COVID-19 SUPER EARLY RELEASE - TEMPORARY RESIDENTS

On 4th April 2020, the Acting Minister for Immigration, Alan Tudge, made an announcement to enable "most temporary visa holders with work rights to access their Australian superannuation to help support themselves during this crisis."

From information provided by the ATO, this measure will allow eligible temporary residents "to access up to $10,000 of their super before 1 July 2020."

To be eligible for early super release, temporary residents must meet one of the following circumstances:

• You hold a student visa that you have held for 12 months or more and you are unable to meet immediate living expenses.
• You are a temporary skilled work visa holder, your working hours have reduced to zero and you remain engaged with your employer (stood down and not laid off).
• You are a temporary resident visa holder (excluding student or skilled worker visas) and you cannot meet immediate living expenses.

There is no need to attach evidence to support the application.  However, records and documents must be kept by the eligible temporary resident to confirm eligibility and they may be asked to provide this information.

In all, eligible citizens and permanent residents of Australia and New Zealand as well as eligible temporary residents will be able to access the COVID-19 early release of superannuation measure.