Superannuation
Under the Australian superannuation guarantee legislation, employers are required to pay a minimum of 11.5% of your ordinary time earnings into a compliant superannuation fund. This is called an employer superannuation guarantee contribution.
UniSuper is the fund used at Flinders University. There is a significant amount of information on their web site.
Contracted staff will have contributions made to either:
Contracted staff with a term of 2 years or greater, with an employment fraction of 50% or greater, would generally be eligible to join the Defined Benefit Division/Accumulation 2.
All other staff including casual and casual academic employees will have their SGC paid into an Accumulation1 account.
Defined Benefit Division (DBD) explained
New staff that receive 17% employer contributions and who are existing Defined Benefit Division members will remain DBD members.
New staff receiving employer superannuation who choose UniSuper will default into the Accumulation 1 account, with an option to join the Defined Benefit Division within the first 24 months of becoming eligible.
For further information please visit UniSuper's DBD.
Accumulation 2 explained
If you have opted for Accumulation 2 membership you have the option to choose how your superannuation is invested. If you decide not to make a choice the investment will default to the balanced option.
For further information please visit UniSuper's Accumulation2.
Accumulation 1 explained
The Super Guarantee Contribution (SGC) paid by your employer will be directed to Accumulation 1. Any voluntary contribution to superannuation and any superannuation rolled over from another fund will also be directed to Accumulation 1. As with Accumulation 2 you have the option to choose how your superannuation is invested.
For further information please visit UniSuper's Accumulation1.
UniSuper offer "Member Online" to keep track of members super and make account changes online. Login and registration can be found on the UniSuper home page.
Accessing superannuation information is now managed by UniSuper, your superannaution Fund.
Casual employees wishing to make a voluntary contribution towards superannuation can only nominate a % of earnings contribution rather than a fixed amount.
Choice of Fund is the instruction to pay superannuation contributions into your nominated superannuation fund.
Provide the details of your Super fund on acceptance of your employment agreement via a Digital Superannuation Choice form.
You can also nominate your fund when completing the online form in myGov to choose your super fund.
Superannuation
In addition to your salary, you’ll be paid superannuation contributions, based on your employment contract. Under the Australian superannuation legislation, employers are required to pay the legislated superannuation guarantee threshold of your ordinary time earnings into a compliant superannuation fund.
If you were hired before 1st of November 2021, as per Flinders University's Enterprise Agreement, superannuation contributions are to be made to UniSuper Limited, Australia’s dedicated super fund for people working in the higher education and research sector.
When commencing a new contract with Flinders on or after the 1st of November 2021, you can nominate to have your super contributions paid to a super fund of your choice, which could be our nominated fund, UniSuper. You will be prompted to provide details of your Super fund on acceptance of your employment agreement via a Digital Superannuation Choice Form. For employer and employee records, once completed this will populate the ATO Standard Choice form.
Already a UniSuper member:
If you are already a UniSuper member, simply nominate UniSuper as your fund when completing the Digital superannuation Choice Form. Manage your super account by logging in via the UniSuper home page.
It’s important to note, if you are an existing UniSuper Defined Benefit Division (DBD) member, you may not be eligible to elect a choice fund and we may be obligated to pay your super contributions to UniSuper. The Digital Superannuation Choice Form will guide you if this is the case.
Want to join UniSuper:
If you choose to have your employer contributions paid to UniSuper and aren’t already a UniSuper member, we will set up an account for you in their Accumulation 1 product.
If you’re interested in joining UniSuper and have any questions, make an appointment with a UniSuper super consultant.
Want to nominate a different fund:
Simply nominate your fund when completing the Digital superannuation Choice Form. You will need your tax file number, fund USI and your member number. This information is available on your superannuation statement.
If you do not provide your Superannuation details during your acceptance of employment, the ‘Your Future Your Super’ legislation has mandated that we are to ascertain your Superannuation details from the ATO. The employer must then pay all Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contributions to that fund. Certain exceptions apply for Defined Benefit Division (DBD) members.
Have not held a super fund in Australia:
If you have not held a super fund in Australia, you will be defaulted to UniSuper.
If you need to change your super fund anytime in the future, log into your MyGov account and update with your new super fund details and email payroll@flinders.edu.au a PDF copy of the change.
You can boost your super by adding your own contributions to your super fund. And you can do this by paying personal super contributions or choosing a salary-sacrifice arrangement.
Personal super contributions are the amounts you contribute to your super fund from your after-tax income (that is, from your take-home pay). These contributions:
- are in addition to any compulsory super contributions your employer makes on your behalf
- do not include super contributions made through a salary-sacrifice arrangement.
Personal contributions are non-concessional (after-tax) contributions and will count towards your non-concessional contributions cap unless you have claimed a tax deduction for them.
