09 Dec Stapled Super Funds – What Employers Need To Know

As of 1 November 2021, there’s an extra step employers may need to take to comply with the choice of super fund rules. If a new employee doesn’t choose a super fund, most employers will need to request the employees ‘stapled super fund’ details from the ATO to avoid penalties.

A stapled super fund is an existing super account which is linked, or ‘stapled’, to an individual employee so that it follows them as they change jobs.

When a new employee starts, you need to:

• offer eligible employees a choice of super fund
• if your new employee doesn’t choose a super fund you will need to request stapled super fund details using Online services for business.
• pay super contributions, into one of the following:
  • • the super fund they choose
    • the stapled super fund the ATO provides you if the employee hasn’t chosen a fund
    • your default fund (or another fund that meets the choice of fund rules) if you cannot pay into the two above

Before you can request an employee’s stapled super fund details, you or your authorised representative will need to submit a Tax file number declaration or a Single Touch Payroll event to establish an employment relationship.

Please note: Employers are only permitted to use the service to request stapled super fund details for new employees who started on or after 1 November 2021. The service should not be used to request details for employees engaged prior to 1 November 2021. The ATO is closely monitoring this and employers using the service incorrectly may have their access removed.