If you are facing severe financial hardship, you may be able to access your super early.

The Australian Government has firm guidelines around accessing superannuation, and the rules for financial hardship are controlled by legislation.

As part of your application to access your super, you will be required to provide evidence of your financial hardship and this is explained in our Early Release of Superannuation Benefits due to Severe Financial Hardship factsheet.

For a financial hardship claim to be paid you will need to:

  1. Confirm you are currently receiving eligible Australian Government income support payments (e.g. Newstart) and have been doing so continuously for at least 26 weeks. As part of the application process, you will need to provide us with your Centrelink Reference Number (CRN) and give us a permission to contact Centrelink to confirm your eligibility.

    Please note that some income support payments are not eligible (e.g. Austudy and Youth Allowance).

  2. Prove you are unable to meet your reasonable and immediate living expenses from your income alone.

If you are over your preservation age (the age you can access your super), you will need to confirm the following for a financial hardship claim to be paid:

  1. You have received income support payments for a cumulative period of at least 39 weeks (meaning the payment does not have to be continuous) since you reached your preservation age.
  2. You are not currently employed for more than 10 hours each week.

For more information please read our Early Release of Superannuation Benefits due to Severe Financial Hardship factsheet or contact us.