Treasury Law Amendment for super measures moves forward

The Treasury Laws Amendment (2018 Superannuation Measures No.1) Bill 2019 has passed both Houses of Parliament and reached royal assent on 2 October 2019. First announced in the 2018-19 Budget, the Bill allows eligible individuals, whose income exceeds $263,157 and have multiple employers, to nominate wages from certain employers to not be subject to the superannuation guarantee (SG).

Individuals with more than one employer, who expect that their compulsory super contributions will exceed the annual concessional contributions cap for a financial year, will be able to apply for an exemption certificate to release some of their employers from their SG obligations. Individuals will still need to receive SG payments from at least one employer.

From 16 October 2019, eligible individuals will be able to download an application form from the ATO. The application will need to be submitted at least 60 days before the start of the quarter in which you wish to receive the exemption. The lodgment period for the quarter commencing 1 January 2020 has been extended. Applications lodged on or before 18 November 2019 will be accepted.

The application form provides the Commissioner of Taxation with the information required to make an assessment. This includes which employers the exemption certificate will apply to and the quarter in the financial year for which the exemption is sought. Exemption certificates may be issued for multiple quarters within a financial year but cannot cover more than one financial year. Employees will need to talk to their employers before making an application as this arrangement and any changes to payments will need to be negotiated.

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Becoming socially conscious of where you super invest

February 28, 2020

Whether you are a newcomer to the workforce or have been working full time for 30 years, you must have come across the concept of superannuation. Chances are, you’ve already been steadily building your retirement funds in one of the 500 Australian superannuation funds but are still unfamiliar with how exactly your super is being managed and where your super fund is investing your money in.

With the beginning of a new decade and social issues on the rise, it is time to take a more conscious stance on what you are doing with your super and what causes you are supporting through the employment of your money through your super fund.

A recent investigation into Australian super funds by the Australian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR), released in February 2020, found that 50 of the largest super funds in Australia are proxy voting against local climate-change initiatives. These organisations are instead approaching climate change from a global perspective, whilst ignoring more pressing domestic challenges to reduce carbon emissions..

The lack of support from Australian super funds for localised climate action is growing problematic, as Australia fails to address its appalling record on carbon emissions and is falling behind new-age global goals to fight against environmental degradation and climate change.

In contrast, some of Australia’s most environmentally and socially conscious super funds lack the reputation to attract long-term users. To look for more environmentally friendly Australian super funds, the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) grades supers based on their ethical contributions and makes this information available to the public.

Instead of mindlessly joining Australian super funds that are neglecting growingly problematic domestic climate change issues, Australians need to become more conscious of our indirect actions and super investments. Rather than investing in an unethical super fund, looking into self-managed super funds may be another good option. We need to learn to take matters into our own hands and become more socially conscious of where exactly our money goes.

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