Youth employment costs
Requiring superannuationMoney employers pay into a worker's retirement account. for every under-18 worker could raise costs for small businesses and discourage them from employing young people.
Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Fair Super for Young Workers)
Current status
This bill is currently before Parliament.
Policy area
Budget, tax & economy
What does this bill do?
Workers under 18 would receive employer-paid retirement savings no matter how many hours they work.
Why was it introduced?
Barbara Pocock (Australian Greens) said 530,000 teenage workers miss out on $411 million in employer-paid retirement savings each year. She said 93% of young workers do not exceed the current 30-hour threshold, largely because of school, study and casual work. Pocock also cited modelling that these early payments could leave a young worker $11,000 better off at retirement because investment earnings build upon earlier earnings over time.
Broader context
Australia’s compulsory superannuationMoney employers pay into a worker's retirement account. system began in the early 1990s with an exemption that left most workers under 18 without employer contributions if they worked 30 hours or less each week. After modelling highlighted the long-term retirement savings cost, and Labor backed extending coverage in July 2026, Senator Barbara Pocock introduced this private senator’s bill to give every under-18 worker compulsory super regardless of hours worked.
Key criticism
Richard Dowling (Australian Labor Party) argued that the drafting could unintentionally change special rules linked to international social security agreements. He said this could make similar cases work differently for 17-year-old and 19-year-old employees. Dowling also warned of uncertainty for workers, employers, retirement funds and regulators. Lisa Darmanin (Australian Labor Party) argued that employer-paid retirement savings alongside wages, called payday superEmployer superannuation paid alongside a worker's wages., should be put into practice before another major change. She said the proposal needed more consultation with workers, employers, unions and the retirement-savings industry.
Who supported it?
Senator Barbara Pocock introduced this bill. Supportive speeches so far have come from Greens.
Introduced in Senate 12 Aug 2026
Debate underway in Senate 20 Aug 2026
Not yet reached House —
Not yet law —
Did it become law?
Not yet
Final passage
No final vote yet
The bill has not yet completed passage through Parliament.
Days since introduction
55 days
Updated 06 Oct 2026.
Meaning
What does this bill do?
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Workers under 18 would receive employer-paid retirement savings no matter how many hours they work. The current threshold is more than 30 hours a week.
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Workers under 18 who work 30 hours or less would no longer be excluded from these payments.
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Workers under 18 could not be excluded later through government-made rules because of their age, work or earnings.
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Workers under 18 would gain these rights the day after the bill receives Royal AssentFormal approval that turns a passed bill into law., when it becomes law.
Show source excerpts
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The Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Fair Super for Young Workers) Bill 2026 amends the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 and the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Regulations 2018 to ensure that all employees under the age of 18 are entitled to compulsory employer superannuation contributions, regardless of the number of hours they work. The Bill removes the existing legislative exemption that allows regulations to exclude employees under 18 from superannuation guarantee coverage and repeals the associated regulatory provisions that currently deny superannuation
Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Fair Super for Young Workers) explanatory memorandum -
Item 3 - Paragraph 11(f) 6. This item repeals paragraph 11(f) of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Regulations 2018, removing the regulatory exemption that excludes employees under 18 years of age who work 30 hours or less per week from superannuation guarantee coverage.
Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Fair Super for Young Workers) explanatory memorandum -
4. This item amends the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 to prevent regulations from excluding employees under 18 years of age, their work, or their earnings, remuneration or payments made to them from superannuation guarantee coverage.
Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Fair Super for Young Workers) explanatory memorandum -
1. The whole of this Act The day after this Act receives the Royal Assent.
Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Fair Super for Young Workers) introduced text
Context
Broader context for this bill
Australia’s compulsory superannuationMoney employers pay into a worker's retirement account. system began in the early 1990s with an exemption that left most workers under 18 without employer contributions if they worked 30 hours or less each week. After modelling highlighted the long-term retirement savings cost, and Labor backed extending coverage in July 2026, Senator Barbara Pocock introduced this private senator’s bill to give every under-18 worker compulsory super regardless of hours worked.
- Early 1990s
Compulsory superannuationMoney employers pay into a worker's retirement account. begins with an under-18 carve-out
When compulsory superannuationMoney employers pay into a worker's retirement account. was introduced, the exemption was justified on the basis that fees and insurance could erode small balances.
Second reading speech ↗ - 14 July 2023
Report highlights the cost of unpaid super for young workers
Industry Super Australia modelling said the rule could cost young workers more than $10,000 in future retirement savings because most under-18s do not receive compulsory contributions.
