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Employers are estimated to owe staff $2.85bn in superannuation guarantee entitlements from the 2014/15 financial year, according to an analysis by the Australian Taxation Office.
Moreover, the audit shows employers have been ‘robbing’ about $17bn from Australian workers since 2009 by avoiding their obligation to pay the compulsory superannuation guarantee.
The ATO estimates the compulsory super gap to be 5.2%, or $2.85bn, of the total estimated $54.78bn that employers were required to pay in 2014-15.
ATO deputy commissioner James O’Halloran said that while this analysis shows that 95% of the estimated superannuation guarantee is paid to employees, the gap exists because some employers appear not to be paying enough or not paying it at all.
“Superannuation has a vital role in providing for people’s retirement, and any non-payment is of concern,” he said.
“The ATO has a range of strategies and activities in place to educate, support, monitor and enforce compliance by employers. We encourage people to report instances of non-payment to us and we respond to every one of the approximately 20,000 reports of possible non-payment of SG from employees or former employees we receive each year.”
The Turnbull Government has announced today it will provide the ATO with additional funding for a Superannuation Guarantee Taskforce to crackdown on employer non-compliance.
The package builds on legislation already announced to close a legal loophole used by unscrupulous employers to short-change employees who make salary-sacrifice contributions to their superannuation.
The Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, Kelly O’Dwyer, said employers’ failure to meet their SG obligations to their employees has been a problem ever since it was introduced in 1992.
“Employers who deliberately do not pay their workers’ superannuation entitlements are robbing their workers of their wages. This is illegal and won’t be tolerated,” said O’Dwyer.
“The Turnbull Government is taking action to safeguard and modernise the SG so employers can’t hide from their legal duty. We will give all Australians confidence that the superannuation system is working in their best interests.”
The Federal Government is also aiming to make employers make monthly contributions so the ATO can better identify non-compliance.