions of dollars in super to go unpaid, disproportionately affecting young workers, low-income earners and women. These are the Australians who can least afford to fall behind, yet they have borne the brunt of a system that hasn't kept pace with fairness.

Superannuation is one of Labor's proudest legacies, a world-leading system that has transformed retirement for millions. But its promise is only as strong as its delivery. If super isn't paid on time, Australians are left worse off. This bill fixes that. It ensures super is paid alongside wages into workers' accounts, where it belongs, compounding for their future and not sitting on someone else's ledger. It's fair, it's practical and it's long overdue.

Every week, Australian workers are short-changed by a mere hundred million dollars in unpaid super. It's not just a number; it's money that people have earned but never received. In total, the ATO estimates that $5.2 billion in super went unpaid in just one year. It was really telling to hear my colleague Senator Dowling talk about the Tasmanian figures. We know that Tasmanians are quite often underpaid compared to colleagues on the big island.

Payday super is a generational reform to end this injustice, because super isn't a bonus; it's a right. It's just like your wages. It's part of what workers are owed in exchange for their labour, and, when it's withheld, it's theft, plain and simple. This bill will put a stop to that. (Quorum formed) As I was saying, payday super is a generational reform to end the injustice, because super isn't a bonus; it's a right. Just like our wages, it's part of what workers are owed, and, when it's withheld, it's theft, plain and simple, and this will put a stop to that. It's important to note that workers' super was never intended to be a part of your boss's cash flow. Super is part of your pay, and now it will be paid when you get paid.

Let's be clear: many employers do the right thing and pay superannuation on time. This law closes the gap with the shonks and reduces the risk for workers. The impact on workers who have their super delayed is real and lasting. For a 35-year-old worker, failing to recover this money could reduce their retirement savings by around $32,000 in today's dollars. And, when businesses collapse, the damage is even worse. Missing super from a liquidated business could leave a 35-year-old more than $90,000 worse off in their retirement. That's why, from 1 July 2026, employers will be required to pay super at the same time as paying wages, instead of paying it quarterly. It means that workers will receive their super in their funds within seven business days of payday. It ensures that workers will receive what they are legally owed, which will add strength to the entire super system. This will make it easier for workers to track their super and for the ATO to detect missed payments earlier.

Then there's the superannuation guarantee charge, which is a penalty that employers face when they fail to pay super on time. The new framework makes sure that your employer pays your super on time every payday. If they don't, they have to pay that penalty, the super guarantee charge. The charge includes a penalty for missed investment earnings, to make up for the money a worker could have earned if they had had their super paid on time; an extra admin fee to cover the cost of enforcing the framework and to encourage employers to voluntarily rectify these missed payments; and a penalty for an employer not using a worker's chosen super fund.

If an employer still doesn't pay super after the ATO gets involved, they could face even bigger penalties—up to 50 per cent of the unpaid amount. However, if the employer owns up to their mistakes and has a good track record, they may get a good penalty, as you would expect. These changes are meant to ensure that workers are properly compensated when their super isn't paid. It's not the employee's fault; it's the employer's responsibility.

These are new changes, and it's fair for Australians to ask how, practically speaking, they will be implemented. To enforce these changes, the ATO will use their Single Touch Payroll data, which employers already report, and match it with data from super funds to detect missed payments in near real time. This data-matching capability ensures the ATO can intervene earlier, reducing the risk of large debts building up and increasing the chance of recovery for workers who aren't getting paid their fair share of super. To support employers to meet their obligations in the first year of this legislation being implemented, employers who make a genuine attempt to comply, even if they face technical issues, will not be targeted by the ATO for compliance.

This reform really is good for everyone. It helps reduce the administrative pressure and the risk of large liabilities for employers. This is because the reform aligns super with payroll, meaning there's pressure taken off end-of-quarter paperwork. When you're talking about the practicalities, this legislation needs to pass through our parliament now. The longer we wait, the more workers miss out and the harder it becomes to recover all the super that is unpaid. That's why we're introducing the legislation now and trying to pass it now, because we know the importance of building a fairer, better system, and we know the impact that a better system will have on the lives of everyday Australians.

