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Concessional contributions are those superannuation contributions that are made for you by the Qantas Group1 and any other contributions made from before-tax salary. They include:

  • Employer contributions, including Superannuation Guarantee contributions;
    • Salary Sacrifice contributions;
    • Insurance premiums and administration fees paid by the Qantas Group on your behalf; and
    • Any other concessional contributions.

The contributions and benefits vary between divisions of Qantas Super. So if you change employment classification or move between divisions, different contributions may be included as concessional contributions.

Concessional contributions cap

Concessional contributions are paid into your super from before tax salary. While you don’t pay income tax on these contributions, contributions tax of 15%2 is charged on concessional contributions that go into your super. Because you may get a tax advantage by putting money into your super from before-tax salary, the Government limits the amount that can be paid into your super and taxed at this lower contributions tax rate. This limit is called the concessional contributions cap.

The 2023/24 concessional contributions cap is $27,500, indexed in line with AWOTE in increments of $2,500 (rounded down).

Note: If you have a total superannuation balance for tax purposes of less than $500,000 on 30 June of the previous financial year, you may be entitled to make additional contributions for any unused amounts. Unused amounts are available for five years, and after this period will expire.

1Qantas Airways Limited and associated employers
2 An additional 15% tax will apply to individuals with combined earnings and concessional contributions exceeding $250,000 in the 2023/24 income year.

Monitoring your contributions

If you make concessional contributions to other super funds, then these contributions are added to your concessional contributions in Qantas Super to assess whether you have exceeded your cap – this calculation is done by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

You are responsible for monitoring the level of concessional contributions made to your super. Neither the Trustee nor your employer can do this on your behalf. Qantas Super can accept contributions above the cap.

The timing of your contributions can also be important. Contributions are counted towards the cap in the year in which they were credited to your super account.

Any contributions over your concessional contributions cap will also count towards your non-concessional (after-tax) contributions cap.

If you’d like more information on the non-concessional contributions cap, you can head to the Tax on Super fact page or call us on 1300 362 697.

What happens if I exceed my cap?

If your concessional contributions exceed your cap, then the amount above your cap will be taxed at your marginal tax rate.

The ATO will include any concessional contributions made in excess of the cap in your assessable income and apply tax at your marginal tax rate (subject to a 15% tax offset to account for the contributions tax payable on the contributions within the super fund – see the ‘Concessional contributions cap’ section). Interest will also be charged to you by the ATO for any excess concessional contributions that increase your tax liability for the relevant financial year; this is to account for the deferred payment of tax on these monies.

You may also have the option to withdraw any excess concessional contributions (less any contributions tax) from your account.

Upon request, Qantas Super will transfer the excess concessional contributions (less any contributions tax) to the ATO to include the gross amount of the excess concessional contributions in your assessable income. The net amount (if any) will then be refunded to you through the issue of an amended income tax assessment.

Calculating your insurance premiums and administration fee

For Division 5 members, insurance premiums and administration fees are paid on your behalf by the Qantas Group. Legislation requires that such amounts paid by the Qantas Group be counted as part of your concessional contributions. For 2023/24, this is calculated as:

Type of fee or insurance premiumAmount counted as a concessional contribution
Administration fee0.251,2 x Fixed Annual Remuneration plus 0.012 x account balance (APRA fee)3
Insurance premiums for Standard Cover for death and TPD (total and permanent disablement)Premium rate A4 x (amount of cover you have for death and TPD5 ÷ 1,000)
Insurance premiums for Standard Cover for income protectionPremium rate B6 x (amount of cover you have for income protection5 ÷ 1,000)

1Calculated based on your Fixed Annual Remuneration on 1 July 2023 and capped at $1,050 each year.
2This rate is effective 1 July 2023 and may change over time. We will notify of you of any changes as required by law.
3APRA is the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority. This rate represents a contribution to the annual levy paid by Qantas Super to APRA. Calculated on your account balance at 1 July 2023.
4See Table A below to calculate the rate that applies to you from 1 January 2024.
5Refer to your most recent Annual Statement to determine the amount of your Standard Cover for death, TPD and income protection.
6See Table B below to calculate the rate that applies to you from 1 January 2024.

For more information on your insurance, including eligibility criteria and how to calculate the amount of your insurance cover, please refer to the member disclosure documents for Division 5. These documents also contain information about the conditions and exclusions that are applicable, as well as your entitlement to insurance cover. These documents are available on our website or by calling the Helpline on 1300 362 967.

Calculating your concessional contributions for the year

Your annual concessional contributions for Qantas Super can be estimated each year. However, it is not possible to calculate your actual annual concessional contributions until after the end of the financial year (when all your contributions have been received by Qantas Super).

An example of how concessional contributions for 2023/24 in Qantas Super will be calculated is shown in the next column.

Remember, you need to add any concessional contributions made to other super funds to the amount in Qantas Super when monitoring contributions against your cap.

Example for 2023/24

A Division 5 Member:

  • At the beginning of the financial year on 1 July 2023:
    • has a Fixed Annual Remuneration of $100,000;
    • is 45 years of age at their next birthday;
    • has Standard Cover for death and TPD of $315,000 and for income protection of $75,000 pa; and
    • has an account balance of $120,000.

and

  • For the 2023/24 financial year, has Superannuation Guarantee contributions of $11,000, voluntary Salary Sacrifice contributions of $9,000, and no other concessional contributions made to Qantas Super

The concessional contributions reportable to the tax office for 2023/24 would be:

Before-tax contributions
  • Superannuation Guarantee (SG): $11,000
  • Voluntary Salary Sacrifice: $9,000
  • Other concessional contributions: Nil

Total before-tax contributions = $20,000

Fees and insurance premiums paid by the Qantas Group

Administration fee: (0.25% x $100,000) + (0.01% x $120,000) = $262

plus

Insurance premiums:

  • Death and TPD: [(315,000/1,000) x 1.82 +
  • Income Protection: [(75,000/1,000) x 3.09

= $9805.05

Total fees and insurance premiums paid by the Qantas Group = $1,067.05

Total concessional contributions for the year = $21,067.05

Note that TPD and income protection premium rates in this calculation refer to the 1 January 2024 rate tables. You can check your most recent details by logging into your account online.

Premium rates used to calculate your insurance premiums

You can find the premium rates that apply from 1 January 2024 here.

You can find the premium rates that applied from 1 July 2023 – 31 December 2023 here.

If you would like to review your rates for the 2022/23 financial year, you can find them here.

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