If you (or your partner) are a low or middle-income earner and make personal after-tax super contributions, the government may also make a contribution (called a co-contribution). Depending on your eligibility and total income, you may qualify for the full government super co-contribution of $500 by contributing $1,000 into your super account by no later than 30 June of that year. You won’t find a better return on your money than a 50% risk-free return.
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How much can you get
Who is eligible
Who else is eligible that may not realise it
What you need to do to get it
Further information
How much can you get from the government co-contribution scheme
The amount you’ll get under the government’s super co-contribution scheme depends on your income and how much you contribute.
There are two income eligibility criteria for the government co-contribution.
The first one is that 10% or more of your total income must come from eligible employment-related activities and/or running a business.
The second one is a sliding scale based on your income.
If you earn less than $60,400 (the upper limit for the 2024/25 financial year) and make an after-tax contribution to your super, the Government will also make a contribution.
If you earn less than $45,400 (the lower limit for the 2024/25 financial year), for every dollar you contribute, the Government will add a maximum of 50 cents, up to a maximum of $500.
In summary:
Total income below $45,400 – the government will co-contribute 50c for every dollar of after-tax contribution up to $500.
Total income above $45,400 – the co-contribution reduces by 3.333 cents for any dollar above $45,400.
Total income above $60,400 – no longer eligible for the government co-contribution.
How much you can get from the government super co-contribution scheme
| Government super co-contribution 2024/25 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal super contribution | ||||
| Income | $1,000 | $800 | $500 | $200 |
| $45,400 or less | $500 | $400 | $250 | $100 |
| $48,400 | $400 | $400 | $250 | $100 |
| $51,400 | $300 | $300 | $250 | $100 |
| $54,400 | $200 | $200 | $200 | $100 |
| $57,400 | $100 | $100 | $100 | $100 |
| $60,400 or more | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Note that the threshold is based on your assessable income, not your taxable income, which means making concessional contributions does not lower your threshold to become eligible.
Here is a link to the ATO’s Super Co-Contributions Calculator.
Who is eligible for the government super co-contribution scheme
In addition to the income thresholds, to be eligible for the government co-contribution, you also must:
- Receive 10% or more of your total income from eligible employment-related activities and/or running a business
- Lodge a tax return for that year of income (this is how the ATO checks your income for eligibility)
- Be under age 71 at the end of the financial year that you are making the contribution
- Have a total super balance below the $1.9 million Transfer Balance Cap on June 30 of the financial year prior to the year you contribute
- Not claim a tax deduction (i.e., not turn it from a non-concessional contribution into a concessional contribution)
- Not have exceeded your non-concessional contributions cap in the relevant financial year
- Not hold a temporary visa at any time during the financial year (unless you are a New Zealand citizen, or it was a prescribed visa)
Who else is eligible that may not realise it
Kids
There is no minimum age to receive the government’s super co-contribution. If you have a child who has taxable income from employment-related activities and submits a tax return, they are eligible for the government super co-contribution.
So if your child is working and meets the low-income thresholds mentioned above, they (or you) could contribute and they could get the co-contribution.
Many parents encourage their children to learn the value of working at an early age. This could be a great way to teach and reward them by offering to match them up to $500 so that they put in $500, you put in $500, and the government puts in $500 for a total of 300% of what they contribute.
You could also use a spreadsheet to show how much that would grow into by the time they retire. Four years of contributions between 17 and 21 and then not even contributing any more would come out to a whopping $315,000 by the time they are 60 and $507,000 by the age of 67 using the historical 10% p.a. growth rate of a broad market portfolio.
New or returning tax residents
If someone starts their Australian residency, either as a new migrant, or a returning expat, they will only be taxed on the income from the date they began their residency. If this results in a taxable income for the year below the above thresholds, they could contribute and get the co-contribution.
Who is not eligible
Voluntary contributions do not lower your income to improve your eligibility because your income for the purposes of this test includes:
- The total of your:
- assessable income
- reportable fringe benefits total
- reportable employer super contributions reduced (but not below zero) by any excess concessional contributions
- Minus your:
- assessable first home super saver released amount (if any)
- allowable business deductions (relevant to businesses only).
Your taxable income is the amount you are taxed on. i.e., it is your income after accounting for tax deductions.
However, your assessable income (as used in 1.1 above) is your income before deductions, so making a large voluntary contribution that reduces your taxable income will not improve your eligibility for the super co-contribution scheme. And as per point 1.3, salary sacrifice will also not help.
What you need to do to get the government super co-contribution scheme
- Check if you are eligible
- Contribute up to the eligible amount (without claiming the tax deduction)
That’s it. There is no need to inform anyone. The government will assess it automatically.
Further information
Super co-contribution | Australian Tax Office
Super co-contribution calculator | Australian Tax Office