Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Like many of us in this room I'm approached continuously by members of my constituency who raise the issue of superannuation and unpaid super. I was very pleased to see the announcements by the government about payday super because it's very important to ensure that people receive their super when it's due to them. What we've seen in the past is that it could be paid every quarter. Sometimes employers fell behind and it was never paid, and that was the most common thing that I heard in electorate when people came to see about super. They'd go back and the company would be defunct, bankrupt, insolvent, and they would never get their money. You have to remember that super is not a gift from the employer to the worker; it's paid to them for their remuneration of labour that they give. The reality is that, when super first came in back in the eighties, workers gave a part of their pay to get that original three per cent. That's what happens—it's part of your pay. So I was very pleased to see that the government has brought in payday super, and that will start on 1 July 2026. It will require employers to pay their employees super at the same time as their salary when they're being paid. As I said, it's not a gift—it's part of your salary. It's part of your package and part of the labour that you have given.

I'm not saying that it's all employers—most employers do the right thing, from what we hear. The Australian tax office estimates that there's over $3.4 billion worth of super that goes unpaid. That was in 2019-20, and I reckon it has gone up since then. This will ensure that people get there super on time and not every three months, which allows the employer to fall behind and occasionally never pays it to the worker. It'll also assist the person receiving the super because of compound interest et cetera. The longer it's in that account, the better off it is for that particular person. I think it's estimated that a medium income worker at 25 years of age and currently receiving their super quarterly—compared to wages fortnightly—could be around $6,000 better off because of that compound interest and because of the money being in that account. By switching to payday super, you will be able to earn more. It keeps the employer's books and records up to date. As I said, most employers do the right thing, but, still, when you estimate $3.4 billion of unpaid super for people that have contributed their labour, it's no different from wage theft. It is exactly the same. It's no different.

It's been a long time coming. These laws should have been brought in years ago by the opposition when they were in government, but, obviously, all we saw then was that the former treasurer, Mr Hockey, would not increase the super payments back in 2014 even though they'd made a pledge to do so. I recall very well him saying, 'Well, it's better off in their pockets than in super.' At the time, I was out of this place and I was negotiating EBAs. I tried it at every EBA. How many workplaces do you think said, 'Yes, we'll give you that in increased wages'? Zero—not one of them. Those workers missed out on a pledge that was made by the government back then, and they've missed out on thousands of dollars for their retirement.

You have to remember: super is for people's retirement. The more that they accumulate in super, the better off governments are, regardless of what persuasion, because those people will have more money to live on and need less of a handout from the government. So it's very important that we strengthen these laws. It is important that everyone does the right thing and pays their super, because, as I said, if you're not paying super, it's no different from wage theft.

I was very pleased to see the government and the minister implement these measures, which will mean that people will do the right thing and ensure that billions of dollars will get paid to workers, as they deserve for giving their labour. As I said, it's no different from your wages—super is part of that remuneration package that you get. I believe it will start on 1 July, and I'm sure we'll hear more about it from the minister and more on how it's going to strengthen Australia's superannuation system and help deliver a more dignified time with their salary and wages. As I said, it's an important measure. It will secure people's super and ensure that wage theft won't take place, because it's exactly the same.

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