Labor is the party of superannuation. We built it, we believe in it and we will always fight to strengthen it. It was Labor that introduced compulsory superannuation. In 1983 the Hawke Labor government, in partnership with the ACTU, laid the foundation for a universal super system to ensure that all Australian workers could benefit. Then, in 1992, the Keating Labor government introduced the superannuation guarantee, giving workers a minimum superannuation rate of three per cent for the first time. We've backed compulsory super from the beginning and we continue to do so for a simple but powerful reason—to ensure that every Australian can retire with dignity and financial security. That's the purpose of super. That is the principle that we support and the intent we continue to support.

Today, working people hold $4.1 trillion worth of investments thanks to Labor and superannuation. This drives the far right and the superwealthy crazy. It keeps them up at night. These are the types who grew up with a silver spoon in their mouth, the types who claim they are for Australians but through their actions try to divide us at every chance they get. They can't stand working people holding so much collective wealth. That's why on the right they keep peddling scams trying to disrupt the super system—scams like super for housing deposits. These scams have drastic long-term negative impacts on retirement savings for workers.

Those opposite attack workers rights at every chance they get. There hasn't been a workplace right or entitlement they wouldn't have cut given the opportunity, so of course they would go for super too. Workers should always scrutinise and question when these grifters and scammers try to encourage use of your super for other purposes, like house deposits or COVID relief money, because their intentions are never in the interests of working people. There's always that agenda. They're all about keeping wealth at the top end of town because they can't stand it when the working class rises.

At the centre of Labor's economic plan is a simple objective: more Australians earning more and keeping more of what they earn. That's the driving force behind this legislation. Our reforms to super reflect our belief that Australians should have access to funds that allow them to have that dignified retirements. Labor governments have raised the superannuation guarantee so it's finally reached 12 per cent. We've boosted the low income superannuation tax offset, which is the payment the government makes to your super if you're a low income earner. It repays the tax paid on low income workers' super contributions so they can get more in their super accounts. This year, we've have raised the income threshold to $45,000 a year and increased how much you can get back through the low income super tax offset to $810, increasing the number of people getting this offset to 3.1 million. We've ensured that parents now get paid super on paid parental leave, ensuring that parents do not miss out on superannuation payments when they spend those critical years out of the workforce, often caring for their children.

Reforming super is by no means the whole story when it comes to Labor and protecting Australian workers. It's the tip of the iceberg. This bill is about fairness, it's about respect for workers and it's about making sure every Australian is paid what they earn in real time every time they get paid. Labor is the party of working people. We are the party of super, and, with this bill, we're strengthening super and we're protecting workers for generations to come. I commend this bill to the Senate.

Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025. In Australia, we believe that, if you work hard, you should be fairly paid not just your wages but every cent of your superannuation, yet for too long too many Australians have been shortchanged on the retirement savings they have earned. Payday super, a landmark reform of the Albanese government, will change that once and for all. I still remember working in the finance sector. As a woman working for that company, you had to be an employee for 10 years, and then you may have been invited to join their superannuation. We've come a long way thanks to Labor governments.

This legislation is a once-in-a-generation reform to close one of the biggest gaps in our superannuation system. In 2021-22 alone, unpaid superannuation cost Australian workers $5.2 billion. That's $5.2 billion that should have been invested for workers' futures, growing with compounded interest, building security for retirement and easing the burden on future taxpayers.

I know in my home city, where I live, of businesses who have failed to pay superannuation until some years after, and the penalties that those workers experienced—we cannot allow that to happen. What did one business do? They did it a second time. That was no accident, overlooking these things. It was deliberate strategy to not pay that super and for them to have the use of that money.

For decades, unpaid or late super has been quite an injustice in our system. The introduction of payday super is the moment we draw a line. From 1 July 2026, employers will be required to pay superannuation at the same time as wages, not quarterly. It's a simple change with profound consequences—one that strengthens the entire superannuation system and ensures that Australians receive what they are legally owed on time, every time.

Right now super contributions can be paid by employers up to three months after an employee receives their wages. That delay may sound small to some, but it creates a huge problem. It means workers often have no way of knowing if their super is actually being paid, not until months later, by which time it's often too late to recover missing payments. Under payday super, contributions must reach an employee's super fund within seven business days of the payday. That brings super into line with how wages are paid today—promptly, transparently and electronically. This is a simple concept, but it will transform superannuation. It will transform workers entitlements when they get to retirement age, which is why we proudly support and will always defend superannuation.

