Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing Superannuation Outcomes For Australians and Helping Australian Businesses Invest) 2021

✦ Plain-English Summary

# Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing Superannuation Outcomes For Australians and Helping Australian Businesses Invest) Bill 2021

## What it does

This law makes six changes to superannuation and tax rules. The main ones are: removing a monthly earnings threshold so casual and part-time workers can get superannuation contributions on smaller pay amounts, increasing the amount first-home buyers can withdraw from super for a deposit, lowering the age for making "downsizer contributions" when you sell your home, relaxing work-related limits on super contributions for older workers, and extending tax breaks for businesses buying equipment.

## Why it matters

These changes help lower-income and casual workers build retirement savings they'd previously miss out on, and give first-home buyers another way to access their own super for a deposit. For businesses, extended tax deductions on equipment purchases aim to boost investment and economic activity.

## Key details

- **Casual and part-time workers**: From 1 July 2022, employers must pay super on *all* wages, no matter how small the monthly amount (previously there was a minimum threshold).
- **Home buyers and downsizers**: The maximum amount you can release under the first-home super scheme increases, and you can start making downsizer contributions from a younger age.
- **Business tax breaks**: Temporary full deductions for buying depreciating assets (like machinery) get extended to help business investment.
- The law was passed in 2021 and most changes took effect from July 2022 onwards.

Official Description

Amends the: Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 to remove the $450-a-month threshold before an employee's salary or wages count towards the superannuation guarantee; Taxation Administration Act 1953 to increase the limit on the maximum amount of voluntary contributions made over multiple financial years that are eligible to be released under the First Home Super Saver Scheme from $30 000 to $50 000; Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to: enable individuals aged 60 and above to make downsizer contributions to their superannuation plan from the proceeds of selling their home; apply the work test to individuals aged between 67 and 75 who claim a deduction for personal superannuation contributions and allow such individuals to make or receive non-concessional superannuation contributions under the bring forward rule; and enable superannuation trustees to choose their preferred method of calculating exempt current pension income when they have member interests in both accumulation and retirement phases for part, but not all, of the income year; and Income Tax (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997 to extend the temporary full expensing regime to 30 June 2023.

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Audit History

Introduced

27 Oct 2021

Last updated on APH

10 Apr 2026

Outcome date

22 Feb 2022

Last checked by Crossbench

2 days ago

Full text indexed

2 days ago

🗳️

No formal division recorded

This bill passed by voice vote — parliament agreed without calling a formal count. A division is only recorded when a member explicitly requests one.

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