Salary sacrifice is an agreement with your employer that lets you put extra into to your super directly from your pre-tax income every pay, potentially lowering your taxable income.[S1,S2]
It can be a percentage or a set dollar amount of your before-tax pay. This is in addition to the compulsory Superannuation Guarantee (SG) that your employer must pay directly into your super.
Most people can make salary sacrifice contributions until the age of 75, and most employers offer a salary sacrifice option.
It’s important to get advice to make sure salary sacrifice is a good option for your own personal situation.
You can salary sacrifice up to the concessional contributions cap which is currently $30,000. This cap also covers employer contributions and personal contributions claimed as a deduction.
Find out more about the concessional cap.
Salary sacrificing can be a great way to grow your super, but it does reduce your take-home pay which could affect your day-to-day budget. If you contribute too much, you could also exceed the concessional contributions cap and pay extra tax.
Check your contribution limits and make sure it suits you and your lifestyle.[S2]
Download the letter of compliance and provide to your employer along with the Choose Aware Super Future Saver form.
There are tax-effective ways you can grow your super while you’re still working, or if you’re reaching retirement, there are other ways that might be more suitable – so you can retire with more.
There are many ways to add to your super, including:
- Consolidating
- Finding any lost super
- Adding money before-tax like salary sacrificing
- Adding money after-tax like government co-contributions, spouse, downsizer or personal contributions.
A non-concessional or after-tax contribution is extra money that you’ve already paid tax on.
It might come from your take-home pay, savings or a windfall.
A type of super contribution that anyone over the age of 55 can consider after selling their home.
If you’re 55 or older, you can contribute up to $300,000 - or $600,000 for couples - into your super from the proceeds of selling your home, provided you’ve owned it for 10 years or more.
Your downsizer contribution doesn’t count towards your contribution caps, and you won’t pay tax on the amount you contribute.
You need to be 55 or over and have owned your home for at least 10 years.
There’s some other rules that might apply too, so it’s worth taking a closer look.
A downsizer contribution is added to your total super balance. It’s included in the assets and income test – so yes, it could impact your eligibility.
If you’re thinking about downsizing, consider getting some advice on how a big move might change your retirement plans.
Combining, or consolidating your super is easy to do online or in the app.
It’s simple to move your super to Aware Super online. You’ll need to verify your identity so make sure you have some ID and your mobile phone handy.
If you’re transferring super from another super fund, it takes around three days to complete the transfer.
Technically not, but you can make spouse contributions to help your partner’s super grow.
Superannuation can be taxed at different stages, depending on how and when you contribute or withdraw.
- Contributions: Most super contributions are taxed at 15% when they enter your fund.
- Investment earnings: The money your super earns while you're still working (accumulation phase) is also generally taxed at 15%.
- Tax benefits: Some types of contributions can reduce your taxable income, depending on your circumstances.
- Withdrawals: If you’re 60 or over, withdrawals from a taxed super fund are generally tax‑free.
Before-tax contributions (like employer or salary sacrifice) are taxed at 15% when they enter your super. After-tax contributions aren’t taxed on entry but count toward your non-concessional cap.
Yes - salary sacrifice can help reduce your taxable income by directing some of your pre-tax earnings into your super. You may also be able to lower your taxable income by claiming a deduction for eligible personal contributions you make to your super.
An employer must pay a minimum of 12% of each eligible employee's ordinary time earnings (usually the amount an employee earns for their ordinary hours of work) each quarter.
If an employee is covered by an award or employment agreement which specifies a higher super contribution than 12%, they must pay that higher amount.
Super payments can be made during a pay run cycle - that could be weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
Employers must pay the total super guarantee (SG) contribution for the quarter by the due date.
An employee's fund must receive their super payments on or before the quarterly super due dates.
- 1 July – 30 September due 28 October
- 1 October – 31 December due 28 January
- 1 January – 31 March due 28 April
- 1 April – 30 June due 28 July
When a super due date falls on a weekend or public holiday, your contribution must be received by the fund on or before the next business day.
Yes. All employees – full-time, part-time, or casual – are now eligible for super under the Super Guarantee (SG) (12% from 1 July 2025) regardless of how much they earn.
- For employees over 18, there's no minimum earning threshold or hours requirement — employers must pay super on all ordinary time earnings.
- For employees under 18, super contributions apply if they work more than 30 hours per week.
No, superannuation is not paid on overtime in Australia. Employers calculate super on ordinary time earnings (OTE), which include things like:
- Base hourly or salary pay
- Casual loading
- Shift loadings and allowances.
Yes, superannuation is generally paid on annual leave because annual leave payments are considered part of ordinary time earnings (OTE).
Yes, most bonuses that relate to ordinary hours, such as:
- End-of-year / Christmas bonuses
- Performance or sales-based bonuses
- Retention bonuses
- Commissions
are included in ordinary time earnings (OTE) and therefore your employer will contribute 12% to your super.
Yes, super is generally paid on long service leave because it’s included in ordinary time earnings (OTE).
If you believe you haven’t been paid your super, reach out to your payroll department.
If you’re an employer and you’ve missed a payment, pay the late contribution to your employee's super fund as soon as possible. You must also contact the ATO as you may need to lodge and pay the Super Guarantee Charge. See the ATO for more information.
The Superannuation Guarantee (SG) is the minimum amount employers in Australia must contribute to their employees’ superannuation fund. As of 1 July 2025, it’s 12%.
No, if you get made redundant, your employer generally doesn’t need to pay super on any redundancy payment you get. This is because redundancy payments don’t count as ordinary time earnings (OTE), because the payment is meant as compensation for losing your job, not for the work you did.
No, super is not generally paid if you’re on workers' compensation and not working. This is because the workers' compensation payments made to you are not part of your wage or ordinary time earnings (OTE).
However, if you return to work and still receives workers' compensation payments at that time, your employer may have to start paying super.
You should be getting 12% of your annual salary paid into your super - it depends on whether your pay packet includes or excludes super. Talk to your payroll.
You’re usually entitled to be paid super if you:
- Are 18 or older and working a paid job
- Are under 18 but work more than 30 hours a week
- Work casually or part time and meet the income rules
- Are self-employed and choose to contribute for yourself.
Most employers pay super at least quarterly, but many choose to pay it with each pay cycle (weekly, fortnightly or monthly).
From 1 July 2026, new Payday Super reforms will require employers to pay super on every payday, at the same time your wages are paid.
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[S1] Before contributing, consider the current annual contribution limits. Exceeding these limits may reduce any tax benefits you could receive. Visit Grow your super for more information.
[S2] Salary sacrifice will save tax in many but not all circumstances and will cause a reduction in your take home pay.