It will also protect workers entitlements by closing the gap that allows unpaid super to go unnoticed; strengthen retirement outcomes by ensuring that super is paid regularly, boosting compounding returns over time; level the playing field by ensuring that honest businesses are not undercut by competitors who dodge their super obligations; and build transparency and trust, giving workers the ability to check their super payments in real time through their pay slips and online accounts. Put simply, this is about fairness. It's about accountability. When people work, they deserve to know that every dollar they've earned, including their super, is being paid promptly.

Unpaid super is not a minor issue; it's a national problem.

(Quorum formed) According to the Australian Taxation Office, around one in four workers are underpaid or not paid super each year. That means many millions of Australians, often in low-paid, casual or insecure work, are being denied the retirement savings that they will rely on. This particularly affects young workers, women and those in the industries of hospitality, retail and construction—people who can least afford to lose out.

For a worker, every dollar of unpaid super today can mean thousands of dollars less in retirement. For example, a 25-year-old worker who misses out on $1,000 of super contributions today could have around $4,000 less by retirement age, once compound interest is considered. If you multiply that across the years and across millions of workers, the scale of the problem becomes staggering. Payday super will ensure that superannuation is paid on time every time, closing a loophole that has cost workers billions of dollars. It's one of the most practical and impactful reforms to workplace laws in decades, and who has done it? The Albanese Labor government. We believe in superannuation.

The bill does more than just change the timing of payments. It modernises the entire superannuation guarantee framework to make it more effective and fairer. Employers will still be required to pay the super guarantee rate, which is currently 11 per cent, but the timing and enforcement mechanisms will be updated to ensure compliance. Under the reforms, superannuation contributions must be received by the employee's fund within seven business days of payday. Employers who fail to meet this timeline will be liable for the superannuation guarantee charge. The superannuation guarantee charge has been updated to better target employers' behaviour, which means penalties will focus on those who fail to pay on time, while ensuring that employees are compensated for any delay, through the accrual of notional earnings on unpaid super. In other words, the system will now reward employers who do the right thing and will ensure consequences for those who don't. It's a modern, fair and transparent model of compliance.

The government recognises that reforming a system as large and interconnected as superannuation cannot happen overnight. That's why implementation will begin from 1 July 2026, giving employers, payroll providers, super funds and the ATO ample time to update their systems and processes. This legislation is a high priority, and the government is seeking the bill's urgent passage through parliament to allow preparation to begin immediately.

Employers will benefit from clearer obligations and simpler processes once the new system is in place. Payroll providers and super funds are already working closely with Treasury and the Australian Taxation Office to design systems that will automate compliance and integrate super payments seamlessly into pay cycles. Ultimately, this reform is about making compliance easier, not harder. By aligning super payments with payroll, we make it simpler for employers to meet their obligations while providing workers with greater transparency and confidence.

The Australian superannuation system is the envy of the world. We should be proud of it. That's why Labor will always protect it, unlike those opposite. It has turned retirement savings into one of our nation's great economic strengths. Over $3.5 trillion is invested on behalf working Australians. But a system that is big and important cannot afford to have cracks in the foundations. Unpaid super is one such crack, and, if left unaddressed, would undermine the integrity of the whole structure. Payday super closes that gap by ensuring that super is paid promptly and regularly. The reform will help super funds manage inflows more efficiently, improve data accuracy and give members clearer visibility of their growing savings. It will also support faster detection of non-compliance, allowing the ATO and super funds to step in earlier if contributions are missing, which is so critically important.

This reform strengthens not only individual retirement outcomes but the broader economic resilience of our country. Every dollar that flows into super on time is a dollar that can be invested productively in housing, in infrastructure, in innovation and in Australian businesses. Critics of reform often claim that stronger regulation comes at a cost to business. But payday super demonstrates that fairness and economic responsibility can go hand in hand. By integrating super payments with payroll, the administrative burden on employers is actually reduced. Most modern payroll systems are already capable of handling real-time or near real-time super payments. This reform simply brings the law into line with technological reality. By preventing unpaid super from accumulating, payday super reduces the need for costly enforcement and recovery actions later. It's good policy, good economics and good governance. For workers, it means confidence. For businesses, it means clarity. For the economy, it means fairness backed by efficiency.

