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Stapled super funds for employers

How to request stapled super fund details from us for new employees that don't choose a super fund.

On this page

• Stapled super funds
• When to request stapled super fund details
• Steps to requesting stapled super fund details
• What if you haven’t made a request when you should?
• What if the stapled super fund we provide does not accept your SG payment?

Stapled super funds

A stapled super fund is an existing super account linked, or 'stapled', to an individual employee so it follows them as they change jobs.

This aims to reduce account fees, avoiding new super accounts being opened every time an employee starts a new job. If you don't meet your choice of super fund obligations, additional penalties may apply.

We have a webcast which guides you through the steps to request your employees stapled super funds.

For a summary of what you need to know, download our Stapled super funds Reference guide for employers (PDF, 406KB)This link will download a file.

You need to request stapled super fund details for new employees when:

• you need to make super guarantee (SG) payments for that employee
• they are eligible to choose a super fund but don't, including contractors you pay mainly for their labour and who are employees for SG purposes.

You may need to request stapled super fund details for some employees who aren't eligible to choose their own super fund.

This includes employees that are:

• temporary residents
• covered by an enterprise agreement or workplace determination made before 1 January 2021.

For employees that started working for you on or after 1 November 2021 and have not provided you with their choice of super fund, you should make contributions into:

• the employee's stapled super fund, or
• your employer nominated account (if the ATO advises you that they do not have a stapled super fund).

However, once an employee tells you their choice of super fund, you have 2 months to start paying contributions into that fund.

Steps to requesting stapled super fund details

Before you can request stapled super fund details from us using ATO online services, you need to have offered all eligible employees a choice of super fund.

Before we can provide a response, we need to be able to confirm that an employment relationship exists. There is no limit to the number of requests you can make.

Offer your employees a choice of super fund

You need to offer your eligible employees, including contractors who are employees for superannuation purposes, a choice of super fund and pay into the account they tell you.

Most employees are eligible to choose what fund their super goes into. They can choose a super account they already have or choose your default fund.

If your employee has chosen a super fund, you can pay super contributions to their chosen fund. If your employee does not choose a super fund, in most circumstances you need to request a stapled super fund.

You can't provide recommendations or advice about super to your employees unless you are licensed by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) to provide financial advice.

See giving your employees information and advice or visit ASIC’s Communicating with employees about choice of superannuation fund: What you can and cannot doExternal Link for more information on how you can communicate to your employees about super choices without breaking the law.

Check ATO online services and Access Manager permissions

You or your authorised representatives can request stapled super fund details using ATO online services. Check and update the access levels of your authorised representatives in ATO online services so that:

• they have either full access in ATO online services, or custom access including the 'Employee Commencement Form' permission to request stapled super fund details
• their 'Employee Commencement Form' permission is removed when no longer needed, to protect your employees’ personal information.

Tax practitioners are also able to make a request on your behalf through Online services for agents.

Establish an employment relationship

You can request your employee’s stapled super fund details after you submit a Tax file number declaration or Single Touch Payroll (STP) pay event, which identifies that you have an employment relationship or link to your employee.

This requirement may mean a change to your current onboarding requirements to ensure this link is available in time for you to make a request before your SG contributions are due.

Your employee can complete their TFN declaration by:

• completing the 'New employee commencement' form in their ATO online account through myGov and providing you with a copy, or
• providing you with a paper form.

An STP pay event is a file generated by STP-enabled software or solutions. This file must be lodged to us on, or before, the date you make a payment to your employee that is subject to PAYG withholding.

There may be circumstances where you won't be able to establish an employment relationship or link before requesting stapled super fund details from us.

It is up to each employer to determine the best option within their business practices. We've identified several scenarios and what you will need to do:

• Employing contractors entitled to SG contributions.
• Incomplete employee information.
• Employment relationship not established after TFN declaration or STP pay event lodged.

Employing contractors entitled to SG contributions

Your contractors might not be included in your STP pay events, which means you will not have an employment relationship with them in our systems.

You need to request a contractor’s stapled super fund details using the secure mail function in ATO online services.

When you submit the request, you need to include:

• Topic: Superannuation
• Subject: Other
• Description: include reference to ‘Stapled super fund request for contractor’
• the written contract signed by both parties for the contracting arrangement
• a completed and signed Contractor stapled super fund request form.

Incomplete employee information

Sometimes you don't have enough information from your employee to run an STP pay event, such as:

• no TFN declaration has been received
• your payroll software won’t allow you to lodge a pay event without super details.

We have worked with the Fair Work Ombudsman to assist employers to meet the choice of fund rules in this situation.

If your payroll software:

• allows you to leave the super fund information blank for the first payslip, you can do this and submit your pay event
• requires you to include super fund information, you should include details in the fund name field indicating it is pending a stapled super fund request (for example 'Pending stapled super fund request').

You should still include the amount of any SG contributions you are liable to pay for the period.

This will establish the employer relationship link so you can make a stapled super fund request.

Once you have the stapled super fund details, immediately update and reissue your employee’s payslip. This will provide accurate details of the name (or name and number) of the super fund to which you will be making contributions.

