Choice of fund

What is choice of fund?

Choice of fund is a measure introduced by the Government from 1 July 2005 that requires most employers to provide their employees with a choice of superannuation fund into which Superannuation Guarantee (‘SG’) contributions made for them will be paid.

Before the new legislation came into effect, your employer often made the choice about where your SG contributions were paid. Now, you can play a much more active role in managing your superannuation by choosing which super fund receives your contributions.

Do I have to make a choice?

No, in most cases you can stay with your existing super fund and won’t have to make a choice. This legislation means that you may see more banks (retail type super funds) or other funds marketing and promoting their super products to you.
If you are employed under one of the industrial arrangements listed below, you may not be eligible to choose the fund your SG contributions are paid into (see below).

Is there a deadline for making a choice?

There is no deadline by which you have to make a choice. Your employer must keep paying your SG contributions into your current fund, until you advise otherwise by submitting a standard choice form.

Employers are obliged to do the following under the Choice of Fund legislation (unless they are exempt):

• Each new eligible employee must be given a standard choice form by their employer within 28 days of commencing employment.

In addition, if:

• an existing eligible employee asks their employer for a standard choice form;
• an employer is unable to contribute to an employee's chosen fund or that super fund is no longer a complying super fund; or
• the employer changes their default fund;

the standard choice form must be given to them within 28 days.

Go to forms and publications to download a Standard Choice form.

Will all employees be able to choose?

Broadly, most employees will have choice of fund unless they are employed in the public sector or under a state award or a Commonwealth or preserved State agreement dealing with superannuation.

Although changes may be made in the future, at the moment employees hired under the following agreements do not have access to Commonwealth choice of fund:

• a State Award or preserved State agreement,
• an Australian Workplace Agreement or a pre-reform Australian Workplace Agreement,
• a pre-reform certified agreement;
• a collective agreement;
• an old IR agreement; or
• an agreement that was in place under the Employee Relations Act 1992 (Victoria) and which continues to operate under the Workplace Relations Act.

In other words, if you are employed under one of the above, Commonwealth choice does not apply to you.

There are some limited exemptions from choice of fund for defined benefit fund members and certain government sector fund members are also exempt.

Contributions in excess of SG contributions do not come under the choice of fund requirements.

Can I move my current super into the fund I choose?

Choice of fund applies only to contributions made on or after 1 July 2005. However, you can transfer or roll over your super from another super fund into your chosen super fund at any time, subject to some limited exceptions.

If I make a choice, can I change it later on?

Yes. You can request a choice form from your employer and choose a new fund at anytime but your employer is only required to act on one of your choices every 12 months.

Super choice

Super choice laws that came in from 1 July 2005 mean that you may be able to choose the fund for your Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contributions.

Super choice applies to most employees, but not all. For example, if you are employed under a State Award or preserved State agreement, you may not get Super choice.

TWUSUPER and Super choice

We are a complying fund and eligible to provide your superannuation benefits under Super choice. If you don’t make a choice, your employer will pay your SG into its “default” fund. This is probably TWUSUPER.