Unfinished business: Fixing gaps in the Super Guarantee

Australia’s super system was designed to be universal and compulsory, so all working Australians could have a higher standard of living in retirement, not just the wealthy.

But shockingly in 2026 there are still pockets of the Australian workforce missing out on the same legal guarantee to super that is enjoyed by 17 million other working Australians. That’s not fair.

When a worker is excluded from the legal guarantee of super, it lowers their retirement income and, by extension, adds to the cost of Australia’s taxpayer-funded Age Pension system.

Today, more than one million Australians still miss out on super simply because of who they are, the work they do, or because they have taken time off paid work for caring responsibilities.

Making super truly universal by extending them a legal right to the Super Guarantee (SG) can close this gap, and in doing so:

• boost retirement incomes for young and part‑time workers – some of the most vulnerable in the workforce
• close the gender super gap by guaranteeing super in areas of work and care dominated by women
• lower long‑term pressure on the Age Pension while lifting overall retirement living standards, and
• strengthen retirement incomes for Australians who take time out of the paid workforce as carers to
• deliver crucial caring work that would otherwise be much more expensive for taxpayers to deliver.