Australian Taxation Office, "COVID-19 early release of super" statistics (Internet Archive copy of Sept. 14, 2026)

Summary

An Australian Taxation Office statistics page on the COVID-19 early release of super program, which let eligible individuals apply through myGov between 20 April 2020 and 31 December 2020 to access up to $10,000 of their super during the 2019–20 financial year and up to $10,000 between 1 July and 31 December 2020. The ATO reports receiving 4.78 million applications totalling $39.2 billion and approving 4.55 million applications for 3.05 million people, totalling $37.8 billion. It rejected or cancelled 232,000 applications, amounting to $1.4 billion. Tables break down approved applications by fund type, gender, state or territory, income range, request category, age and month.

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COVID-19 Early release of super

Overview

Eligible individuals financially impacted by COVID-19 were able to apply online through myGov between 20 April 2020 and 31 December 2020 to access:

- up to $10,000 of their super during the 2019–20 financial year, and
- up to $10,000 of their super between 1 July and 31 December 2020.

Eligible temporary residents were able to access up to $10,000 of their super in 2019–20 only.

The COVID-19 early release of super program closed on 31 December 2020 and applications can no longer be accepted.

Amounts released under COVID-19 early release of super were tax free and do not need to be included in your tax return. The information on this page is provided for reference only.

Total applications

Between 20 April 2020 and 31 December 2020, we received 4.78 million applications — totalling $39.2 billion of super requested for early release.

We approved 4.55 million applications for 3.05 million people, totalling $37.8 billion of super requested for early release.

We rejected or cancelled 232,000 applications, amounting to $1.4 billion.

Amounts approved for release by the ATO may differ to amounts released by super funds. This is because super funds only released amounts available in the super fund account. For example, if a person requested $10,000 and only had $7,000 in their super fund account, the super fund only released $7,000.

Applications were rejected if a person attempted to submit more than one application in the same financial year. Applications may have been suspended where errors were made. In some cases, these applications were later cancelled, rejected or approved.

Applications by financial year

954,000 people applied for early release of super in the 2019–20 financial year only (between 20 April and 30 June 2020).

604,000 people applied for early release of super in the 2020–21 financial year only (between 1 July and 31 December 2020).

1,495,300 people applied for early release of super in both financial years (between 20 April and 31 December 2020).

Requests by fund type

APRA funds

There were 4.5 million approved applications to release super from Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) regulated super funds, totalling $37.4 billion.

SMSFs

There were 40,000 approved applications to release super from self-managed super funds (SMSFs), totalling $395 million.

Applications by gender

Male

Of all approved applications, 2.6 million (56%) were from males.

The approved amount for release for male applicants was $21,900 million.

Female

Of all approved applications, 2.0 million (44%) were from females.

The approved amount for release for female applicants was $15,915 million.

Unspecified

Around 460 approved applications (less than 1%) were from people who didn't specify their gender.

The total approved amount for release was $1.6 million.

Applications by state and territory

Table 1 shows the percentage and number of applications approved based on state or territory.

Table 1: Approved applications by state and territory

State or territory | Percentage (%) | Number of approved applications
NSW | 30 | 1,349,000
QLD | 26 | 1,165,000
VIC | 23 | 1,027,000
WA | 11 | 519,000
SA | 5 | 250,000
TAS | 2 | 88,000
NT | 1 | 62,000
ACT | 1 | 42,000
Unknown | 1 | 47,000

¹In the table above, we rounded the application data to the nearest 1,000.

Applications by income range

Tables 2 and 3 show the number of approved applications by income range for each financial year.

Table 2: Approved applications by income range, 2019–20 financial year

Income range | Percentage (%) | Number of approved applications
0 or less | 2 | 42,700
$1 – $18,200 | 12 | 294,400
$18,201 – $37,000 | 25 | 605,200
$37,001 – $90,000 | 46 | 1,128,300
$90,001 – $180,000 | 9 | 221,100
Over $180,000 | 1 | 20,900
Unknown | 5 | 140,500

²In the table above, we rounded the application data to the nearest 100.

Note: 'Unknown income' category represents people who haven't lodged a tax return in the two financial years prior to their application. Updates to the individual income tax thresholds were announced in the 2020–21 Budget and come into effect on 1 July 2021.

Table 3: Approved applications by income range, 2020–21 financial year

Income range | Percentage (%) | Number of approved applications
0 or less | 2 | 37,800
$1 – $18,200 | 10 | 202,900
$18,201 – $37,000 | 31 | 652,600
$37,001 – $90,000 | 43 | 911,100
$90,001 – $180,000 | 4 | 75,100
Over $180,000 | 1 | 18,900
Unknown | 9 | 196,700

³In the table above, we rounded the application data to the nearest 100.

Note: 'Unknown income' category represents people who haven't lodged a tax return in the two financial years prior to their application. Updates to the individual income tax thresholds were announced in the 2020–21 Budget and come into effect on 1 July 2021.

Applications by request category

Tables 4 and 5 show the percentage of approved applications in each request category, and the dollar value of approved applications for residents and non-residents.

Table 4: Residents, 20 April–31 December 2020

Request category | Approved applications percentage (%) | Total approved amount for release ($m)
Had a reduction in working hours | 44 | 18,135
Unemployed | 19 | 6,880
Eligible for government benefit | 18 | 6,645
Sole trader – significant reduction in turnover | 7 | 2,980
Been made redundant | 3 | 1,025
Sole trader – suspended operation | 1 | 455
Eligible for youth allowance | 1 | 150
Eligible for farm household allowance | <1% | 60

Table 5: Non-residents, 20 April – 31 December 2020

Request category | Approved applications percentage (%) | Total approved amount for release ($m)
Other temporary resident visa holders who cannot meet immediate living expenses | 3 | 665
Held a student visa for 12 months or more | 3 | 505
Temporary skilled work visa holder | 1 | 320

Applications by month and by age

Table 6 shows the number of approved applications by month and age.

Table 6: Monthly applications by age - 20 April - 31 December 2020

Age | Percentage (%) | Number of approved applications
20 years or under | 1% | 45,700
21–25 years | 8% | 429,300
26–30 years | 14% | 744,100
31–35 years | 17% | 786,700
36–40 years | 16% | 697,300
41–45 years | 13% | 557,800
46–50 years | 12% | 515,800
51–55 years | 10% | 406,900
56–60 years | 7% | 271,300
61–65 years | 2% | 84,600
66–70 years | <1% | 7,400
71 years and over | <1% | 1,400

⁴In the table above, we rounded the application data to the nearest 100.

Monthly approvals and accumulated value

Table 7 shows the number of application approvals and accumulated dollar value by month.

Table 7: Monthly approvals and accumulated value

Month | Number of approvals | Accumulated amount of release ($b)
April 2020 | 995,400 | 8
May 2020 | 878,400 | 15
June 2020 | 579,400 | 20
July 2020 | 1,399,600 | 32
August 2020 | 254,600 | 34
September 2020 | 154,000 | 36
October 2020 | 99,700 | 36
November 2020 | 85,400 | 37
December 2020 | 101,700 | 38

⁵In the table above, we rounded the application data to the nearest 100. See the data from COVID-19 early release of super.

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