ATO Deputy Commissioner Emma Rosenzweig said there’s been a ‘significant’ increase in the number of people wanting to access their super early. (Source: ATO\/Getty) <\/p>\n
The tax office<\/a> and Australia’s health regulator have joined forces to issue a warning to people asking to access their superannuation early<\/a> for medical procedures. This is one of the very few reasons Aussie workers are able to crack open their retirement nest eggs<\/a> before they retire.<\/p>\n But the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) are concerned at the “significant growth” in applications<\/a> for compassionate release of super. ATO deputy commissioner Emma Rosenzweig said requests have more than doubled in two years.<\/p>\n “I want to make it clear, compassionate release of super should only be considered as a last resort, where all other options of paying for the eligible expenses have been exhausted,” she said.<\/p>\n Dental services are regularly cited in these requests for early super access, as well as a range of other medical operations or resources.<\/p>\n But the ATO said access will only be granted for “critical” services, rather than everyday or cosmetic work.<\/p>\n The services have to be certified by two professionals as necessary to:<\/p>\n Alleviate acute or chronic pain<\/p>\n Treat a life-threatening illness or injury<\/p>\n Alleviate acute or chronic mental illness<\/p>\n Over 2024-25, there were 93,500 applications in the medical category, with 30 per cent being rejected because they didn’t meet the threshold.<\/p>\n A total of $1.4 billion in superannuation was released last financial year.<\/p>\n Withdrawing thousands of dollars from a super fund can cost Aussies tens or even hundreds of thousands more in retirement, depending on how old they are.<\/p>\n Do you have a story? Email stew.perrie@yahooinc.com<\/p>\n The ATO and AHPRA fear medical practitioners are the ones driving this trend.<\/p>\n “I\u2019m stunned to hear that some businesses and practitioners are taking advantage of this process to push overly expensive or unnecessary treatments,” AHPRA CEO Justin Untersteiner said.<\/p>\n “There is an inherent trust that the community places in their practitioners and taking advantage of people in need is never acceptable.<\/p>\n “Any advice on what procedure is necessary should be based on the patients\u2019 best interest and not influenced by financial gain or incentives.”<\/p>\n AHPRA and the Dental and Medical Boards of Australia are releasing new guidance<\/a> for doctors and dentists to stamp out this behaviour.<\/p>\n It urges medics to provide treatment options based on the “best available information” that are “not influenced by financial gain or incentives”.<\/p>\n “We are seeing practitioners making inaccurate statements in medical reports,” Rosenzweig said.<\/p>\n “The ATO relies on medical and dental professionals to act in the best interests of their patients to prepare accurate reports regarding their diagnoses and the required treatment strategy.”<\/p>\n These dodgy medical professionals are being warned that the penalties for breaching the rules can range from a caution to being referred to a tribunal.<\/p>\n Australian workers can only tap into their retirement nest eggs when they finish work completely or reach preservation age, which is 55 to 60, depending on when they were born.<\/p>\n They can also access their super after 65, even if they are still working.<\/p>\n But the following are grounds that can be used in compassionate requests for early access:<\/p>\n Medical treatment for you or your dependent<\/p>\n Medical transport for you or your dependant<\/p>\n To modify your home or vehicle to accommodate special needs arising from your or your dependant’s severe disability<\/p>\n Palliative care for you or your dependent’s terminal illness<\/p>\n Death, funeral or burial expenses for your dependant<\/p>\n To prevent foreclosure or forced sale of your home<\/p>\n Get the latest Yahoo Finance news – follow us on Facebook<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n