Superannuation for Under 18s in Australia

A 15-year-old working weekends at Coles earns super. A 16-year-old lifeguard at the local pool earns super. A 17-year-old apprentice plumber earns super. But the rules differ from adult employees, and most teenagers have no idea where their money goes or how much they have.

Australia's superannuation system collects contributions from the moment a person starts paid work, regardless of age. By the time a teenager finishes school, they might have $2,000 to $5,000 sitting in a super fund. Over 45 years of compound growth, that early money does more work than contributions made at age 40. Understanding how the system treats minors helps you (or your child) avoid lost accounts, unnecessary fees, and missed tax advantages.

The Super Guarantee (SG) rules require employers to pay super for workers under 18 if the worker exceeds 30 hours in a week. This 30-hour threshold applies per employer, per week. A 16-year-old who works 15 hours at a cafe and 18 hours at a retail shop does not trigger the SG obligation at either job, because neither exceeds 30 hours.

For workers aged 18 and over, no hour threshold exists. Employers pay the SG rate (11.5% as of 1 July 2025) on every dollar of ordinary time earnings, regardless of hours worked. This creates a gap for teenagers. A 17-year-old working three 8-hour shifts (24 hours) receives no mandatory super. That same worker turns 18 and the employer owes super on every shift.

Some employers pay super for under-18s regardless of hours. Woolworths, Coles, and McDonald's pay super on all shifts because their enterprise agreements require it. Check your payslip or the enterprise agreement that covers your role. If super appears on your payslip, your employer pays it regardless of the 30-hour rule.

If you do not nominate a super fund, your employer sends contributions to a default fund. Default funds charge fees that eat into small balances. A $1,500 super balance paying $78 per year in administration fees and $30 in insurance premiums loses $108, which represents 7.2% of the account.

Minors can choose their own super fund. You do not need a parent's signature to open a standard MySuper account. Fill out a Standard Choice Form with your employer, providing your fund's name, ABN, USI (Unique Superannuation Identifier), and member number. Your employer directs future contributions to that fund.

Pick a fund with low fees and no default insurance for young members. AustralianSuper, Hostplus, and UniSuper waive insurance premiums for members under 25 by default (you must opt in if you want cover). This keeps fees to administration and investment costs. A fund charging 0.5% per year on a $3,000 balance costs $15. A fund charging 1.5% costs $45. Over a decade, that fee gap compounds.

Avoid opening multiple super accounts. Every new job that sends contributions to a different default fund creates another account with another set of fees. Consolidate by logging into myGov, linking the ATO, and using the "Manage my super" tool to find and combine lost accounts.

Employer super contributions (concessional contributions) attract 15% tax inside the fund. This applies regardless of the member's age. If your employer contributes $500 in a financial year, the fund deducts $75 in contributions tax, and $425 enters your account.

Most teenagers earn below the $18,200 tax-free threshold for personal income. Their marginal tax rate outside super is 0%. Inside super, contributions face 15% tax. This means super contributions cost more in tax than the same money earned as take-home pay. For low-income earners (taxable income under $37,000), the government offsets this through the Low Income Super Tax Offset (LISTO). LISTO refunds up to $500 of super contributions tax per financial year, paid into the super account. Parents looking to protect their family finances should also understand life insurance for kids and when it makes sense.

A 16-year-old earning $8,000 per year pays $0 in personal income tax. Their employer contributes $920 in super (11.5% of $8,000). The fund deducts $138 in contributions tax. LISTO refunds that $138 back into the super account. The net tax on super contributions: $0.

LISTO applies to employees, not to voluntary after-tax contributions made by a parent. If a parent deposits $1,000 into a child's super as a non-concessional (after-tax) contribution, no contributions tax applies (the money was taxed before going in), but no LISTO applies either.

Yes. Any person can make a contribution to another person's super account, provided the fund accepts it. Most retail and industry funds accept third-party contributions. A parent deposits money as a non-concessional (after-tax) contribution to the child's fund using BPAY or direct transfer.

The non-concessional contribution cap for 2025-26 is $120,000 per financial year. No teenager will hit this cap, but it defines the upper limit. A parent contributing $1,000 per year from age 15 to 18 adds $4,000 to the child's super. At 7% annual return (the long-term average for a balanced super fund), that $4,000 grows to $60,000 by age 65 without a single additional contribution.

The parent receives no tax deduction for this contribution. The child receives no co-contribution from the government (co-contributions require the recipient to earn at least 10% of their total income from employment). The sole benefit is compound growth over decades inside a low-tax environment. Understanding whether life insurance is tax deductible helps parents weigh the tax efficiency of different protection strategies.

The ATO holds $16 billion in lost and unclaimed super as of March 2026. Teenagers who work casual jobs through school create accounts they forget about. A summer job at a surf shop, a few months at a fast-food chain, and a term of tutoring through an agency can produce three separate accounts at three separate funds.

Log into myGov and link the ATO. Select "Super" and then "Manage." The ATO displays every fund that has reported a balance under your Tax File Number. You can consolidate (roll over) all accounts into one fund with a few clicks. The transfer takes three to five business days.

Before consolidating, check whether any account offers insurance cover you want to keep. Rolling out of a fund cancels any insurance held through that fund. For most under-18s, this is not a concern because insurance cover does not activate until age 25 in most industry funds.

If you have not lodged a tax return yet (common for teenagers who earn below the tax-free threshold), the ATO may not have linked your super accounts to your TFN. Lodge a return, even a nil return, to ensure the ATO connects your super records. This also triggers any LISTO refunds owed to your super account.

A dollar contributed to super at age 16 has 49 years to grow before preservation age (60 under current law). At 7% annual return, $1 becomes $27.53. A dollar contributed at age 30 has 30 years and grows to $7.61. The 16-year-old's dollar produces 3.6 times more wealth from the same contribution.

A teenager who accumulates $5,000 in super by age 18 and never makes another contribution holds $171,000 at age 65 (at 7% return). Add employer contributions through a working life and voluntary contributions from age 30, and that early $5,000 represents a meaningful head start. For young people who want to grow wealth outside super, our guide on how to buy stocks in Australia covers the basics of investing.

The practical steps: nominate a low-fee fund before your first shift, give your TFN to the fund (this reduces tax on contributions from 47% to 15%), check myGov once a year to catch lost accounts, and avoid withdrawing super early through the First Home Super Saver Scheme until you understand the rules. Your future self collects the reward.