The super co-contribution is a payment made by the Commonwealth Government into your super account to encourage you to save for retirement.
The government contributes $1 for each $1 you contribute (up to a maximum of $1,000 per year), if your total income is less than $31,920. The super co-contribution progressively reduces for incomes over this amount and phases out completely at $61,920.1
How much could I get?
The maximum amount you can receive is $1,000. The table below outlines the phasing-out scale for incomes exceeding $31,920.
| Assessable income1 |
After-tax contribution required for maximum super co-contribution |
Maximum super co-contribution2 |
| $31,920 |
1,000 |
1,000 |
| $36,920 |
834 |
834 |
| $41,920 |
667 |
667 |
| $46,920 |
500 |
500 |
| $51,920 |
334 |
334 |
| $56,920 |
167 |
167 |
| $61,920 |
0 |
0 |
Find out how much you may be eligible for by using our
Co-contribution calculator.
Note
For Queensland Government employees – If you meet eligibility criteria (see FAQs below) and are making after-tax standard member contributions (usually 5% of salary), you will automatically be considered for super co-contributions by the ATO.
For non-Queensland Government employees – If you meet the eligibility criteria, you will need to make an after-tax contribution to superannuation to be considered for the super co-contribution by the ATO.
For members salary sacrificing – Contributions made via salary sacrifice are not regarded as qualifying contributions for the super co-contribution. If you are salary sacrificing your standard contributions, you may need to make extra after-tax voluntary contributions to qualify for the co-contribution. You can do this by:
- making a lump sum after-tax voluntary contribution, or
- arranging with your pay office to make additional after-tax voluntary contributions from your pay.
Frequently asked questions
Show all answers
To be eligible you must meet all of the following criteria:
- your assessable income is less than $61,2901
- you have made an after-tax contribution before 30 June of the financial year
- 10% or more of your total income2 needs to be earned from eligible activities, including being an employee, running a business, or both3
- you are under age 71 at the end of the income year
- you have not held an eligible temporary resident’s visa at any time during the financial year
- you have lodged a tax return for the financial year
- you are not the holder of a temporary visa
- you have provided QSuper with your tax file number.
You should be aware spouse contributions aren’t included when assessing eligibility for the super co-contribution, and the co-contribution does not count towards the contributions caps.
No. Simply lodge your income tax return as normal. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will use the information on your income tax return, and contribution information from your super fund, to work out whether you are eligible.
If you are eligible, the ATO will automatically calculate the super co-contribution amount and deposit it into your super account.