The following is a simplified explanation of this Act:
• The Australian Taxation Office administers a special account. Notional accounts are kept within the special account.
• The account offers employees with small balances an opportunity to avoid the erosion of those balances by fees.
• Employees may request that account balances be transferred to a nominated superannuation fund or RSA .
• Except in special cases, employees will not have direct access to their account balances.
• Interest will be calculated on the daily balance of the account and credited to the account on a quarterly basis.
• Interest is exempt from income tax .
• If an account balance exceeds $1,200, interest will only be credited on the first $1,200 of the balance. This is an incentive for employees to request that balances of more than $1,200 be transferred to a superannuation fund.
• Under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 , employers may get income tax deductions for deposits. There is an annual deduction limit of $1,200 per employee.
• Under the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 , deposits made by an employer will be treated as superannuation contributions .
• The accounts may also be credited with Government co - contributions payable under the Superannuation (Government Co - contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003 . The rules for these deposits differ in some respects from those that apply to other deposits.