QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Ms RISHWORTH (Kingston—Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) (14:44): I'd like to thank the member for Blair for that question and for his advocacy for working people in his community. The Albanese Labor government has delivered significant improvements to our workplace laws to protect the entitlements of working Aussies, including their superannuation entitlements.

We've already delivered important laws that protect Australian workers' pay by criminalising intentional wage theft. As part of our commitment to protect workers' entitlements, we've amended the Fair Work Act to make superannuation a clear workplace right. Our amendment means that workers can pursue unpaid wages and unpaid super at the same time, making it easier for workers to get what they are owed.

For too long, workers have had to go undergo separate processes to get their entitlements, and we have fixed that. Recognising superannuation has a critical role in supporting workers in retirement is what our government has done. We are now paying superannuation on government paid parental leave, and on 1 July our government will have increased the superannuation guarantee to 12 per cent.

This improves the economic security of thousands of families in Australia. We are continuing to safeguard the entitlements of Aussie workers through our payday super legislation, ensuring that their super is paid at the same time as their wages. Our payday super changes will ensure that super is paid earlier and more regularly into super accounts, giving people better oversight and bigger balances at retirement.

Too many workers are not paid the superannuation that they are owed. We know that unpaid superannuation has a profound impact on workers' retirement savings. In fact, the most recent financial year data shows that there is almost $5.2 billion in unpaid super that should have gone to workers.

By having better oversight, which our legislation will do, we'll ensure workers can check that they're getting paid the entitlements they are owed. Payday super also means that workers will retire with more, because deposits will be made in a timely manner, and more frequently. What this will mean for an average 25-year-old's retirement balance is an extra $6,000 in today's dollars.

This will be a real boost to their retirement savings. It is Labor that created superannuation. We believe in it, and that's why we will always strengthen the system to make sure it's equitable and sustainable and delivers to Australian workers.