Stephen Jones (Throsby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

We will be increasing the account balance below which lost accounts are required to be transferred to the ATO from $200 to $2,000, effective from 31 December 2012. We are increasing the level at which the money becomes compulsorily transferred to the ATO for management. We are reducing the period of inactivity before an account which is unidentifiable is required to be transferred to the ATO from five years to 12 months. The reason we are changing it from five years to 12 months is the example I have just given—that 20-year-old who, over a five-year period, has their $1,000 eroded to just $418. This legislation will stop that happening.

There are safety nets in there. The only basis on which the money is transferred to the ATO is if we know neither the name nor the tax file number of the account holder. That is the basis on which the money is transferred to the ATO.

If at some time down the track—and this is what our fervent hope is—the owner of that superannuation account is found and they come forward and say, 'That money is mine,' not only have they not paid fees on it, as they otherwise would have over that period—and the fees would have halved their account balance—but they will get interest at CPI. That is a good thing.

Mr Hockey interjecting—

The member for North Sydney, Mr Huff-and-Puff over there, said he would vote against this legislation whether it was good or not. That bells the cat. The member for North Sydney just nailed it, because that is what they are on about over there: whether this is good or not, whether it is in the interests of the account holder or not, whether it is going to provide a benefit to the employee or not, they will vote against it, because they do not care. They come in here and all they are about is making some cheap political point, trying to grab a headline. Mr Huff-and-Puff himself is trying to make a big headline out of the fact that he has not read his material, that he is not up on his stuff. We know what they are going to do. They are going to vote against this legislation whether it is good or not. We on this side of the House think it is a good thing that we put in place a system which preserves the value of somebody's superannuation account and provides them with some interest on it if they come forward and claim that money. For those reasons, I commend the legislation to the House.

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