Glossary
Stapled Super Fund
A stapled super fund is the existing super account the ATO links to you personally. Since 1 November 2021 it follows you between jobs, so a new employer must pay your super into it unless you choose otherwise.
What it is
A stapled super fund is the superannuation account that the ATO has recorded as belonging to you, and which your new employer must pay your super guarantee contributions into when you start a job without nominating a fund. The rule arrived on 1 November 2021, and it flipped the old system on its head. Before stapling, an employee who said nothing got signed up to their employer's default fund, which is how Australia ended up with millions of duplicate accounts quietly eating duplicate fees and duplicate insurance premiums.
The staple attaches to you, not to your job. When you start a new role and hand back the super section of the onboarding paperwork blank, your employer asks the ATO for your stapled fund details and pays the 12% super guarantee there. The staple stays attached until you nominate a different fund on the standard choice form, or the ATO de-staples it, which can happen if the fund exits the system. The full mechanics live on ato.gov.au, and moneysmart.gov.au explains the choice side in plain English.
Key takeaways
- Since 1 November 2021, a new employer must pay your super into your ATO-recorded stapled fund if you do not choose one.
- The staple follows you between jobs, ending the era of an accidental new account at every new employer.
- You can always override the staple by completing the standard super choice form and nominating another fund.
- Holding multiple funds while the stapling rules exist means quietly paying multiple sets of fees and insurance premiums.
- Your employer requests stapled fund details from the ATO; they cannot invent a default for you anymore.
How it works
When you start a new job, the onboarding paperwork includes a superannuation choice section. If you complete the standard choice form and nominate a fund, that is where your 12% super guarantee goes, end of story. If you leave it blank, your employer must log into ATO online services and request your stapled fund details. The ATO returns the fund it has on record for you, and the employer pays your contributions there at least quarterly. The employer cannot fall back on their default fund unless the ATO says you have no staple at all, which mostly happens for people who have never had a super account.
The staple itself is built from ATO records of your existing accounts, generally favouring the fund most recently receiving contributions. It stays attached until you actively choose a different fund, or until the ATO de-staples it because the fund has wound up or exited. Contributions then flow every pay cycle or quarter exactly as they always did; only the destination logic changed.
The practical edge case is the worker with two legacy accounts. Stapling means the ATO picks one, but the other account keeps charging its fees and insurance premiums regardless, because nothing in the stapling rules closes dormant accounts. Consolidating duplicates is a separate, manual step, and moneysmart.gov.au walks through it.
Why it matters
Duplicate super accounts were a quiet national tax on indifference. Every accidental second account meant a second admin fee and often a second insurance premium, draining balances that were supposed to compound. Stapling was the regulatory fix: one account follows you, so changing jobs no longer manufactures a fresh fee sponge. For a worker who changes jobs every couple of years, the difference across a career is comfortably five figures once compounding is included.
A colleague named Brent (yes, that Brent) once worked four jobs in five years before stapling existed and collected four accounts like loyalty cards. When I made him check, two were charging around $90 a year in admin fees and another $400 a year in combined insurance premiums on balances under $3,000. At that burn rate the small accounts were mathematically marching toward zero. He consolidated in an afternoon and immediately saved roughly $580 a year in duplicated charges.
The highest-leverage habit here costs one login: check how many accounts sit under your name via myGov, consolidate the duplicates, then decide whether your remaining fund is actually competitive. Run the fee maths on your current fund against the field using the super comparison tool, and see what the fees do to your long-run balance with the superannuation calculator. Ato.gov.au holds the exact stapling rules if your employer gets them wrong.
Real-world examples
1. Two legacy accounts at $85 and $420 a year in duplicated charges
A worker holds two super accounts: a stapled main fund with $60,000 and a forgotten retail account with $4,200 from a 2019 job. The old account charges roughly $85 a year in admin plus about $420 a year in default insurance premiums. Against a $4,200 balance, that is a 12% annual drag, so the account shrinks even in good markets. Consolidating into the stapled fund stops the bleed immediately, and over ten years the saved fees alone, compounding at 7%, add roughly $7,000 to the retirement balance. Nothing was invested better; the leakage just stopped.
2. New job, blank choice form, stapled fund receives the SG
A worker on $80,000 starts a new job and ignores the super paperwork. The employer requests stapled fund details from the ATO and pays the 12% guarantee, $9,600 a year or $2,400 a quarter, into the existing stapled fund. The worker keeps one account, one fee structure, one insurance policy. Under the pre-2021 rules the same shrug would have created account number three, and at typical fee levels that accidental duplicate might have cost $300 to $500 a year in extra charges until noticed.
