From the 1st of July 2026, there are several important changes coming into effect, which could have a real impact on your superannuation, tax position, investments in retirement and Centrelink benefit.

I’ve chosen this topic today so you can understand what are the changes that may impact you so you plan to take advantage any opportunities that may arise, or maybe, take action to stay away from any risks.

Superannuation Changes

1) Let’s look at Payday Super that was first announced in 2023, but effective from 1st July 2026 employers and their payroll have to submit the super guarantee contributions on the same frequency as their salary and wages, instead of quarterly.

This is a positive move for superannuation account holders, who will find it easier to track their employer contributions and, importantly, have access to invest their entitlements sooner, which carries benefit over the longer term from compounding investment returns.

Also, this measure should reduce the risk of unpaid super by some forgetful employers, which has been a big issue for superannuation account holders in certain industries like hospitality and construction, and for workers in small businesses.

2) Next, we’ve got higher superannuation contribution limits.

The ‘concessional cap’ is made up of employer contributions, salary sacrifice and personal tax deductible contributions, and from July the annual limit is being indexed from $30,000 to $32,500. The mandated employer super guarantee rate remains at 12% and there are no plans to index it.

With the start of the new year, it’s a good idea to check your unused concessional contribution history and if eligible, you can carry forward the unused limits from the previous 5 years. Please see my article “Supercharge your Superannuation” for more information on this unused concessional contribution strategy.

The ‘non-concessional cap’ is made up of member personal contributions, after-tax, and from July the annual limit is being indexed from $120,000 to $130,000. Consequently, the ‘bring-forward’ provision also benefits from an increase from $360,000 to $390,000.

Just a quick refresher, the bring-forward rule lets you use up to 3 years’ worth of non-concessional (after-tax) contribution caps at once. So instead of contributing just the annual cap of $130,000, you can “bring forward” 2 future years, allowing you to contribute $390,000 as a single contribution. There are further eligibility conditions for this provision that you should first check.

3) Now for higher valued superannuation account holders, there’s a very important change — known as Division 296 tax. There have been many different drafts over the last few years and plenty of media interest, but it was finally legislated earlier this year.

Currently, all superannuation in the working phase (or “accumulation”) has up to 15% tax applied to income, interest, dividends, rent and realised capital gains, regardless of whether the superannuation accounts are in industry funds, retail providers or SMSFs.

However, from July if your total super balance exceeds $3M, earnings above this threshold will be taxed at an additional 15%. And for the ultra-wealthy with $10M plus in super, they will be slugged another 10% for earnings above this threshold. So, effectively 40% tax on earnings on balances above $10M.

The ATO will calculate the tax liability for the 80,000 or so Australians impacted, who will have the option to pay the tax directly from their super funds.

This is a significant shift, and it means super may not be the most tax-effective environment for high net wealth Australians. For those impacted by the $3M super threshold, there may be greater use of structures like family trusts, companies, or even personal ownership.

With all the benefits of the Australian superannuation system creating wealth in retirement, some critics argue that the constant tinkering with the rules by the Government can undermine trust in the system by moving the goal posts.

And while we might say this is only an issue for the wealthy, as the 12% super guarantee gains traction over years, there will be a higher proportion of Australians paying additional tax on their superannuation earnings in the years and generations ahead.

4) There is a limit to the amount that can be held in this tax-free retirement environment, which is called the Transfer Balance Cap.

From July 2026, this cap is being indexed from $2.0M to $2.1M, which is a generous figure. If you already have money in an account-based pension, or you have a defined benefit pension, I strongly recommend seeking financial advice before taking any action to transfer additional money into the account-based pension environment based on this $100,000 indexation, as the rules are quite complex.

Tax Changes

5) Let’s move on to tax. From July 2026, we will see further tax cuts, with the lowest marginal tax rate dropping from 16% down to 15% — and then to 14% the following year.

This reduction impacts income in the $18,000 to $45,000 tax bracket.

On the surface, this means slightly more take-home pay for most Australians.

But from a planning perspective, it also changes the equation for the value of salary sacrifice contributions to super, which remains taxed at 15%.

When tax rates are lower, the relative benefit of making salary sacrifice and concessional super contributions is reduced for lower and middle-income earners.

This means super contribution strategies for low-to-middle income earners need to be more tailored, rather than assuming contributing to super before tax is always the best option.

Centrelink Changes

6) From a Centrelink perspective, there are yearly and half-yearly adjustments that impact the ongoing assessment for benefits like the Age Pension, Disability Support Pension and JobSeeker.

However, I just wanted to talk about the recent indexation to ‘deeming’ rates from March 2026, which is the 2nd increase in the last 6 months and is impacting Age Pensioners receiving part pension.

As a reminder, Centrelink uses a process called deeming for the purposes of the Income Test to determine your assumed investment earnings on financial assets like:

• Bank savings and term deposits
• Direct shareholdings and managed investments
• Most account-based pension accounts
• Superannuation from age 67

We are starting to see more clients in recent weeks receiving updates from Centrelink advising that their assessment has moved from being Asset tested to now being Income tested, reducing their fortnightly benefit.

In most cases, this is a direct result of the recent adjustment to deeming rates.

We can see in this table that the deeming rates from March 2026 have increased and now the range is between 1.25% and 3.25%. This time last year, the deeming rates ranged from 0.25% to 2.25%.

In dollar terms, the deeming rates for a couple with $500,000 in financial assets will have $14,126 counted towards their Income Test, compared to $9,174 for the same time last year, which is roughly an additional $5,000 per annum.

With cash rates on the rise for the last two months, we might see higher deeming rates from the next cycle in September 2026.

Summary

For retirees, these changes may not have a significant impact on your immediate retirement plans, but the start of every new financial year is a good time to review the structure of your assets to optimise your Centrelink and superannuation benefits, while also managing tax outcomes. These small changes may make a big difference over the long term.