SBS News ↗ - 23 July 2026
Labor backs super for under-18s regardless of hours
Labor changed its national policy platform to support compulsory superannuationMoney employers pay into a worker's retirement account. for employees under 18, bringing the issue into federal policy debate.
Australian Financial Review ↗ - 12 Aug 2026
Senator Barbara Pocock introduces the bill
Senator Barbara Pocock formally introduced the private senator’s bill in the Senate to remove the 30-hour rule and cover every under-18 worker.
Parliamentary timeline ↗
Legislative route
How did it move through Parliament?
House Senate
Introduced 12 Aug 2026
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
Second reading opened 12 Aug 2026
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
Second reading debate 20 Aug 2026
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Economics review 20 Aug 2026
Referred to Committee (20/08/2026): Senate Economics Legislation Committee; Report due 17/11/2026
Report due 17 Nov 2026
APH bill page notesKey criticism
The main case against this bill
Richard Dowling (Australian Labor Party) argued that the drafting could unintentionally change special rules linked to international social security agreements. He said this could make similar cases work differently for 17-year-old and 19-year-old employees. Dowling also warned of uncertainty for workers, employers, retirement funds and regulators. Lisa Darmanin (Australian Labor Party) argued that employer-paid retirement savings alongside wages, called payday superEmployer superannuation paid alongside a worker's wages., should be put into practice before another major change. She said the proposal needed more consultation with workers, employers, unions and the retirement-savings industry.
Both Labor speakers supported the goal of extending employer-paid retirement savings to workers under 18. Their criticism focused on this bill's drafting, timing and consultation rather than its basic aim.
Drafting and implementation uncertainty
The bill could disrupt existing exemptions, complicate the broader superannuationMoney employers pay into a worker's retirement account. framework and leave workers, employers, funds and regulators uncertain about how the rules apply. A separate reservation was that payday superEmployer superannuation paid alongside a worker's wages. should be implemented first, followed by consultation and careful sequencing.
Further sources
Votes
Recorded votes
No recorded votes have been found yet for this bill.
Parliamentary debate
Who spoke, and what they said
Start here — lead voices
Sponsor speech Supports
Barbara Pocock
Pocock strongly supports the bill because it would require employers to pay superannuationMoney employers pay into a worker's retirement account. to workers under 18 regardless of their hours, ending what she describes as an unfair age-based exclusion that damages their retirement savings.
Read in Hansard ↗ Lead opposing voice Opposes
Richard Dowling
Dowling supports extending superannuationMoney employers pay into a worker's retirement account. to young workers but opposes the bill as drafted because it could disrupt existing exemptions, complicate the wider superannuationMoney employers pay into a worker's retirement account. framework and create uncertainty for workers, employers, funds and regulators.
Read in Hansard ↗ Lead voice Unclear
Jane Hume
Jane Hume says the bill has a fair aim but warns that extra superannuationMoney employers pay into a worker's retirement account. costs could discourage small businesses from employing young people.
Read in Hansard ↗ Lead voice Mixed
Lisa Darmanin
Lisa Darmanin supports extending compulsory superannuationMoney employers pay into a worker's retirement account. to workers under 18 in principle, but does not commit to passing the bill now, arguing that payday superEmployer superannuation paid alongside a worker's wages. should be implemented first and any expansion should follow consultation and careful sequencing.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
Labor
2 speakers · 1 oppose · 1 mixed
Labor
2 speakers · 1 oppose · 1 mixed
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Lisa Darmanin ★ Lisa Darmanin supports extending compulsory superannuationMoney employers pay into a worker's retirement account. to workers under 18 in principle, but does not commit to passing the bill now, arguing that payday superEmployer superannuation paid alongside a worker's wages. should be implemented first and any expansion should follow consultation and careful sequencing.
“By legislating that objective, Labor provided clarity to workers, certainty to superannuation sector and confidence for future generations of Australians saving for retirement. It also sends a very clear message about the future direction of superannuation policy in this country. We want to keep building and ending the super wars. As part of this, Labor supports continuing the conversation about how we expand opportunity and security for all Australian workers. But we also believe that reforms should be carefully designed, properly consulted on and implemented in the right sequence. That is why our immediate focus remains on the successful implementation of payday super. It is why we will continue engaging with unions, employers, young workers and the sector. It is why we will continue looking for opportunities to strengthen Australia's retirement income system.”
Read the full speech in Hansard ↗ -
Richard Dowling ★ Dowling supports extending superannuationMoney employers pay into a worker's retirement account. to young workers but opposes the bill as drafted because it could disrupt existing exemptions, complicate the wider superannuationMoney employers pay into a worker's retirement account. framework and create uncertainty for workers, employers, funds and regulators.