Employment relationship not established after TFN declaration or STP pay event lodged

In most cases, submitting a Tax file number declaration or STP pay event establishes that you have an employment relationship or link to your employee. Once this link is established, you can submit a stapled fund request for that employee.

If you follow this process but receive a stapling request outcome of ‘We cannot confirm an employment relationship’, there may have been problems processing the TFN declaration or STP pay event. The steps to rectify this depend on when you will lodge your next STP pay event.

Will you lodge another STP pay event before the SG due date?

• If yes, wait until you lodge your next STP pay event. The next day, submit another stapled super fund request for the employee. If the outcome is still ‘We cannot confirm an employment relationship’, contact us on 13 10 20 for assistance.
• If no, contact us on 13 10 20 for assistance.

Request stapled super fund details in ATO online services

To request a stapled super fund, you, or your authorised representative, need to:

1. Log into ATO online services for businessExternal Link.
2. Navigate to the 'Employee super account' screen via the 'Employees' menu and select 'Request' to open the form.
3. Enter your employee's details, including their:            
   • TFN – an exemption code can be entered where an employee can't provide their TFN, but this could result in processing delays
   • full name, including ‘other given name’ if known
   • date of birth
   • address (residential or postal), if TFN not given.
    
4. Read and click the declaration to sign it. You can tick a box under 'more employees to request?' to request stapled super fund details for additional employees.
5. Submit your request.

Registered Tax or BAS agents can also complete this for you in Online Services for Agents

Our online system uses rules based on the regulations to work out and return a stapled super fund in response to a request. You should be notified of the result of the stapled super fund request (on-screen) within minutes.

We notify your employee of the stapled super fund request and the fund details we provided. If the request was made on your behalf by an authorised representative, we notify you of the outcome of that request.

We monitor the service to ensure employers are using it appropriately and making genuine requests for stapled super fund details. Employers using the service incorrectly, such as to request information for employees who started before 1 November 2021, may have their access removed.

To avoid penalties, you must pay SG contributions to a stapled super fund if you requested the details for your employee from us and we provided them. If the employee has later provided you with a choice of super fund, penalties do not apply.

Unable to access online services

If you're unable to access online services, contact us on 13 10 20 (or +61 2 6216 1111 for overseas callers) to request details of a stapled super fund.

Before providing information over the phone, we must establish the identity of the person making the request. If you don't have access to Online services for business, the primary contact for your business needs to contact us to give you authority to request stapled super fund details on their behalf.

Make a bulk request

A bulk request form can be completed if you need to request stapled super fund details for over 100 new employees at once. Bulk requests have a service standard of up to 5 business days.

Before you can submit the request, you need to have an employment relationship link with each of the new employees. You can then request your employee’s stapled super fund using the bulk request form.

You can download the Stapled super fund bulk request (XLSX, 352KB)This link will download a file and complete the information required.

Once the file is completed, you or your authorised representative, can submit it through the secure mail function using ATO online services.

It is important to note:

• only one form should be submitted per request
• if you are a member of a consolidated group, each entity must submit their own forms separately
• only an authorised person can submit a request.

Once the file is processed, you receive a response through the secure mail function within online services. The response contains the file submitted to us with the outcomes of the stapled super fund request for each employee.

What if you haven’t made a request when you should?

You may have to pay the choice shortfall penalty, which is the additional super guarantee charge (SGC), if you contributed to your default fund without making a stapled super fund request.

You should immediately request a stapled super fund for your employee and begin making contributions to the fund that is returned in response to your request.

To avoid the choice shortfall penalty, make sure you:

• request the stapled super fund details for your employee as soon as possible if they have not provided you with their choice of fund
• pay the employee’s full SG contribution to the stapled super fund we return to you in the request
• pay the contribution to the stapled super fund by the quarterly due date.

What if the stapled super fund we provide does not accept your SG payment?

If the stapled super fund we provide you rejects your SG payment, you need an alternate super fund to make the SG payment to. To find an alternate super fund, either:

• ask your employee to provide you with a completed Superannuation Standard Choice form, to nominate the alternative super fund
• request stapled super fund details from us for the employee again.

Contact us on 13 10 20 for an alternate fund if your online request gives you the same fund details. If an alternate fund cannot be determined, we will tell you that you can contribute to your default fund.

Did this make your SG payment late?

If you don't make your SG payment on time and to the right fund, you have to pay the SGC. You must also lodge an SGC statement to us.

However, if your SG payment is late as a direct result of the stapled fund rejecting your SG payment, you may be eligible for a reduction in the amount of SGC you have to pay.

To be eligible for an SGC reduction, you must have taken all the following steps:

• You were notified of the employee's stapled super fund details by us.
• You made an SG payment to the stapled super fund before the due date and that payment was rejected.
• You made a subsequent SG payment to an alternate super fund.
• You lodged an SGC statement.

If you took all the above steps and want to request a reduction in the resulting SGC liability, contact us on 13 10 20.

How to request stapled super fund details from us for new employees that don't choose a super fund.

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