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Growing your super throughout your working life is important for your retirement. If you’re eligible, your employer must contribute to your super - typically on a quarterly basis. But did you know you can also make extra contributions, with either your pre or post-tax salary? And that you may also be able to claim a tax concession if you do?

Compulsory superannuation guarantee (SG)

In Australia, the super guarantee is the compulsory contribution your employer pays into your super account. The current SG rate is 11.5% of your pre-tax salary; from 1 July 2025, this will increase to 12%. SG contributions are compulsory for all employees over the age of 18, regardless of the hours worked or income earned. If you’re under 18 and work more than 30 hours per week, you’re also entitled to receive SG payments, regardless of the income earned. For more information on eligibility and employer obligations, visit the ATO website.

If you’re an Essential Super1 member you’ll need to fill out a Super Choice form and give it to your employer to ensure your SG is paid into your Essential Super account. Simply log on to NetBank or the CommBank app and download the pre-filled Super Choice form.

Additional contributions

In addition to the SG payment, you may be eligible to make additional contributions to your super. There are different type of contributions you can make, depending on your personal circumstances.

Concessional super contributions

Concessional contributions are any contribution which you may be eligible to claim a tax deduction against. These contributions are generally paid from your pre-tax salary (salary sacrifice) and in some cases your post-tax salary (personal contributions). There are limits to how much you can contribute to your super, known as ‘contributions caps’; visit the ATO website for more information.

Salary sacrifice contributions

A salary sacrifice contribution is an arrangement made with your employer to make additional contributions to your super from your pre-tax salary. This effectively reduces your taxable income, meaning you pay less tax on your income. These concessions are taxed in the super fund at a rate of 15%, which may be less than your marginal tax rate. For more information about salary sacrificing, visit the ATO website.

Personal contributions

You can also make contributions from your take-home pay. These are known as ‘personal contributions’.

Depending on your circumstances, personal contributions can be tax effective – earnings in the fund are taxed at 15%, not your marginal tax rate, and you may be able to claim a tax deduction for these contributions.

Note: If you claim a tax deduction on a personal contribution, this amount claimed will then count towards your concessional contribution cap. To claim a tax deduction for personal super contributions, you’ll need to complete a notice of intent form, ensuring you’ve met the eligibility criteria (including timeframes).

Low-income super tax offset (LISTO)

If you earn up to $37,000 a year you may be eligible to receive a LISTO payment, which is a  government superannuation contribution of up to $500. If your super fund has your tax file number (TFN) you don’t need to do anything, and this will be automatically paid into your account by the ATO. If your fund doesn’t have your TFN, a payment cannot be accepted. For more information including the eligibility criteria, vist the ATO website

If you're an Essential Super member you can check if your TFN has been provided in NetBank or in the CommBank app.

Government co-contributions

If you're a low or middle-income earner and have made after-tax contributions to your super, you may be eligible for a government co-contribution of up to $500 each year. If you’re eligible and your super fund has your TFN, this payment will be paid into your super account automatically. For more information on the eligibility criteria, visit the ATO website.

Non-concessional contributions

Non-concessional contributions are often after-tax contributions, or contributions you don’t claim a tax deduction on. For more information on non-concessional contributions, including the contributions cap, visit the ATO website.

Spouse contributions

Spouse contributions are after-tax payments that can be invested into your spouse’s super. If your spouse is not working or earns a low income and you make a contribution you may be eligible for a tax offset on these contributions. For more information on the eligibility criteria, please visit the ATO website.

Contributions limits

Contributions caps apply to both concessional and non-concessional contributions. Exceeding these caps means you may pay additional tax.

From 1 July 2024, the concessional contributions cap is $30,000, inclusive of your SG contributions.  Your personal concessional contribution cap may vary depending on how much you’ve contributed in previous years, your super account balance as at 30 June of the previous financial year  and your eligibility to ‘carry forward’ unused contributions cap amounts. You can learn more about this on the ATO website.

From 1 July 2024, the annual non-concessional contributions cap is $120,000. Your personal non-concessional contribution cap may vary depending on how much you’ve contributed in previous years, and your eligibility to  ‘bring forward’ up to 3 future years’ non-concessional contribution caps, if you wanted to make a large contribution in the current year. You can learn more about this on the ATO website.

Looking to switch your super?

Essential Super is a low fee2 super account, available in the CommBank app.1

Explore Essential Super


If you are an existing Essential Super member, visit our member resources to learn how to make the most of your account.

Things you should know

1 Avanteos Investments Limited ABN 20 096 259 979, AFSL 245531 (referred to as Colonial First State or CFS) is the Trustee of Commonwealth Essential Super ABN 56 601 925 435 and the issuer of interests in Essential Super. Essential Super is distributed by Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124, AFSL 234945 (the Bank). The CFS Group consists of Superannuation and Investments HoldCo Pty Limited ABN 64 644 660 882 (HoldCo) and its subsidiaries, which include CFS. The Bank holds an interest in the CFS Group through its significant minority interest in HoldCo.

This information is issued by CFS and may include general financial product advice but does not consider your individual objectives, financial situation, needs or tax circumstances, and so you should consider the appropriateness of the advice having regard to your circumstances before acting on it.

The Target Market Determination (TMD) for Essential Super can be found at https://cfs.com.au/tmd and includes a description of who the financial product is appropriate for and any conditions on how the product can be distributed to customers.

You should read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and the Reference Guides for Essential Super carefully and consider whether the information is appropriate for you before making any decision regarding this product. Download the PDS and Reference Guides at https://commbank.com.au/essentialsuper-documents or call Colonial First State on 13 4074 for a copy. If you need advice on your personal circumstances, please talk to a financial adviser.

None of the Bank, HoldCo, CFS, nor any of their respective subsidiaries guarantee the performance of Essential Super or the repayment of capital by Essential Super. An investment in this product is subject to risk, loss of income and capital invested. An investment in Essential Super is via a superannuation trust and is therefore not an investment in, deposit with or other liability of the Bank or its subsidiaries. Where we mention 'we', 'us' or 'our', we mean the Bank.

The insurance provider is AIA Australia Limited ABN 79 004 837 861, AFSL 230043 (AIA Australia). AIA Australia is not part of the Commonwealth Bank Group or CFS. Insurance cover is provided to eligible members of Essential Super under policies issued to CFS.

2 The fee comparison is for MySuper products. This fee comparison is based on the Lifestage 1965-69 investment option for a member balance of $50,000 and may vary for different age cohorts. The Chant West Super Fund Fee Survey compares the Lifestage option that is closest to 71% growth assets, which is consistent with the average risk and return profile of most non-lifecycle products. Total fees and costs include administration fees and costs, investment fees and costs and net transaction costs on a gross of tax basis. Fund averages are calculated by Chant West on a weighted average basis. This comparison has been prepared by CFS using data sourced from the Chant West Super Fund Fee Survey, effective 30 June 2024 and is based on information provided to Chant West by third parties, that is believed accurate at the time of publication. Fees may change in the future which may affect the outcome of the comparison. Chant West may make adjustments to fees and costs for comparison purposes and therefore data may vary to other published materials. Whilst care has been taken to ensure that the data provided by Chant West is correct, CFS neither warrants, represents nor guarantees the contents of the information, nor does it accept any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, omissions or any inconsistencies herein. Additional fees may apply. PDS and Fees and Investments Reference Guide to find out more.