The payday super reform embodies what Labor governments do best—practical reforms, grounded in fairness that make a real difference to people's lives. It's about ensuring that the social contract between worker and employer is honoured and that, when you go to work, you get what you earn. It's about lifting standards across the board, not lowering them, and it's about protecting the dignity of retirement for every Australian. You work hard all your life. You deserve respect. You deserve dignity, and you deserve to be able to live a comfortable life.

From the introduction of universal superannuation under the great Paul Keating government to this latest reform under Prime Minister Albanese's government, Labor has always been the party of fair retirement savings. Payday super continues that proud tradition, ensuring that the promise of superannuation—a comfortable and secure retirement for all—is finally delivered in full. When this reform takes effect in July 2026, it will transform the experience of millions of workers. Superannuation will no longer be an afterthought. It will be an automatic, reliable part of every pay cycle. Workers will be able to see their super building alongside their wages and know that their hard work today is securing their future for tomorrow. This is how we built a stronger, fairer, more resilient Australia—by tackling longstanding problems with smart, practical solutions that put people first.

Payday super is more than just an administrative reform. It's a statement of values that says that fairness matters, that every dollar earned counts and that the dignity of retirement is not a privilege but a right. The Albanese government is acting with urgency and determination to pass this legislation because when Australians work hard, they deserve to be paid properly—not just now but for the rest of their lives.

I've seen the transformation that compulsory superannuation has made. Why should a woman have to work for a company for 10 years before she may be—there's no guarantee—invited to join the superannuation fund? That's the good thing about Labor. We deliver real reform that benefits not only individuals but our economy. We are leading the world when it comes to superannuation. I'm proud to be part of the Albanese government. I've always been very proud of Paul Keating and what he's done. Still, today, he stands up for what he believes is essential, and that is having superannuation. This takes that next step.

I'm proud to support this legislation and I hope everyone else in this chamber will do the same thing, because every Australian—whether they are a young worker, whether they are working in retail, whether they are working in a warehouse, whether they are collecting garbage or whether they are sitting in this chamber—needs to be able to rely on superannuation being paid so they can get the benefits of that in the longer term.

Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's been a genuinely interesting experience to listen to the contributions of senators this evening on this important legislation, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025 and related bill. I would particularly like to associate my remarks this evening with the remarks of Senators McKim and Pocock and put on the record my support for the amendment moved by my colleague Senator Barbara Pocock of South Australia in relation to the payment of superannuation to those below the age of 18.

As the Greens spokesperson for youth affairs, I've heard from many young people across my home state of Western Australia and across the country about the real challenges and struggles of young people right now, confronting the reality of the cost-of-living crisis. Last week I shared with the chamber an individual's story shared with me as part of the Raise Our Voice Australia campaign, where they outlined very clearly the challenges of being a young person trying to make ends meet when age based wage discrimination in Australia is a reality. And I would take that argument further. It is a shame upon us that, right now, young people in Australia who are below the age of 18 are often not paid their super. They have to jump through these additional hoops to be able to get the super that should rightly be theirs. It's. quite frankly, ridiculous that in Australia in 2025 a person who is below the age of 18 needs to work-30 plus hours for one employer to be able to qualify for the provision of superannuation. Anybody who has taken a moment to look at the dynamics of work among that particular age cohort knows that if you are below the age of 18, you are much more likely to work for multiple employers in part-time positions as you seek to make ends meet and to find yourself fully employed. So I very much support Senator Pocock's amendment and would commend it to the Senate.

I want to mention two other groups here in relation to superannuation and this bill—firstly, disabled people in Australia. We know that disabled people in Australia, as a community, experience far higher levels of unemployment and far higher levels of underemployment than the rest of the Australian community. Because of those factors, we have far less in our retirement savings than the rest of the Australian community. We also continue to live in a reality where it is legal in 2025 in Australia, under Australian law, to pay a disabled person less than the minimum wage purely because they are disabled. We have wage based discrimination as the law of the land in Australia. That means that many, many workers work in so-called sheltered workshops or Australian disability enterprises for dollars on the hour, and that affects the amount of money that they have in their superannuation. A friend of mine who was in an ADE for six years, I believe, managed to accrue some $300 over that time in paid superannuation. So, when we look at reforming the super system, we need to take account of the fact that many disabled people are starting from far, far behind the rest of the community.

