The A$810 super fix low-income workers will not have to lift a finger for

A bigger government top-up for low earners' super is now law. It starts in July 2027, it lands automatically, and the maths behind it is simpler than it looks.

While the debate over taxing large super balances took the headlines, a smaller change for low-income workers passed quietly. The Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset (LISTO) will rise from a maximum of A$500 a year to A$810, and the income threshold will lift from A$37,000 to A$45,000. The change is law and takes effect from 1 July 2027, according to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

LISTO exists to fix a quirk in the system. Employer super contributions are taxed at 15 per cent when they enter a fund. For someone on a low income, that can be a higher rate than they pay on their wages. LISTO refunds that tax, paying 15 per cent of their before-tax contributions back into their super, up to a cap.

The problem was the cap. It had been stuck at A$500 while the Superannuation Guarantee, the share of wages employers must pay into super, climbed to 12 per cent. At that rate, a worker earning A$37,000 pays about A$666 in contributions tax but could only ever get A$500 back.

The new numbers close the gap exactly. Twelve per cent of A$45,000 is $5,400 in contributions, and 15 per cent of that is A$810.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the change will help 1.3 million Australians, around 60 per cent of them women, and lift the total number eligible to 3.1 million. The government puts the average increase at A$410 a year, and says it could add around A$15,000 to a worker's super by retirement, depending on their income over a career.

"No worker should pay more tax on their super than they do on their wages," said Joseph Mitchell, assistant secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, when the bill passed the Senate in March 2026.

Many eligible workers will never notice it arriving. The ATO pays LISTO straight into the fund after assessing a worker's income, whether or not they lodge a tax return. "You don't need to do anything to receive a LISTO payment," the ATO says. The main thing to check is that the fund has the worker's tax file number.

This is a repair job. For years the cap failed to keep pace with rising super contributions, and many low earners, most of them women, quietly paid more tax on their super than on their pay. The new cap is set to match the numbers precisely, which is how it should have worked all along. At A$810 a year it will not solve anyone's retirement, but compounded over a working life it adds up. If you are a student, a casual or working part-time, spend five minutes checking your fund has your tax file number. It is the only thing standing between you and the money.