Important information about your insurance cover during stand down

When you commence a period of stand down, any death and TPD cover you have continues for 16 months from the date of the last contribution or rollover made to your account in Qantas Super as long as your premiums continue to be paid.

If your account has not received a contribution or rollover for nine months, we’ll write to ask you to either make a contribution or opt in to keep your insurance if you want to stay covered. We’ll also send you reminders at 12 and 15 months. If you don’t opt in or make a contribution within 16 months, your insurance cover will be cancelled.

If your insurance cover is cancelled because you didn’t opt in or make a contribution within 16 months, you can re-apply for cover. If you re-apply within 60 days of your cover being cancelled, it will be automatically reinstated if you are At Work.

‘At Work’ means you are at work for the Qantas Group for your normal daily hours of work, are actively performing the full, unrestricted or unmodified duties of your job, when you re-apply for cover. You’re still considered At Work if it’s a public holiday, weekend day, or a day of paid leave (other than leave taken due to illness or injury or leave taken during periods of stand down).

However, if you’re not At Work, for example because you are stood down, then Limited Cover applies until you return to being At Work for 30 consecutive days, at which point, full cover will apply. Limited Cover means you’re only covered for an illness which became apparent, or an injury which first occurred, on or after the date cover recommenced. Your cover will be backdated to the date when it was first cancelled, and premiums deducted from your account for this period.

If you re-apply for cover more than 60 days after it has been cancelled, it will be subject to approval by the insurer and you may need to supply medical evidence.

However, if your Basic or Standard Cover is cancelled because you didn’t opt in or make a contribution within 16 months, then it will restart automatically when you are no longer stood down, receive an Employer Contribution from a Qantas Group employer and if you are also At Work. If you are not At Work, then Limited Cover applies until you return to being At Work for 30 consecutive days, at which point, full cover will apply.

If you were stood down before 1 August 2020, your income protection cover for that period continued.

If you were stood up on or after 1 August 2020, you will not be considered stood down for any period of stand down that starts on or after 2 August 2020 unless it is for a period of more than seven consecutive days.

Your pattern of stand down and any paid leave you may have taken may affect the timing of your benefit being paid, so we are working closely with our insurers to consider how the stand down will impact the outcome of assessing claims. We know that the extent and nature of the stand down varies across the Qantas Group, and so the particular circumstances of each claim will be reviewed carefully.

If you are unsure whether you were covered or have an eligible claim, we encourage you to submit a claim application for us to review with the relevant insurer.

Your income protection cover will restart automatically when you return to work, if you are At Work.

If you do not meet the definition of being At Work when you return to work (or were due to return to work), then Limited Cover will apply until you have returned to being At Work for 30 consecutive days, at which point, full cover will apply.

If your income protection cover has automatically restarted because you are At Work, or has restarted subject to Limited Cover, it will only cease again if you are then stood down for a period of more than seven consecutive days. This means that if you are on a rotating stand down with more than a week of stand down each time, your income protection cover will be switched on and off for each period.

If you are regularly working for three weeks, then stood down for three weeks, you would be covered for income protection benefits for the periods you are working – that is, your income protection cover would be turned on and off every three weeks. You wouldn’t pay insurance premiums for the period you don’t have cover.

If you are partially stood down, working three days a week and stood down for the rest of each week, then your income protection cover would continue uninterrupted, subject to Limited Cover as above.

You don’t need to do anything. However, if you would like income protection cover while you are stood down, you may wish to consider alternative options with other providers. You can also change or cancel your cover with Qantas Super at any time by completing a form and sending it to us.

Please note, because we require information from Payroll regarding the stand down, premiums for income protection cover will initially continue to be deducted from your account even if you have been stood down. Please be assured that once we have the relevant information regarding your stand down, any premiums paid for income protection cover while you were stood down from 1 August will be refunded to your account.