Pauline Hanson made plenty of headlines this week with One Nation’s latest policy proposal, which would be one of the biggest changes to superannuation since 1992. Currently, your employer is required to pay at least 12% on top of your salary into your super and, barring exceptional circumstances, you can’t touch that money until you hit preservation age. One Nation wants to allow Aussies who are renting or paying off a mortgage the option to take a portion of the compulsory super contributions their employer makes back out, to help with living expenses.
Ms Hanson says the play will give Australian families “breathing room” and offer “a real boost to help you pay the rent or the mortgage”. But opponents have been less enthusiastic.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers called it “a recipe to make Australian workers tens of thousands of dollars worse off in retirement”, Australian Council of Trade Union Assistant Secretary Joseph Mitchell said it’s “typical the only pay rise Pauline Hanson could imagine a worker deserving is one at the expense of their own retirement income”. You get the idea.
With the rhetoric so polarised, we’re here to impartially break down how this proposal would work and what it might mean. Here are six things you need to know about One Nation’s super pay boost policy proposal.
1. It will be optional and not subject to income tax
The Super Pay Boost could allow you to divert up to a quarter of the compulsory super contributions your employer makes from your super fund in a given year into your pocket, if you choose.
As it stands, employers are required to contribute an extra 12% of your wage to your super, and accessing a quarter of this could effectively boost your take home pay by 3% a year.
If you’re able and willing to opt in, One Nation says your employer will still pay the full 12% to your super, then your super fund would pay you.
When that money lands in your bank account, it’s not expected to be subject to income tax, but you’ll probably be charged superannuation tax rates (as low as 15% on concessional contributions) when it’s paid to your fund.
As an example, let’s say you earn $90,000 each year before tax. That means your employer is contributing around $10,800 to your super each year. If you use the super pay boost for a year, you could withdraw about 25% of that $10,800, so $2,700, equivalent to 3% of your gross salary.
After factoring in a 15% concessional super tax rate, that means you could have an extra $2,295 of spending money each year—about $44 a week.
2. Eligibility will be limited
Only renters and Aussies with a mortgage on their home will be eligible for the super pay boost.
If you’ve paid off the house, it won’t be an option, nor will it if you have a mortgage on an investment property. You’ll also have to show your super fund evidence of your housing expenses, like a rental agreement or mortgage statement.
One Nation also intends to put a three year limit on how long you can use the boost for, and changing jobs or super funds won’t restart the clock.
Spouses and partners won’t necessarily need to be named on a property’s lease or mortgage to be eligible, as long as they’re genuinely contributing to the housing costs.
3. It could help you pay off your mortgage…
Ms Hanson says the proposal could be a “real boost to help you pay the rent or the mortgage”.
Canstar’s analysis found that putting an extra $44 per month (assuming a slight increase with wage growth) towards a $600,000, 30-year mortgage with an interest rate of 6% p.a. could reduce a borrower’s interest bill by more than $30,000 and shave 10 months off its lifespan:
Not using the | Paying an extra | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
Interest cost over | $695,029 | $663,750 | $31,279 |
Time to repay | 30 years | 29 years 2 months | 10 months |
Source: www.canstar.com.au - 7/09/2026. Calculations assume: A loan balance of $600,000 with a 30 year term with an interest rate of 6.00%, starting 01/10/2026. Assumes monthly deposits of $192 in first year, $199 in second year and $207 in third year.
So, is removing super from your fund to pay off your mortgage a good idea? It’s, of course, a personal decision.
“A good retirement starts with keeping a roof over your head,” One Nation MP and Treasury Spokesperson Barnaby Joyce said.
“There’s no point telling a family they’ll be better off in retirement if they can’t afford the mortgage or their rent payment today.”
4. …but withdrawing could hurt your retirement savings
The most prominent issue experts and commentators have raised about the super pay boost is how it could hurt Australians’ retirement savings down the line.
