Commonwealth Government legislation permits early access to your superannuation on certain hardship grounds.

Generally, super can only be claimed when you retire from the workforce after reaching your preservation age (age 55 to 60, depending on your date of birth), or on earlier death, or total and permanent disability.

However, Commonwealth Government legislation permits earlier access to your benefits in other very limited circumstances. These circumstances include severe financial hardship, or certain compassionate grounds.

Who decides what is severe financial hardship?

Commonwealth Government rules provide guidelines for determining whether severe financial hardship exists. QSuper is required to follow these guidelines when considering whether your super can be released. As such you will need to be able to prove financial hardship, as shown in the Financial hardship guide (pdf), for QSuper to be allowed to release your money.

What proof do I need to supply QSuper?

You need to be able to show you:

• are currently receiving Commonwealth Government income support payments (such as Newstart), and have been receiving them for a continuous period of 26 weeks. You must provide a Q230 form from Centrelink (or a Q251, if over 55). Receiving Austudy or Youth Allowance (if you are studying full-time) does not meet this requirement, and
• are unable to meet your reasonable and immediate family living expenses from your income.

If you are over age 55, you could alternatively show you were receiving payments for a cumulative 39-week period at some point since turning 55, and are currently not employed for more than ten hours per week. Contact QSuper for further details on applying using this alternative method.

Do I need to prove both of these conditions for my claim to be paid?

Yes. The Commonwealth Government guidelines state the trustees of any super fund, such as QSuper, must be satisfied these two conditions have been met for them to be able to release your money. If you cannot show you meet these conditions, QSuper will be unable to release your super on financial hardship grounds.

More information

For more information, including limits on amounts that can be released, download our Financial hardship guide (pdf).