National

Superannuation gender gap starts on first day at work

Dec 11, 2025

Money removed from a till Canberra — Teenage girls are more likely to have jobs whose hours fall under the super threshold. -AAP Image

An outdated law is costing women up to $11,000 at retirement, with the gender superannuation gap starting from their first day at work.

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Under present laws, under-18 workers are only legally guaranteed super if they work more than 30 hours a week for one employer.

While this exclusion was initially made to prevent fees emptying super accounts with low amounts, the Super Members Council argues it no longer stacks up because there are now protections for small super balances.

While teenage girls make up 55 per cent of all under-18 workers, they are only 35 per cent of the teenage workforce who are guaranteed super due to the 30-hour rule.

Teenage girls are more likely to work in retail and community service jobs and typically work fewer hours than the 30-hour super threshold.

In contrast, teenage boys are more likely to work as tradies and labourers, where full-time hours and apprenticeships are common, giving them guaranteed super.

Scrapping the rule could mean half a million more young Australian workers would start their working lives being paid super from their first day, analysis by the council found.

This means a typical teenage girl could have nearly $2500 more in her super by the time she turned 18, which could grow into $11,000 more by retirement with investment returns.

Jessica Dawson, 22, started working casually at a fast-food restaurant in Melbourne when she was 15.

She was paid minimum wage for her shifts but did not work enough hours to be paid super.

"There is a lack of education around what people are entitled to (and) I wasn't aware of these rules around super," Ms Dawson told AAP.

"These days a lot of young people who choose to work do so to help contribute to their families and they should be able to receive super to help them in the long run."

The federal government has made a range of changes to superannuation laws, including paying super on commonwealth paid parental leave pay, shifting to payday super from July 2026 and pledging to boost the low-income super tax offset.

But the council says the next step must be to remove a law that denies most young women starting work a guaranteed right to super.

"It's simply not fair that young women today are missing out on thousands of dollars in retirement savings because of this outdated rule," Super Members Council chief executive Misha Schubert said.

"The super gap starts from day one of men and women's working lives, and that needs to be fixed now."