To illustrate, Canstar analysis weighed the possible impact on the retirement balance of a typical 37 year old who uses the super pay boost for three years (remembering past performance isn’t an indicator of future performance for investment returns):
No super pay boost | Using super pay boost for three years | |
|---|---|---|
Starting gross | $90,532 | $90,532 |
Starting superannuation | $83,581 | $83,581 |
Annual average | 6.9% | 6.9% |
Average annual TPD and | $443 | $443 |
Account balance | $1,874,927 | $1,826,941 |
Difference | -$47,986 |
Source: www.canstar.com.au. Prepared on 7/09/2026. Scenario begins at the start of the 2026-27 financial year and is based on a 37 year old with a starting balance of $83,581 (per APRA Quarterly Superannuation Industry Publication), starting gross annual income of $90,532 (per ABS Employee Earnings, December 2025), and retiring at age 67. SG Contribution amounts per Government announced rates are assumed to be paid into superannuation fund monthly. Employer contributions are assumed to be taxed at 15%. Returns are assumed to be net of fees for funds available for a 37 year old with growth asset allocations between 60%-80% on Canstar's database. Average life and TPD insurance premium of $443, is assumed charged at the end of each year based on default cover available for a 37 year old on Canstar's database. Annual income and insurance premiums are assumed to increase with inflation each year. Inflation is assumed to be 2.5%p.a. due to the rising cost of living (CPI Inflation) plus a further 1.2%p.a. due to the rising community living standards. Please note all information on income and superannuation performance returns are used for illustration purposes only. Actual returns and the value of your investment may fall as well as rise from year to year; this example does not take such variation into account.
Canstar’s Data Insights Director and Chief Spokesperson Sally Tindall says superannuation is “one of the most effective wealth-building tools we have”.
“The most important part [of super contributions] is the magic of compounding, because over decades, earnings generate their own earnings, and time is the driving factor in this,” she explained.
“Pulling even just seven or eight thousand out of an account at age 25 or 30 could leave a person tens of thousands poorer by retirement age.”
5. It may be inflationary
Another criticism is that the policy could put more upward pressure on the cost of living. The argument being, more money in people’s pockets could translate to higher household spending, which could push up inflation. And higher inflation generally leads to higher interest rates, which could in turn hit mortgage holders’ back pockets.
At a press conference this week, One Nation’s two most prominent figures were asked about this risk. Ms Hanson replied it would be “neutral” on inflation, before Mr Joyce jumped in to elaborate.
“If someone was paying … $600 a week for rent, and they get assistance, guess what, they’re still paying $600 a week,” he said. “Even if it stays in super, it gets invested, it has its own micro-inflationary effect.”
But beyond the checkout, Ms Tindall feels it could put upward pressure on house prices in particular.
“Giving buyers extra cash increases their borrowing capacity,” she said.
“The problem is, if this happens en masse, then with the flick of a switch everyone in the auction can bid that little bit higher, and the real winner won’t be the struggling new buyer who’s now saddled with an even bigger mortgage, but rather the person selling the property.”
Previously, the Morrison Government temporarily allowed Aussies financially hit by the Covid-19 fallout to access up to $10,000 of their super. About $37.8 billion was released from super before the program was closed, and Ms Tindall says this is part of the reason why prices have gone up so much the past few years.
“Combined with record-low interest rates, [the Covid super release] sparked a massive surge in house prices and played a part in the inflation crisis the Reserve Bank is still fighting more than five years later,” she explained.
6. It could also put pressure on the pension system
Ms Tindall also pointed out the proposal could create a “ticking time bomb” for taxpayers in the coming decades.
“If more Australians need to rely on the Age Pension because their superannuation balances aren’t big enough to support them all the way through retirement, the government, and therefore taxpayers, will have to foot the bill,” she said.
In the latest Federal Budget, the Government expects to spend about $116 billion on ‘assistance to the aged’ for FY 26/27—a figure projected to continue to rise.
Are there other ways to access your super early?
One of the foundational principles of our superannuation system is ‘preservation’— your savings are locked away until you hit preservation age, which is currently 60. Accordingly, your options to get hold of money in your super before that point are extremely limited.
However, there are still a few circumstances where you might still be able to:
- First Home Super Saver Scheme: The FHSS allows first home buyers to withdraw voluntary contributions they’ve made into their super to help them buy their first home. The FHSS is a bit complicated, but potentially worth exploring if you qualify as it can offer significant tax savings.
- Terminal illness: If you’re terminally ill, you might be able to access your super balance early. You’ll first need two different medical practitioners to certify you’ve got an illness or injury likely to result in death within two years.
- Compassionate grounds: You could also qualify for a super release on compassionate grounds. This might include paying for palliative care, a family member’s funeral, or to prevent your home being foreclosed.
- Temporary resident leaving Australia permanently: If you’re leaving the Aussie workforce entirely, you might be able to take your super with you.
- Severe financial hardship: If you’ve received income support payments for a continuous period of 26 weeks and can’t meet ‘reasonable and immediate’ family living expenses, you may be able to withdraw up to $10,000 from your super.
- Incapacitation: If you get an injury or illness that temporarily or permanently prevents you from working, you might be able to access your super early.
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