Accessing your super early

You can usually access your super when you reach your preservation age and retire or meet another condition of release set by the government. But you may be able to access your super earlier in some circumstances, such as:

Severe financial hardship
Compassionate grounds
Permanent departure from Australia
Diagnosed with a terminal illness or permanent disability
Balance under $200.

Financial hardship

If you’re experiencing severe financial hardship, contact us on 1300 467 875 to apply to access your super.

Eligibility

The rules for accessing your super due to severe financial hardship depend on your age.

Under your preservation age

You can apply to withdraw between $1,000 and $10,000 from your account if you’re:

receiving an eligible Commonwealth income support payment from either Centrelink or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) for the last 26 consecutive weeks,
unable to meet reasonable and immediate living expenses, and
able to provide evidence of debts and expenses to support your application.

If you have less than $1,000 in your account, you can withdraw the full amount.

Download the Financial Hardship (under preservation age) fact sheet (PDF, 189KB) for more details.

If you’ve met your preservation age

You can withdraw some or all of your super if you:

have received a Commonwealth income support payment for a cumulative period of 39 weeks since reaching your preservation age
are not working at the date of application.

Download the Financial Hardship (reached preservation age) fact sheet (PDF, 171KB) for more details.

Compassionate grounds

You can apply to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) to access your super to pay for:

medical treatment or palliative care for you or a dependant
modifications to your home or vehicle to accommodate severe disability for you or a dependant
mortgage repayments so you don’t leave your home
funeral costs for a dependant.

Apply to the ATO

Once the ATO approves your application, we’ll need some documentation before we release your funds. Please call us on 1300 467 875 to request these forms.

Download the Access your super on compassionate grounds fact sheet (PDF, 89KB)

Terminal illness or permanent disability

If you’ve been diagnosed with a terminal illness or permanent disability, you may be able to access some or all of your super and any insurance benefits you may also qualify for (if you have cover).

Call us on 1300 467 875 to apply.

See more about insurance claims

Temporary resident leaving Australia

If you’ve worked in Australia on a temporary visa, you may be able to withdraw your super when you leave as a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP).

Learn how to claim the DASP