Super — bills, debates & Question Time

Motion · SenateRejected 11–27

Super · Super for under-18 workers

Force employers to pay super to under-18s who work fewer than 30 hours a week — back it or block it?

Under the government's payday super rules, workers under 18 who do fewer than 30 hours a week are not entitled to compulsory super. The Greens moved to strike out that exclusion so every young worker would get super regardless of hours.

The Greens said 515,000 young workers miss out — the same shelf-stacking, coffee-making jobs adults do — while big retailers keep the money. Labor and the Coalition voted together to keep the exclusion. The Coalition argued adding super costs would hurt entry-level jobs and small business, and questioned the super industry's push for more money. The motion was defeated 11 votes to 27.

🗳 A public mood-check, not a scientific poll. Vote to reveal how the chamber voted.

🗳 1 voted🏛 33m debated

📄 Senate Hansard, 1 Jul 2026 — Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Regulations 2026; Disallowance

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The strongest case each way

For · GreensUnder-18s pay tax and do the same work as adults, so they should get super too — the current rule denies it to virtually every young worker, costing them thousands of dollars in compounded retirement savings while big, profitable corporations keep the money.

Against · CoalitionThe current arrangement balances supporting young workers against employer costs. Forcing super on all under-18s would raise the cost of hiring them, risking fewer entry-level jobs and shifts at a time of high youth unemployment and pressure on small business.

Against · Coalition (Bragg)Super is not the only way to save for the future, and the push to funnel more money into funds serves the super industry's fee interests rather than young people, who don't think about super and can manage their own finances.