Source: Australian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry
The Albanese Government is delivering more help to low‑income workers and reforming the superannuation system to make it stronger, fairer and more sustainable.
We are boosting the low‑income superannuation tax offset (LISTO) and making a number of important changes to better target superannuation concessions for large balances.
We will increase the LISTO by $310 to $810 and raise the eligibility threshold from $37,000 to $45,000 from 1 July 2027.
This will help deliver a more secure retirement for 1.3 million Australians, of which around 60 per cent are women, with the total number of Australians eligible for LISTO increasing to 3.1 million.
This change will ensure low‑income workers receive a fairer tax concession on their super contributions to align with the Government’s third round of tax cuts taking effect in 2027.
It will benefit all workers with incomes between $28,000 and $45,000, with an average increase in the LISTO payment of $410. These workers could receive a potential benefit at retirement of around $15,000 depending on an individual’s income over their career.
This is all part of our plan to help low‑income workers earn more, keep more of what they earn and retire with more too.
We are also making a number of practical changes to the design and implementation of our policy to better target superannuation concessions.
These are sensible changes which take two years of feedback into account while still maintaining the main objectives of our policy.
We have worked through the issues and found another way.
Firstly, we will introduce a second threshold to better target super concessions on the earnings of large balances above $10 million, to make these concessions even more targeted.
Secondly, we will index the large balance thresholds of $3 million and $10 million, apply these changes to realised earnings and push back the start date by one year to consult on final details and prepare legislation.
The original model was the best option identified at the time, but we have taken the decision to adjust the model to recognise the views we have heard since then.
With these changes we are continuing to deliver on our longstanding commitment to better target superannuation concessions that we took to the last election.
Our policy to better target super concessions for large balances will continue to affect less than 0.5 per cent of all Australians in 2026–27.
It maintains the concessional treatment of superannuation for all taxpayers and makes superannuation tax concessions more targeted for those with large balances.
These changes, along with the LISTO reform, will substantially improve the fairness and sustainability of our super system.
Today’s changes mean that from 1 July 2026:
- The total concessional tax rate applied to earnings on balances between $3 million and $10 million will be 30 per cent.
- The total concessional tax rate applied to earnings on balances over $10 million will be 40 per cent.
- Both the $3 million and $10 million super balance thresholds will be indexed to maintain relativity with the Transfer Balance Cap that was introduced by the Coalition.
As part of these changes we will also:
- Adjust the earnings calculation so the concessional tax rates on large balances only apply to future realised earnings. Treasury will consult on implementation details including the best approach to the calculation of future realised gains and attribution to individual fund members.
- Apply commensurate treatment to defined benefit interests to ensure equivalent impacts, with Treasury to consult on implementation details.
- Extend the existing exemption for some judges to improve consistency across jurisdictions. This is a small change to respond to the latest legal advice and ensure more neutral treatment.
Providing additional support for low‑income workers through LISTO will cost around $435 million over the forward estimates.
The net impact on the Budget of these changes is a cost of around $4.2 billion over the forward estimates, a large part of which is due to the one year delay.
In the first full year of operation (2028–29), the package will provide a saving to the Budget of around $1.6 billion in net terms, including the cost of increasing the LISTO.
Final costs and budget impacts will be accounted for in the 2025–26 Mid‑Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
Super tax concessions cost the budget more than $55 billion per year and will exceed the cost of the Age Pension in the 2040s.
These reforms maintain the concessional treatment of superannuation, but ensure it is provided in a more equitable and sustainable way.
There are 14 times as many people who will benefit from the boost to LISTO as there are people with over $3 million in super.
Labor built our superannuation system and we’re making it even stronger, fairer and more sustainable.
We’re increasing LISTO, better targeting super concessions, paying super on paid parental leave and introducing payday super, and we have increased the superannuation guarantee to 12 per cent and legislated the objective for superannuation.
The Government will introduce legislation to implement these changes as soon as possible in 2026. Further consultation will be undertaken with the superannuation industry and other relevant stakeholders to settle implementation.
More information about the policy will be published on the Treasury website.