Salary sacrifice is where you choose to make superannuation contributions from your pre-tax income. As a Flinders University employee, you can choose to make additional voluntary payments to your superannuation fund from your pre-tax salary. This benefit is available to all eligible employees. Casual employees wishing to make a voluntary contribution towards superannuation can only nominate a % of earnings contribution rather than a fixed amount.
These contributions are also treated as employer contributions and the employee's taxable income will be reduced by the amount of the contribution. A 15% concessional contributions tax will be deducted by the superannuation fund and no personal income tax will be payable on contributions made in this way.
Salary sacrifice contributions count towards the concessional contribution cap limit. The University take no responsibility if an employee’s salary sacrifice superannuation contribution results in a staff member exceeding concessional contribution caps.
These salary sacrifice contributions are exempt from Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) but are deemed Reportable Employer Superannuation Contributions (RESC) and commencing 2009/2010 financial year will be reported on an individual’s payment summary.
Before choosing to make salary sacrifice superannuation contributions, you should refer to the Flinders University Enterprise Agreement 2023-2026, Part 3 21.5. Salary Sacrifice and the salary sacrifice terms and conditions and disclaimer.
Employees wishing to commence or make changes to their existing voluntary pre-tax super contributions must complete a Voluntary Superannuation Contribution / Salary Sacrifice Form, the form must be sent to benefits@flinders.edu.au for processing.
UniSuper members with Defined Benefit Division (DBD) or Accumulation 2 accounts may elect to salary sacrifice their 7% standard contributions. If an agreement is entered into, the University will make the contributions to UniSuper on their behalf.
The below table details the process to follow when requesting superannuation voluntary contributions or salary sacrifice. Before applying, the superannuation information on this page must be read in conjunction with the Salary Sacrifice Terms and Conditions and Enterprise Agreement 2023-2026, Part 3 21.5 Salary Sacrifice.
Contribution type |
Details |
How to action |
UniSuper default member contribution |
Defined Benefit Member wishes to change the default member contribution from after-tax to pre-tax or vice versa. |
Complete Voluntary Superannuation Contribution / Salary Sacrifice Form and return to benefits@flinders.edu.au |
Defined Benefit Member wishes to reduce default member contribution level. |
Complete change my default member contributions form and return to benefits@flinders.edu.au |
|
UniSuper voluntary contribution |
Salary-sacrifice or voluntary contributions |
Complete Voluntary Superannuation Contribution / Salary Sacrifice Form and return to benefits@flinders.edu.au |
Private Super Fund |
Salary sacrifice contributions to a self-managed super fund |
|
External Super Fund |
Salary sacrifice contributions to external funds |
The University strongly recommends that you seek independent financial and/or superannuation advice before entering into a salary sacrifice arrangement as there may be tax and/or financial implications.
At first instance, please contact your superannuation fund directly.
If your superannuation fund is Unisuper, please head to the UniSuper website or call the helpline 1800 331 685 for routine enquiries. Unisuper also offers the following:
On campus consultant
Super can get a little confusing. As a UniSuper member, your on-campus super consultant can help you with any questions you have about your super.
The UniSuper consultant Melanie Carvill can provide general advice, including
- Provide information about your UniSuper membership.
- Explain how to set up access to your UniSuper account online.
- Help you understand super contributions and caps.
- Give general information about UniSuper’s products and services.
- Help answer general questions about UniSuper forms or paperwork.
Get more information, including how to book a time to see Melanie.
On campus adviser
Your on-campus advisor can provide tailored advice to help you with your investment strategy, retirement planning, managing your debt and more. This on a fee for service basis.
Get more information, including how to book a time.
Consultative Committee
The Consultative Committee is the voice of the member.
- Associate Professor Catherine Abbott - Academic Staff Representative
- Ms Taicea Agnew - Professional Staff Representative
Seminars and webinars
UniSuper holds regular seminars at Flinders University on superannuation topics.
Have questions?
Once you have discussed your superannuation with UniSuper or your preferred fund and wish to make changes to your Superannuation payments, please email benefits@flinders.edu.au.
Have questions?
Refer to the contacts and sources of assistance available. Once you have discussed your superannuation with UniSuper and wish to make changes to your Superannuation payments, please email People & Culture.
FAQ
Employers only need to accept one Choice of Fund election from an employee in any twelve-month period.
New employees, if eligible, can opt into the DBD within two years of commencing in their eligible role. This is regardless of whether:
- they have chosen or are stapled to UniSuper (and are an existing Accumulation 1 member), or
- they have chosen or are stapled to another super fund
To opt in, staff can confirm their eligibility with UniSuper and be issued a DBD opt in form. The employee then returns their form to their employer, who, after confirming the employee is employed in an eligible role and has been in this role for less than 24 months, then enrols the employee in the DBD.
No, provided the staff has remained an employee of the organisation, and has not had a termination of employment or exit processed. A Choice of Fund form must be provided if requested by the employee if that employee is eligible.
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