Lost super
is easier to find than most people think.
Billions of dollars in superannuation sit in accounts nobody is watching, and a large slice of it is held by the ATO waiting to be claimed. You do not need old statements or member numbers. Your tax file number is enough, and the whole search is free.
Worth knowing
- Who holds it
- Either your old super fund, or the ATO once the account has gone quiet or the balance is small.
- What it costs
- Nothing. Every official search and rollover is free, and no fund can charge you to look.
- What you need
- A tax file number, a myGov sign in, and about fifteen minutes.
Searching official registers is free. Previous names and addresses may assist your search.
We do not hold your super
Find Lost Money is an independent directory. The government services on this page do the actual searching, for free. If you would rather talk it through with a person first, we can connect you with a licensed financial adviser. The first conversation costs nothing and comes with no obligation.
Before you consolidate, read this first
Finding your super is the easy part. Merging accounts is the part people get wrong, and a rollover done in five minutes on myGov cannot be undone. Three things catch people out.
Insurance cover
Closing an old account cancels any life, TPD or income protection attached to it. If your health has changed since you joined, the same cover may be harder or dearer to get elsewhere.
Defined benefit accounts
Some older public sector and corporate schemes pay a formula based benefit that is worth far more than the balance shown. Get advice before rolling one of these out.
Fees and performance
Compare the funds on the ATO YourSuper comparison tool rather than defaulting to the one with the biggest balance. A one percent fee difference compounds heavily over a working life.
Not sure what to do with it? Ask before you act.
Plenty of people find their lost super and then freeze, because the next decision actually matters. Consolidate or leave it. Keep the insurance or replace it. Which fund should receive the lot.
Send through your details and a licensed financial adviser will contact you to talk through your situation. There is no cost for the first conversation and no obligation to change anything. You will never be asked for your tax file number, myGov login or bank details here.
- A real person, not a call centre script
- No fee for the first conversation
- Your details are only used to arrange the call
- You can opt out of contact at any time
This is a request for a conversation, not personal financial advice. Any advice is provided by the adviser who contacts you under their own Australian Financial Services arrangements.
How super goes missing in the first place
Almost nobody loses super through carelessness. It happens because the system quietly opens accounts on your behalf. Before stapling rules came in, every new employer could start a fresh default fund for you, so a handful of jobs in your twenties can easily leave four or five accounts scattered around the country, each charging its own admin fee.
A fund reports you as lost once it cannot reach you, usually after mail bounces back or two attempts to contact you fail. Small and inactive accounts are then transferred to the ATO under the unclaimed super rules. That transfer is not a penalty. The money keeps earning at a rate set in legislation and stays yours indefinitely.
The result is that the ATO holds billions of dollars in super it cannot match to an active account. Most of it belongs to people who simply moved house, changed their name, or finished a casual job and never thought about it again.
You are more likely to have some if
- You changed jobs and your new employer opened a fresh fund for you
- You moved house and never updated your address with an old fund
- You worked casual or seasonal jobs while studying
- You changed your name after marriage or separation
- You worked in Australia on a temporary visa and have since left
- You had a period of self employment with no contributions going in
Even one of these is worth a fifteen minute check. The search shows everything at once, so there is no downside to looking.
Finding it, step by step
This is the route almost everyone should take. It covers current accounts and anything the ATO is holding in one sitting.
- 1
Sign in to myGov and link the ATO
Go to my.gov.au and sign in, then link the Australian Taxation Office if it is not already showing. You will need your tax file number plus one or two details the ATO can verify, such as a figure from a recent notice of assessment, a payslip, or a bank account that earns interest.
- 2
Open Super and read the whole list
Under the ATO service choose Super, then Fund details. Every account reported against your tax file number appears here, including funds you opened for a summer job years ago. Note the balances and the fund names before you touch anything.
- 3
Check for super the ATO is holding
Look at Manage, then Transfer super, and the ATO held super section. This is money that funds have handed over because the account went quiet or the balance was small. It is still yours. Nothing has been forfeited.
- 4
Decide where it should go
Compare fees, insurance and investment options before consolidating. If an old account has life, TPD or income protection cover you want to keep, closing it cancels that cover permanently. Once the rollover is submitted through myGov it usually cannot be undone. If you are unsure which account to keep, or you have a defined benefit or older scheme, speak to a licensed financial adviser before you press confirm. You can request a free super review below and an adviser will call you within two business days.
- 5
Confirm it landed
Rollovers between funds are usually completed within three business days. Log back in a week later and check the receiving fund shows the money. If something is missing, contact the receiving fund first, then the ATO.
Official places to search
All four are run by government. Links open in a new tab so you can keep this page handy.
myGov linked to the ATO
The one place that shows everything
The only tool that lists every super account reported against your tax file number, plus anything the ATO is holding for you.
- All current fund accounts
- ATO held and unclaimed super
- Consolidate in a few clicks
ATO lost super search
Guidance and paper forms
Explains how lost and unclaimed super works, and covers the options if you cannot get into myGov, including form based searches.
- Step by step ATO instructions
- Paper search form
- Rules for withdrawing ATO held super
Super Fund Lookup
Check a fund is genuine
The official register of complying super funds. Useful when an old statement names a fund you no longer recognise, or a fund has merged into another.
- Confirm a fund's ABN
- See mergers and name changes
- Spot funds that no longer exist
ATO phone service
If online is not an option
Call 13 10 20 during business hours. Have your tax file number ready. The operator can tell you what accounts exist and what the ATO is holding.
- No myGov account needed
- Talk to a person
- Free call from a landline
Nobody needs to charge you for this
Cold callers and social media ads offering to find your super for a share of the balance are using the exact registers described on this page. The ATO will never phone you out of the blue asking for your super details or bank account, and early access schemes that promise to unlock super before retirement are almost always illegal. If a caller pressures you, hang up and ring the ATO on 13 10 20 yourself.
Common questions
While you are at it
Super is only one register. Old bank accounts, shares, life insurance, rental bonds and unpaid wages sit with other agencies, and each state runs its own unclaimed money register.