Dental and IVF drive surge in super withdrawals
The amount being taken from superannuation accounts to pay for dental and IVF treatments increased significantly in the year to June 30.
Fresh data released by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) today shows another spike in Aussies applying for early release of their superannuation for dental treatments.
About $1.37 billion was released from the super system on compassionate grounds for medical reasons, including treatment and transport, in FY25.
Of this, a whopping $817.6 million was paid out by super funds following an approved application for early release for dental reasons. This represents a significant increase from the previous financial year where $526 million was withdrawn.
The spike in people applying and being approved was also significant, with the ATO receiving 47,630 applications in FY25 and approving 34,050 of them. In all, the money was paid out to 32,850 approved individuals.
In August, the ATO issued a warning about the increase in "dodgy advice" about accessing super savings for non-critical medical procedures, like cosmetic dental work. It said it was increasingly hearing about health practitioners encouraging or advising patients to access their super to pay for treatments without an AFSL, with some charging clients fees to help them with the paperwork.
Today, the Australian Dental Association released new guidelines for dentists and patients on early release of super for dental care, designed to provide clarity for patients applying and stamp out misinformation about the compassionate release scheme.
The guidelines also reiterate that super can only be used when there's a life-threatening injury or illness, acute or chronic pain, or where dental treatment will help with a mental illness and there's no other way to afford it. Patients must present two reports from medical practitioners, one of which must be a specialist or dentist, with their application. For an application to treat mental illness, a report from a specialist psychiatrist is required.
According to the ATO, $793.4 million of the total used on dental in FY25 was required to treat acute or chronic pain. Life-threatening illness or injury was cited for $13 million of the payments, while $10.2 million of the super savings released for dental treatment was attributed to acute or chronic mental illness.
In FY25, there was also a significant rise in the amount paid out of super accounts for the purpose of undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatments.
Some $74.2 million was withdrawn by 3820 approved applicants; 5920 applications were made in total by 4060 people.
This is up $10 million year on year, with super funds releasing $64.1 million in FY24.
Almost all of that paid out for IVF was given on compassionate grounds for treatment of acute or chronic mental illness.
Meanwhile, 13,930 people applied to access their super early for weight loss surgeries and treatments. Of these, 13,260 were approved by the ATO, seeing $254.9 million exit the super system.
About $201 million of this was to treat life-threatening illness or injury, while $49 million was to treat acute or chronic pain.
A further $217.6 million was paid out for 'other medical treatment' to 10,990 individuals.
In all, in FY25 some $1.416 billion was released from the system on compassionate grounds.
Of the total approved for compassionate early release of super, 33% were aged between 36 and 45 years. About 31% of all withdrawals were made by Queenslanders, while 67% of the total was paid to people earning $45,001-$135,000.
Fifty-four per cent of all approved applications were lodged by women in FY25.
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