This bill is currently before Parliament.
Budget, tax & economy
The bill would add 4.4 percentage points to the superannuation guaranteeThe minimum superannuation support employers must provide for eligible employees, calculated as a percentage of ordinary time earnings. rate used for covered firefighter and paramedic employees.
Senator Nick McKim introduced the bill because he argued that firefighters and paramedics face physically demanding emergency work, often retire earlier than other workers and can find it hard to move into similarly paid jobs after leaving the frontline. The bill is designed to raise the superannuation guaranteeThe minimum superannuation support employers must provide for eligible employees, calculated as a percentage of ordinary time earnings. rate for covered firefighters and paramedics by 4.4 percentage points, bringing the rate identified by the sponsor to 16.4 per cent from 1 July 2025 and aligning it with the base rate referred to for Australian Defence ForceAustralia's military organisation. The bill's sponsor uses ADF superannuation settings as the comparison point for the proposed firefighter and paramedic rate. personnel.
The bill sits in a broader debate about whether frontline emergency work should receive special retirement support because some workers may leave operational roles earlier than the general workforce. The collected sources are mostly official and sponsor-led, so the context is strongest on the bill's legal design and acknowledged jurisdictional limits, rather than on wider public reaction.
The collected record does not show a substantive opposition case, proposed amendment or recorded vote against this bill. The main concerns in the source material are limitations acknowledged by the explanatory memorandum and the sponsor: the bill would not operate the same way in every jurisdiction, and the proposed 16.4 per cent rate is presented as a step toward, not a complete solution to, the claimed retirement-savings gap.
Senator Nick McKim introduced this bill. Supportive speeches so far have come from Greens.
Did it become law?
Not yet
Final passage
No final vote yet
The bill has not yet completed passage through Parliament.
Days since introduction
490 days
Updated 10 June 2026.
Meaning
The bill would add 4.4 percentage points to the superannuation guaranteeThe minimum superannuation support employers must provide for eligible employees, calculated as a percentage of ordinary time earnings. rate used for covered firefighter and paramedic employees.
Because the general superannuation guaranteeThe minimum superannuation support employers must provide for eligible employees, calculated as a percentage of ordinary time earnings. rate is 12 per cent from 1 July 2025, the sponsor says the bill would lift the applicable rate for covered firefighters and paramedics to 16.4 per cent.
The bill would cover employees employed as firefighters or paramedics, and employees whose duties are primarily firefighting duties or primarily paramedic duties.
The higher-rate rule would apply to an employer's individual superannuation guaranteeThe minimum superannuation support employers must provide for eligible employees, calculated as a percentage of ordinary time earnings. shortfall for a covered employee for quarters beginning on or after 1 July 2025, if the bill becomes law.
The explanatory memorandum says the bill's practical effect would vary by jurisdiction, with direct effect in some places, indirect effect where state laws or industrial instruments refer to the Commonwealth superannuation guaranteeThe minimum superannuation support employers must provide for eligible employees, calculated as a percentage of ordinary time earnings. law, and no immediate effect in several listed jurisdictions.
The bill was still before the Senate in the collected APH record, and no proposed amendments had been circulated.
The Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Amendment (Frontline Emergency Service Workers) Bill 2025 (the Bill) increases the superannuation guarantee rate for firefighters and paramedics by 4.4 per cent to match the base rate of superannuation contributions provided to Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel.Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Amendment (Frontline Emergency Service Workers) explanatory memorandum
With reference to a firefighter employee or a paramedic employee, the number 4.4 is added to the existing superannuation guarantee rate table set out at s.19(2), which is 12 from 1 July 2025. Therefore, from 1 July 2025 the applicable superannuation guarantee rate for the specified employees would be 16.4 per cent.Second reading speech
An employee is a firefighter employee if either or both of the following apply: (a) the employee is employed as a firefighter; (b) the employee's duties are primarily firefighting duties. An employee is a paramedic employee if either or both of the following apply: (a) the employee is employed as a paramedic; (b) the employee's duties are primarily paramedic duties.Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Amendment (Frontline Emergency Service Workers) introduced bill text
The amendments of section 19 of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 made by this Schedule apply in relation to an employer's individual superannuation guarantee shortfall for an employee for a quarter that begins on or after 1 July 2025.Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Amendment (Frontline Emergency Service Workers) introduced bill text
The effect of the Bill would be varied in different jurisdictions due to State Governments' constitutional jurisdiction over industrial relations legislation. As a result, the Bill will have direct legal application, indirect application, or no application in different jurisdictions.Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Amendment (Frontline Emergency Service Workers) explanatory memorandum
Label: Status Value: Before Senate No proposed amendments have been circulated.Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Amendment (Frontline Emergency Service Workers) process signals
Context
The bill sits in a broader debate about whether frontline emergency work should receive special retirement support because some workers may leave operational roles earlier than the general workforce. The collected sources are mostly official and sponsor-led, so the context is strongest on the bill's legal design and acknowledged jurisdictional limits, rather than on wider public reaction.
McKim introduces the emergency-worker super bill
Senator Nick McKim introduced the bill and moved the second readingThe parliamentary stage where a bill's main purpose and principles are debated., arguing that firefighters and paramedics needed higher superannuation because of the demands and career limits of frontline emergency work.
Parliament of Australia ↗General super guarantee reaches 12 per cent
The ATO super guarantee table records the general superannuation guaranteeThe minimum superannuation support employers must provide for eligible employees, calculated as a percentage of ordinary time earnings. rate at 12 per cent for 2025-26; the bill would add 4.4 percentage points for covered firefighters and paramedics.
Australian Taxation Office ↗Bill restored to the Senate Notice PaperParliament's official list of business that may be considered by a chamber.
After lapsing at the end of Parliament on 21 July 2025, the bill was restored to the Senate Notice PaperParliament's official list of business that may be considered by a chamber. two days later.
Parliament of Australia ↗Legislative route
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second readingThe parliamentary stage where a bill's main purpose and principles are debated., opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second readingThe parliamentary stage where a bill's main purpose and principles are debated. moved
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Key criticism
The collected record does not show a substantive opposition case, proposed amendment or recorded vote against this bill. The main concerns in the source material are limitations acknowledged by the explanatory memorandum and the sponsor: the bill would not operate the same way in every jurisdiction, and the proposed 16.4 per cent rate is presented as a step toward, not a complete solution to, the claimed retirement-savings gap.
This is a private senator's bill still before the Senate. The collected material is mostly the sponsor's case for the bill, so this section describes evidenced limitations rather than a full public debate.
Uneven effect across jurisdictions
The explanatory memorandum and second readingThe parliamentary stage where a bill's main purpose and principles are debated. speech say the bill would have direct, indirect or no application depending on jurisdiction, because state governments have constitutional responsibility for much industrial relations law.
Partial answer to retirement savings gap
The sponsor said modelling showed contributions above 20 per cent would be needed to close the claimed retirement-savings gap, while the bill would instead lift the rate identified by the sponsor to 16.4 per cent.
Further sources
Votes
No recorded votes have been found yet for this bill.
Parliamentary debate
Start here — lead voices
Nick McKim supports the bill as its sponsor.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
1 speaker · 1 support
“An increase of 4.4 per cent would raise the superannuation guarantee rate to 16.4 per cent for firefighters and paramedics. Whilst this falls short of a complete resolution of the superannuation shortfall, it would bring parity with ADF personnel”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Record
Senate · Introduced and read a first time
Introduced
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Senate · Second reading moved
Second readingThe parliamentary stage where a bill's main purpose and principles are debated. opened
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second readingThe parliamentary stage where a bill's main purpose and principles are debated., opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Senate · Lapsed at end of Parliament
Lapsed at end of Parliament
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Senate · Restored to Notice Paper
Restored to Notice PaperParliament's official list of business that may be considered by a chamber.
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