Finally, I would draw the Senate's attention to some superb reporting that has been done by the ABC and by the Guardian over the course of the last few weeks. They've drawn the community's attention to a rather horrifying fact, and that is that, between 2018-19 and the financial year 2024-25, there has been a 1,200 per cent increase in the amount of money withdrawn by Australians from their superannuation for the purpose of paying for health care. Overwhelmingly, the reason that they are withdrawing that money is to pay for dental care. In the last year alone, Australians withdrew some $817 million from their superannuation in order to pay for dental care. In 2018-19, that figure was $66.4 million. That represents a colossal loss of retirement security which Australians otherwise would have enjoyed, but they had to take it out to pay for the dentist.

Some might be thinking, as you listen to this debate tonight, that potentially people withdrew this money for non-essential care. Maybe you're thinking that people have somehow found a way to utilise the hardship loopholes within the superannuation system to withdraw super for cosmetic reasons. But, again, the good journalists that are on the case, this time last week on 7.30, showed us really clearly what the reality is—what is actually going on. They brought us stories of Australians who are survivors of cancer—head and neck cancer. They've taken it on and they've beaten it with the help of their families and their healthcare professionals. When they confront and look down the barrel of the journey back to what life was before—the restorative work that is so necessary to live well again post head, neck or oral cancer—they discover, and their treatment team discovers, that there is this completely unjustifiable gap in our cancer treatment system. The gap is that, if you are seeking restorative care—prosthetics, surgeries—to regain function and if it's for the mouth or some parts of the face, then it's not covered under Medicare. So what do people do? They are having to turn to the remortgaging of their homes and, yes, the withdrawal of tens of thousands of dollars from their superannuation. One story in the most recent reporting quoted an individual who had to withdraw $50,000 to afford the restorative dental care post their victory over cancer.

Situations like this are why Jonathan Clark, who is the head of neck and head cancer at the Chris O'Brien Lifehouse hospital, was driven to give a quote to the ABC about this situation. He was asked what he thought about people being confronted with these unthinkable choices and unthinkable decisions—whether to live your life in pain and in physical shame or to go to so deeply into debt. His response was that it made him feel 'ashamed' to work in a health system that thinks that's an acceptable choice for people to have to make. I share that sense of shame with Chris.

We as a legislature should never have let our community arrive at 2025 with gaps like that still remaining in the system. It's just not okay. I'm really pleased that, last week, the government supported the second reading amendment that I moved in relation to the commissioning of a study into what it would mean to bring head and neck cancer restorative treatments fully into Medicare. That's a great first start.

We have to take the passion, the historical knowledge and the care and commitment that so many have displayed in the course of this debate in relation to superannuation, a scheme which is close to the hearts of many people in here and, I would say, every single one of our electors—we have to take that energy and direct it towards a clear-eyed assessment of what is currently happening in our community, which is a mass transfer of retirement savings from super accounts, where those savings were intended to stay and to accrue interest so that people could have a nest egg. That money is flowing out and into this gaping hole in our public healthcare system. It's a gaping hole that will only be filled when we finally take the step of bringing dental care fully into Medicare.

That's what we must do to solve this problem. I know it can't happen overnight. I know it is a significant reform. But let's start somewhere. Let's start by bringing head and neck cancer rehabilitative treatment into Medicare so that nobody ever again has to raid their super to be able to afford a prosthetic that allows them to smile, or a surgery or treatment that gives their teeth enamel and allows their mouth to function, because the radiation that saved their life also fried their salivary glands. Let's end that for people. While we're at it, let's introduce a seniors dental benefit scheme for those older Australians who are doing it tough, so that they can get some basic dental care. Let's take those first three steps towards that world where dental care is covered by Medicare. Among the many benefits that that will bring will be that so much more will remain in people's superannuation accounts, where it was intended to be in the first place. Let's do that. Let's provide full coverage and provision of superannuation for those under the age of 18, as suggested by my colleague from South Australia, and let us make sure that all disabled people in Australia are paid a full wage, regardless of their disability. I commend this legislation to the Senate.

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank other senators for their contributions to the bill and I commend the bill to the Senate.

Dave Sharma (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question before the Senate is that the second reading amendment moved by Senator McKim be agreed to.

Question agreed to.

Original question, as amended, agreed to.

Bills read a second time.