ADJOURNMENT

Mr SOON (Banks) (19:45): I rise to speak about the Labor government's ambitious reforms to superannuation to deliver fairer outcomes for all Australians. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill will deliver a once-in-a-generation reform to tackle the issue of unpaid superannuation, which costs workers in the financial year 2021-22 alone more than $5 billion, according to the Australian Taxation Office estimates.

In a typical ATO investigation of cases of unpaid super, a worker has missed out on nearly two years worth of contributions. These statistics demonstrate that, while super going unpaid is not necessarily malicious on the part of the employer, it is resulting from systematic issues with payroll and related systems. While these incidents impact all employees, for young workers, the impact on their retirement savings is incredible.

When a young worker loses superannuation contributions early in their career, they aren't just losing money; they are also losing benefits of years of compounding interest. For the average 35-year-old, failing to recover the contributions they are rightfully owed reduces their overall savings in retirement by $32,000 in today's money. In addition, when an employer goes out of business, the impact is even more severe.

The same 35-year-old worker's retirement balance would be a whopping $90,000 worse off in today's money. The payday superannuation bill will require superannuation contributions to be paid at the same time as wages, instead of quarterly, from 1 July 2026. This will make it easier for employees to track their super balance, will remove the uncertainty of whether sufficient super has been paid and will make it easier for the ATO to track missed payments before debts become unrecoverable.

Further, the legislation updates the superannuation guarantee charge to bring the penalties employers face for failing to pay on time, ensuring that, if for some reason the employers needed any incentive to do the right thing, they certainly have one now. The ATO will use Single Touch Payroll data, which is already reported, and match it to detect payments in near-real time.

These changes are so important for protecting the integrity of our superannuation system. We know employers need time to make sure they are ready to get things up and running for 1 July and to get it implemented, and we are working with them across the country to do so. The reforms set out in the payday superannuation bill are coupled with changes announced to the low income superannuation tax offset to deliver more help to workers who need it the most in our communities.

The government will be introducing legislation to increase the offset by $310 to $810 and raise the eligibility cutoff from $37,000 to $45,000 from 1 July 2027. This boost to the LISTO will help top up the super of low-income workers and ensure that their contributions are taxed at a lower rate than the rest of their income, aligning it with the timing of the government's third round of tax cuts, taking effect at the start of the 2027-28 financial year.

These changes will benefit all workers with incomes between $28,000 and $45,000. This will make 770,000 more workers eligible for the offset, and another half a million people will see their payments increase. The ultimate function of the LISTO changes is to enable low-income workers to enjoy a more secure and dignified retirement, and this will make it a reality for 1.3 million Australians, including many thousands of working people in my electorate of Banks who will see the benefits of this legislation.

Not everyone in this place sees superannuation in the same way. Those opposite treat superannuation as a solution to the problems created by their mismanagement of the economy. Most recently, of course, instead of forming a decent housing policy agenda, the coalition settled on telling young people to rob their futures by raiding their superannuation funds.

This government, however, knows that building compulsory superannuation, as we did in the past, is so important to ensure that working people can enjoy dignity in retirement. We are getting on with building the economy, ensuring that jobs are stronger and fairer and that we have a sustainable superannuation system.