In his speech at the ALP national conference, Bill Shorten announced a new policy to enshrine employer superannuation requirements as one of the minimum employment entitlements of the National Employment Standards (NES).
Mr Shorten said that this would give superannuation entitlements the “same protections as any other workplace right”.
His views were echoed by Industry Super Australia chief executive Bernie Dean, who said that the opposition’s plan would be an important step towards tackling the issue of unpaid super affecting one in three Australians.
“The opposition’s commitment to include super in the National Employment Standards will make it crystal clear to employers and employees what their respective responsibilities and rights are,” Mr Dean said.
“Importantly, enshrining super in the NES will provide new legal avenues to recoup unpaid super, which have not been broadly available.”
The Coalition government introduced legislation earlier this year which included tougher penalties for employers who fail to comply with their superannuation guarantee obligations.
The bill for these SG measures is still sitting in the Senate, where it has remained since June this year.
