Super stapling

New APS employees

Employees with CSS & PSS

As an employer, it’s important to know that stapling does not impact employees with defined benefit accounts, such as CSS and PSS. These defined benefit accounts are excluded from the stapling changes and cannot be stapled. The eligibility rules for CSS and PSS take priority over stapling, so you need to think about those eligibility rules to know which course of action to take.

Your new employee is required to rejoin CSS or PSS

• Stapling will not impact them.
• You will need to let your employee know they are required to rejoin CSS or PSS.

Your new employee is not required to rejoin CSS or PSS

• They’ll have a choice of fund and you’ll need to give them the super standard choice form so they can nominate a super fund.
• If they don’t nominate a super fund, you must check for a stapled super fund for your new employee, using the ATO’s online portal, before following your default rules.
• If a stapled super fund exists, you will need to pay super contributions to that stapled super fund.
• If no stapled super fund exists, you will need to pay super contributions to your default super fund. Depending on their circumstances this may be PSS, PSSap, or another default fund.

The good news is that there’s been no change to an employer’s default super fund because of stapling.

What’s changing with our eligibility rules?

While stapling doesn’t impact new employees who are required to rejoin CSS or PSS, it can impact other employees who have choice of fund.

This information is for guidance only. For specific information regarding your obligations as an employer under the stapling regime please contact the ATO.

Employees with PSSap (including PSSap Ancillary)

On 7 March 2021, the rules around what contributions can be received in PSSap and PSSap Ancillary accounts changed. It’s important to properly understand these rules, because with stapling, a PSSap or PSSap Ancillary account may become the stapled fund for some new employees.

PSSap changes

Before the changes, PSSap was a more restricted fund. The new PSSap changes means there are two main categories of PSSap members that you may interact with:

• PSSap members who haven’t completed 12 continuous months of eligible employment*. These members’ PSSap accounts can receive all types of contributions except employer contributions from ineligible employment.
• PSSap members who have completed at least 12 continuous months of eligible employment*. There are no restrictions on the type of contributions that these members’ PSSap accounts can receive.

PSSap Ancillary changes

The new PSSap Ancillary changes are similar to the PSSap changes.

Under the new rules, to join PSSap Ancillary a member must have previously been employed by an eligible employer for at least 12 continuous months*, and:

• currently be a contributing or preserved CSS or PSS member, or
• have been a contributing CSS or PSS member at any time on or after 7 March 2021.

Once a member has a PSSap Ancillary account, there are no restrictions on the type of contributions that can be received. However, you cannot contribute to PSSap Ancillary if your employee’s employment arrangement means they are eligible for PSS or CSS contributions.

What does this mean for you?

When calculating the contribution amount payable for PSSap or PSSap ancillary accounts, you need to first determine whether your employee’s employment is eligible or ineligible:

• If in eligible employment (e.g. you are a designated employer and your employee is a permanent staff member), you’ll need to pay 15.4% contributions calculated in accordance with your Enterprise Agreement, except where you’re required to contribute a different amount, e.g. for statutory office holders.
• If not in eligible employment, you’ll need to contribute, at a minimum, the SG amount, or the amount specified in your Enterprise Agreement or the employee’s individual contract, as applicable. You may not be able to contribute this to PSSap – it depends on whether or not your employee has previously been in eligible employment for 12 continuous months*.

*Where a person has had multiple eligible employers, there must not have been a break between each period of employment for at least 12 months to meet the continuous service requirement.  

New ADF members

Members with MilitarySuper

As an employer, it’s important to know that stapling does not impact employees with defined benefit accounts, such as MilitarySuper. These defined benefit accounts are excluded from the stapling changes and cannot be stapled. The eligibility rules for MilitarySuper takes priority over stapling – you only need to think about checking for a stapled super fund if your new employee isn’t required to rejoin MilitarySuper.

If your new employee isn’t required to rejoin MilitarySuper

• They’ll have a choice of fund.
• You’ll need to give them the super standard choice form (or your AE689 form) so they can nominate a super fund.
• If they don’t nominate a super fund, you must check for a stapled super fund using the ATO’s online portal, before following your default rules.

If your new employee has a stapled super fund

• You’re required to pay super contributions to that super fund.
• They’re still able to elect to contribute to another super fund, including ADF Super (but not PSSap).

If no stapled super fund exists

• Your employee will default into your default super fund (ADF Super).

This information is for guidance only. For specific information regarding your obligations as an employer under the stapling regime please contact the ATO.

Employers outside the APS or ADF

Here's what you need to know before you pay contributions to PSSap or ADF Super for the first time.

Find out more

Security assessed clients

Some new employees may be classed as ‘security assessed clients’, potentially due to the nature of current or previous work. These people have been classified by the ATO for privacy reasons. For example, they may be flagged as sensitive cases, high-profile people (like politicians), ATO employees, etc.

If someone has been classified as a security assessed client, any check you do in the ATO’s online portal will not return a result (i.e. no stapled fund will be identified). This means you need to pay their contributions into your default super fund if they haven’t nominated another super fund.

Disclaimer:

Any financial product advice provided in this website is general advice only and has been prepared without taking account of your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any such general advice, you should consider the appropriateness of the advice, having regard to your own objectives, financial situation and needs. You may wish to consult a licensed financial adviser. You should obtain a copy of the relevant Product Disclosure Statement and consider its contents before making any decision regarding your super.