How to Fill Out and Submit the CareSuper Withdrawal Form

The CareSuper withdrawal form, coded FWDL01, is the document you complete to take money out of your CareSuper account or roll your balance over to another super fund. Download it from Member Online, or request a copy by calling 1800 005 166 in Australia or +61 3 7042 2723 from overseas.¹ Once CareSuper has a complete form, cash withdrawals are usually paid in about five business days and transfers to another fund in about three.² There is no fee to withdraw or close the account.³

Check That You Can Access Your Super

Australian law only lets a fund release your balance when you have met a condition of release, and Section 2 of the form is where you nominate which one applies. The common paths are:

Age 65 or older. Full balance available whether you are still working or not.
Age 60 to 64 and permanently retired. You must have ended employment with no intention of working 10 or more hours a week again, and the form asks for your retirement date.
Age 60 to 64 and ended an employment arrangement. Ending a specific job after 60 unlocks access even if you keep working elsewhere. Provide the date and the employer’s name.
Unrestricted non-preserved money. Some accounts hold a portion that is already fully accessible with no age test.
Left the linked employer with a balance under $200.

Terminal Illness

Two registered medical practitioners must certify, together or separately, that an illness or injury is likely to result in death within 24 months of the certification date, and at least one of them must be a specialist in the relevant field. The certification period must still be current when you apply.⁴ Tick the terminal illness option in Section 2 and attach the certifications.

Severe Financial Hardship

You may qualify for a single payment between $1,000 and $10,000 in a twelve-month period if you have received government income support payments for 26 consecutive weeks and cannot meet reasonable and immediate living expenses. Section 2 has a separate checkbox for this reason, and you will need supporting documents from the relevant government agency.

Compassionate Grounds

Compassionate release is not applied for through CareSuper. You apply to the ATO, which assesses eligibility for things like unpaid medical treatment, disability home modifications, or mortgage arrears that could cost you your home. From 5 January 2026, the ATO requires an updated application form; paper forms received after 17 November 2025 must be the new version or the ATO may cancel them.⁵

What to Have Ready Before You Start

Missing any of these will either slow the payment down or get the form returned:

Your CareSuper member number and account number. Both appear on your annual statement and in Member Online. They go into Section 1.
Identity documents. Section 6 accepts electronic verification using details from any two of your Australian driver’s licence, Medicare card, or Australian passport. The alternative is certified paper copies, which is slower and needs an authorised witness.²
Tax file number. If CareSuper does not already hold your TFN, provide it in Section 1. Without it, tax may be withheld at a higher rate.⁶
Bank details. BSB, account number, and the account holder’s name for electronic payment. Cheques are available but slower.
Receiving fund details, if you are rolling over. You need the new fund’s name, phone number, your member number there, the USI, and the ABN. A self-managed fund also needs its electronic service address and bank account details.

Working Through the Form

The form has seven sections. You will not complete every one; some are for cash withdrawals, others for rollovers.

Section 1: Personal Details

Enter your member number, account number, date of birth, full legal name, residential address, phone number, and email. If your name or address has changed since your last update with CareSuper, fix that first. Mismatches with CareSuper’s records are one of the more common reasons forms come back. This section also asks whether the fund holds your TFN, and gives you space to add it if not.

Section 2: Reason for Requesting a Payment

Tick one condition of release. For the 60 to 64 age options, include the date you retired or ended the relevant employment arrangement. Attach medical certifications or government support evidence where the reason requires them.

Section 3: Pre-Withdrawal Tax Questions

Two questions sit here that are easy to breeze past and expensive to get wrong. The first asks whether you intend to claim a tax deduction for personal contributions made this or last financial year. If you do, you must lodge a notice of intent with CareSuper before the withdrawal is processed, or the deduction is lost permanently. The second asks whether you want to split contributions with your spouse. If either answer is yes, sort out the separate paperwork before you send the withdrawal form.

Section 4: Make a Withdrawal

Pick one of three choices: withdraw the total balance and close the account, withdraw the total balance but leave $200 to keep the account open, or withdraw a specific dollar amount. If you nominate a specific amount, you can tick a box asking that the figure shown is the amount you actually receive after tax, and CareSuper will gross the payment up to cover withholding. Then select electronic transfer or cheque and enter the bank details.

Section 5: Transfer to Another Super Fund

Complete this instead of Section 4 if you are rolling over. The options mirror a cash withdrawal: full balance, full balance less $6,000 to keep the account open, or a specific amount. Enter the receiving fund’s details carefully. An incorrect USI or ABN will hold the transfer up.

Section 6: Proof of Identity

Choose electronic verification (Option 1) or paper-based (Option 2). Electronic uses details from two of an Australian driver’s licence, Medicare card, or Australian passport. If you are overseas or your ID is foreign, you may need to send certified paper copies instead.

Section 7: Declaration and Signature

Sign and date. Your signature confirms the information is correct, authorises the payment, and discharges the trustee from liability for the benefits paid. An unsigned form will not be processed.

How to Submit the Form

The fastest route is uploading the signed form through Member Online at caresuper.com.au/login.⁷ The upload is logged immediately, which trims a few days off the timeline compared with postal delivery. If you prefer to post it, send it to:

CareSuper
GPO Box 1547
Hobart TAS 7001²

Processing Time and After Payment

The clock starts when CareSuper receives a complete form with all supporting documents. Cash withdrawals generally take about five business days, and rollovers about three.² An incomplete submission resets that clock. After the payment, CareSuper sends a statement showing the amount paid, any tax withheld, and any fee or insurance adjustments. Keep it for your tax return; if you closed the account, it is your final record with the fund.

Tax on What You Receive

How much CareSuper withholds depends on your age and the tax components of your balance. For most members, the rule that covers the situation is straightforward: if you are 60 or older and your super comes from a taxed fund, which CareSuper is for most members, lump sums and income stream payments from the taxed element are tax-free.⁸

Between your preservation age and 59, the taxable-taxed element of a lump sum is tax-free up to the low rate cap, which is indexed each year, and taxed at a maximum of 17 percent above that cap. Below preservation age, the taxable-taxed element is taxed at your marginal rate or 22 percent, whichever is lower. The tax-free component is tax-free at any age.⁸ Terminal illness payments are entirely tax-free if the terminal condition is met when the payment is made or within 90 days after.⁴

If You Are a U.S. Taxpayer

The IRS treats superannuation as a foreign pension, so a withdrawal may be taxable on your U.S. return with treatment shaped by the U.S.–Australia tax treaty, and the balance itself can trigger FBAR and FATCA reporting obligations separate from income tax.⁹ The form itself does not address any of this. Talk to a tax adviser who works in both systems before you file the withdrawal, since the timing of the payment and the treaty position can change what you owe.

1
CareSuper. Contact Us for Superannuation Support and Queries
2
CareSuper. Withdrawing Your Super
3
CareSuper. Super Fees and Costs Explained
4
Australian Taxation Office. Access Due to a Terminal Medical Condition
5
Australian Taxation Office. How to Apply for Release of Super on Compassionate Grounds
6
Moneysmart. Tax and Super
7
CareSuper. Take Control of Your Retirement Income Account
8
Australian Taxation Office. Tax on Super Benefits
9
Internal Revenue Service. The Taxation of Foreign Pension and Annuity Distributions