ATO warns Australians about predatory dental super schemes

The health trend attracting tax office attention, is the free Onepass offer a good deal? And why one in two refinancers end up staying with their old lender. Here are five things you may have missed this week.

ATO warns Australians about using super for dental work

Consumers are being warned about the hazards of drilling into their super fund to pay for dental work.

Ben Kelly, Deputy Commissioner of the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), says some health professionals may be using predatory practices to get consumers to inappropriately access their super to pay for medical bills.

"A red flag to look out for is health practitioners or third parties who use social media to advertise early access to super for cosmetic or dental procedures," says Kelly.

"This type of promotion is a clear warning sign that practitioners or third parties might be willing to exploit an individual's circumstances and encourage them to take risks with their super."

The ATO says consumers should be especially wary of health providers who ask for your myGov sign-in so they can 'apply for you'.

"Sharing your myGov details puts your identity security at significant risk," notes Kelly.

Australians withdrew $817.6 million from super to pay for dental treatment in 2024/25, a 55% increase on the year before.

Two-thirds of Australians only visit the dentist when they have a problem, and the Australian Dental Association says affordability is the main factor that keeps us away.

Free One Pass membership but is it a good deal?

OnePass is a loyalty scheme offering free delivery, supersized Flybuys points, and 365-day returns with major brands including Bunnings, Kmart, Target, Officeworks and Priceline.

Membership normally costs - $4 monthly or $40 annually.

However, this week saw Wesfarmers - owner of the brands listed above, announce a 6-month free trial to its OnePass program.

Wesfarmers is framing the offer as a helping hand for consumers during a time of surging fuel costs.

Bunnings Managing Director, Michael Schneider says, "We know that every dollar counts right now. Being able to shop online and have your order delivered for free makes a real difference to the weekly household budget."

That may be the case.

But research shows customer loyalty schemes do more than discourage consumers from shopping around.

The data collected through these programs enables retailers to generate personalised marketing, which further encourages more spending at the same store.

One in two refinancers sticks with their original lender

It seems there's nothing like the prospect of losing a customer for banks to rethink their home loan rates.

Research by comparison site Money.com.au found nearly half of mortgage holders (49%) u-turned on their plans to switch lenders after being offered a lower interest rate by their current bank's retention team.

Just 23% of home loan borrowers switched banks despite receiving a competitive counter-offer from their current lender.

Money.com.au's Debbie Hays says lenders often sharpen their pricing when a borrower signals they're ready to walk.

She adds, "In most cases, the best you can hope for is your bank matching the competitor's rate - they rarely beat it."

Even so, you can still be in front financially by avoiding refinancing costs like mortgage discharge and government fees.

New free tools to help plan your retirement

Over the next 10 years, 2.5 million Australians will hang up their work boots and head into retirement.

But one in two 55- to 66-year-olds are worried about running out of money.

One in three feel they're already falling behind when it comes to retirement plans.

In response, money watchdog - the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), has launched a range of free and independent tools and resources to help Australians plan for retirement.

The tools, which can be found on Moneysmart's retirement hub, include a retirement planner, which shows you much income you can expect in retirement based on super savings, the Age Pension and other sources.

ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland, says, "It's natural to feel uncertain about retirement but without a clear plan in place that uncertainty can quickly turn into anxiety about whether you will have enough money.

"The new resources on Moneysmart can help people move from worry to clarity, and plan for their future with greater confidence."

Major lender cops $4 million fine for spamming

Latitude Financial - Australia's largest non-bank consumer finance company, has been slugged with a $3.96 million penalty for breaching spam laws a whopping 2.7 million times.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) found that between March 2024 and April 2025, Latitude sent more than 2.3 million messages promoting credit cards and other financial services.

The messages not only failed to provide accurate contact information (a must-have under Australian law), over 344,000 messages didn't have a working unsubscribe feature.

It's not the first time Latitude has been fined for spam breaches.

In 2022, the company paid a $1.55 million penalty for similar issues.

ACMA member Samantha Yorke says, "Latitude is now a two-time offender and it is disappointing that it let consumers down again.

Yorke believes there is "no excuse" for this non-compliance, adding, "The spam laws have been in place for more than 20 years."

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