3. Overriding the staple with the choice form
A worker discovers their stapled fund charges 1.1% in total fees on a $70,000 balance, about $770 a year, while a competitive option charges 0.6%, about $420. They submit the standard choice form at work, and the next quarter's $2,100 SG payment on their $70,000 salary lands in the new fund. The staple is effectively replaced, the old account is rolled over, and the annual saving of roughly $350 compounds into around $14,000 extra over twenty years at 7%. Check current fees and rules at moneysmart.gov.au and ato.gov.au before switching.
Common mistakes
Mistake: Assuming stapling automatically closed your old duplicate accounts.
Why it bites you: It did not. Stapling only steers new contributions; dormant accounts keep billing you. Two forgotten accounts at $400 a year each in fees and insurance is $800 a year, roughly $11,000 gone over a decade before lost earnings.
Mistake: Believing the stapled fund is chosen because it is the best fund for you.
Why it bites you: The staple is administrative, not a quality endorsement. Staying stapled to a fund charging 1.1% instead of 0.6% costs about $350 a year on $70,000, compounding to a five-figure retirement shortfall.
Mistake: Thinking the new employer chooses your fund if you stay silent.
Why it bites you: Since 1 November 2021 they must ask the ATO for your staple. If payroll pays into a default fund without that check, your contributions can land scattered across accounts, and untangling a misdirected $2,400 quarterly payment is your admin problem, not theirs.
Mistake: Consolidating accounts without checking the insurance attached.
Why it bites you: Roll everything out of a fund and its death and disability cover cancels automatically. Replacing equivalent cover later can cost hundreds more a year, or be declined entirely if your health has changed, so check ato.gov.au and moneysmart.gov.au guidance first.
Ivy's take
I spent two evenings reading the ATO's stapled fund guidance and the Your Future, Your Super legislation so you don't have to, and the whole reform is basically the government admitting that humans will not do admin. Fine. Stapling is a rare rule written around how people actually behave rather than how brochures wish they behaved.
My honest take: stapling solved half the problem. It stopped the bleeding of new duplicate accounts, which is genuinely worth thousands over a career, but it left every existing duplicate happily billing away in the dark. The system still assumes you will one day log in and tidy up. Brent has four accounts and one personality, and the accounts are winning. Check myGov once, consolidate, and let compounding work on money that is not being nibbled by duplicate premiums.
Related jargon, defined
- Stapled fund
- The super account the ATO has linked to you, which new employers must pay into if you do not choose one.
- Standard choice form
- The ATO form you submit to nominate a different fund and override your staple.
- Default fund
- The fund an employer used to enrol silent employees into before stapling; now only for workers with no staple.
- De-stapling
- When the ATO removes a staple, typically because the fund has exited or wound up.
- Super guarantee
- The compulsory 12% of ordinary time earnings your employer pays into your super on top of salary.
- Consolidation
- Rolling multiple super accounts into one to stop duplicate fees and insurance premiums.
Frequently asked questions
Does my new employer pick my super fund if I do nothing?+
No. Since 1 November 2021 your employer must request your stapled fund details from the ATO and pay your contributions there. Their default fund is only used if the ATO says you have no staple at all, which mostly means you have never had an account.
How do I override my stapled fund?+
Complete the standard super choice form, from your employer or ato.gov.au, nominating your preferred fund. Your employer must then pay into that fund from the next reasonable contribution cycle. Choosing a fund replaces the staple going forward.
Did stapling close my old duplicate accounts?+
No, and this surprises people. Stapling only redirects new contributions; old accounts keep charging fees and insurance until you consolidate them. Check how many accounts sit under your name through your myGov-linked ATO service.
Can my stapled fund ever change without me choosing?+
Yes, in limited cases. If your stapled fund winds up or exits, the ATO can de-staple it and reassign the staple to another account it has on record for you. The ATO notifies you when this happens, so keep your myGov contact details current.
Is my stapled fund necessarily a good fund?+
Not at all; the staple is a record-keeping device, not a quality rating. It simply says where your money already sits. Compare fees and performance before assuming inertia is serving you, using official data via moneysmart.gov.au tools.
Disclaimer: This information is general in nature and does not constitute financial or legal advice. Always consult a qualified professional for your specific situation.
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Ivy Sinclair-Wren
Financial Chaos Analyst
Ivy Sinclair-Wren is a Financial Chaos Analyst covering investing, AI, wealth psychology, and the emotional consequences of opening finance apps during market crashes. Based in Melbourne, she specializes in demystifying the Australian tax code and helping users navigate the intersection of spreadsheet logic and human irrationality.