New modelling shows 31,000 teenage workers in South Australia will miss out on $23 million in super this financial year due to an outdated rule that excludes under-18s from guaranteed super unless they work more than 30 hours a week for one employer.
The new analysis by the Super Members Council finds affected teen workers in SA will miss out on an average of $730 in super in 2026-27, adding up to $23 million in unpaid super across the state.
The Council’s CEO Misha Schubert said super should be paid from the first hour of your first job.
“Teen workers in SA are being denied a basic workplace right that 17 million other working
Australians enjoy - and that's just not fair,” Ms Schubert said.
“A young person who earns a wage should also be paid super. Yet this outdated and discriminatory law treats teen workers differently just because of their age and their hours.”
The under-18 exclusion means workers aged under 18 are only guaranteed super if they work more than 30 hours a week for a single employer.
The Council’s analysis shows the overwhelming majority of under-18 workers do not meet that threshold, with 91% working fewer than 30 hours a week.
A typical teenager who spends at least two years in part-time work before turning 18 could miss out on around $2,400 in super contributions by age 18. That lost super could compound to an $11,000 reduction by retirement (in today’s dollars).
Young women are more likely to be affected by the exclusion because they are more likely to work part-time than teenage men.
The analysis also shows a typical young woman misses out on around $2,500 in super contributions before turning 18, about 6% more than a typical young man. By retirement age, this loss grows to around $11,200 for women, compared with $10,600 for men.
Ms Schubert said the rule was out of step with community expectations and should be scrapped.
“Many teenagers have their first jobs in retail, hospitality, care and community services. These are real jobs, with real wages, and they should come with real super,” she said.
“The earliest super contributions matter because they have the longest time to compound. Missing out on hundreds of dollars as a teenager can mean missing out on thousands by retirement.”
The Council has called for the exclusion to be abolished, with a sensible transition period to give employers time to adjust, similar to the approach taken when a previous rule was scrapped in 2022 that denied guaranteed super to workers who earn less than $450 a month.
“Scrapping this outdated rule would make super simpler, fairer and more universal. It would mean young workers in South Australia get the same basic right to super as other workers.”
ENDS
About us:
The opinions above are those of the author in their capacity as spokesperson for Super Members Council of Australia (SMC). SMC, the authors and all other persons involved in the preparation of this information are thereby not giving legal, financial or professional advice for individual persons or organisations.
Contact details:
Mike Dolan, 0474 909 471, [email protected]
