Help & support
We can only grant you an early release of funds from your Essential Super account on the grounds of financial hardship in the following two circumstances:
You can apply for a single lump-sum payment from your Essential Super account in any 12 month period, between $1,000 and $10,000. If you have less than $1,000 in your Essential Super account, you can withdraw the entire balance of your account.
To qualify for payment, you’ll need to:
There are no limits on the amount you can apply to withdraw from your Essential Super account.
To qualify for payment, you’ll need to:
If you don’t meet the eligibility requirements for a financial hardship payment, you can check if you are eligible to apply on compassionate grounds or refer to the financial hardship support options available to you.
The Government may require us to withhold tax before you receive your payment. The maximum amount of tax withheld (if you have provided us with your Tax File Number (TFN)) is 22% but will depend on your circumstances.
For example, if you are under 58 years old and apply for the early release of $10,000 from your Essential Super fund, you are likely to receive $7,800 after tax has been withheld.
However, if you are 60 years old or more, we do not have to withhold any tax on your payment.
If you withdraw all of the funds from your Essential Super account, your account will close and your insurance cover will also end. You must keep sufficient funds in your Essential Super account if you want to keep your insurance cover.
If your insurance cover ends, you can still make a claim for any insured events that occurred before the date that your insurance cover was cancelled. However, you won’t be able to make a claim for insured events that occur afterwards.
Call us on 13 4074 (Monday to Friday 8.30am to 6pm, Sydney time) and we’ll help you by:
If you feel you meet the eligibility requirements outlined above please:
If you are experiencing any difficulty with the form or the overall application process, our team is here to help. Call us on 13 4074 (Monday to Friday 8:30am to 6pm, Sydney time) so we can support you.
You may find the following independent resources helpful:
These independent resources are intended as a guide and are not an endorsement that the service provided is appropriate for your personal circumstances. For more information on a service provider’s offerings and their appropriateness, you should contact the service provider directly using the contact details provided.
1 Eligible income support payments include: Age Pension, Carer Payment, Disability Support Pension, JobSeeker Payment, Parenting Payment, Special Benefit, Farm Household Allowance, Partner Allowance, Widow Allowance, Department of Veterans Affairs Income Support Supplement and Service Pension.
Avanteos Investments Limited ABN 20 096 259 979, AFSL 245531 (referred to as Colonial First State, CFS, ‘we’, ‘us’ or ‘our’) is the Trustee of Essential Super ABN 56 601 925 435 and the issuer of interests in Essential Super. Essential Super is distributed by the 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 includes 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 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 commbank.com.au/essentialsuper-documents or call us on 13 4074 for a copy.
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.
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.
Any information provided by CBA 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. You should read the 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.