“So I do have considerable sympathy for the objective that this bill is pursuing. Where the government parts company with the Greens is on the legislation before us, because the bill does considerably more than simply remove the rule that currently applies to workers under 18 who work 30 hours or less a week. If it were all it did, this would be a much more straightforward debate, but it's not. As drafted, the amendments interact with the wider superannuation guarantee framework, and they risk creating uncertainty about the operation of exemptions and carve-outs which have existed for reasons entirely unrelated to the treatment of young workers. There are longstanding technical arrangements within the superannuation system, including arrangements connected with international social security agreements and other specific exemptions. The concern with this bill is that its drafting may affect the way some of those arrangements apply, where the employee happens to be under 18. That is clearly not the stated purpose of the bill, and I don't believe that is what the bill is seeking to achieve, but legislation has to be judged not just by intentions but by what its consequences are. It has to be judged by the words on the page and what they actually do. If we end up with exemptions operating one way for a 19-year-old worker but potentially operating differently for a 17-year-old worker in otherwise identical circumstances, we have actually not simplified the superannuation system. We've made it complex, we've made it more complicated, we've created uncertainty for employers, we've created uncertainty for the funds and for the regulators, and, most importantly, we've created uncertainty for the very workers this bill would be intended to help.”
Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Coalition
1 speaker · 1 unclear
Coalition
1 speaker · 1 unclear
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Jane Hume ★ Jane Hume says the bill has a fair aim but warns that extra superannuationMoney employers pay into a worker's retirement account. costs could discourage small businesses from employing young people.
“My concern with this bill is that the intention is very good, but, if you legislate an entitlement, you might also inadvertently at the same time take away an opportunity. I do think this is worth fleshing out, though, and I would hope that the Greens political party will take this bill to a committee so that it can be fleshed out in more detail. The coalition believes that our superannuation system needs to be flexible, it needs to be fair, it needs to be transparent and, it needs to be worked out in the best interests of all Australians.”
Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Greens
2 speakers · 3 contributions · 2 support
Greens
2 speakers · 3 contributions · 2 support
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Barbara Pocock ★ 2 contributions Pocock strongly supports the bill because it would end age-based discrimination by guaranteeing employer superannuationMoney employers pay into a worker's retirement account. contributions to workers under 18 regardless of their hours.
Hansard records 2 separate contributions by Barbara Pocock on this bill. They are grouped here so the speaker is listed once.
Second reading speech
Pocock strongly supports the bill because it would require employers to pay superannuationMoney employers pay into a worker's retirement account. to workers under 18 regardless of their hours, ending what she describes as an unfair age-based exclusion that damages their retirement savings.
“This Bill will ensure that all employees under the age of 18 are entitled to compulsory employer superannuation contributions, regardless of the number of hours they work.”
Read this contribution in Hansard ↗Second reading speech
Pocock strongly supports the bill because it would end age-based discrimination by guaranteeing employer superannuationMoney employers pay into a worker's retirement account. contributions to workers under 18 regardless of their hours. She argues that young people performing the same work deserve the same retirement benefits and that current protections allow even small balances to grow.
“Because of Greens pressure, Labor amended their national party platform just recently to explicitly support paying super on every dollar earned, including for workers under 18. Well, now's your chance. Don't hold back. Don't, for the third time, say 'no' to those young workers who know what's fair. I call on the Labor government to follow its own policy platform and support this bill, and I commend the bill to the Senate.”
Read this contribution in Hansard ↗ -
Jordon Steele-John Steele-John strongly supports the bill and urges the government to pass it so workers under 18 receive superannuationMoney employers pay into a worker's retirement account. regardless of their hours.
“The Greens have a bill, right now, to fix this problem. Here's one we prepared earlier. I say to the government back the bill. Back the bill. Let's get this done. Let's get young workers the pay and the super they deserve. If there are some politicians on the fence about this, I would ask you to consider two things: firstly, that these massively profitable corporations are saying to Australian workers right now, 'Sorry, we're not going to pay you super,' and the government of the day is saying, 'Sorry, you don't qualify for compulsory super, so you've got to just kind of live at the whim of the employer.' Ask yourself if that seems fair to you.”
Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Record
Full record
- Status
- Before Senate -- Collected from the APH bill page.
- Originating house
- Senate
- 12 Aug 2026
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.
- 12 Aug 2026
Senate · Second reading moved
Second reading opened
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
- 20 Aug 2026
Senate · Second reading debate
Second reading debate
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Senate Economics Legislation Committee
Report due 17 Nov 2026
Referred to Committee (20 Aug 2026): Senate Economics Legislation Committee; Report due 17 Nov 2026
APH bill page notes