The Superannuation Standard Choice Form (NAT 13080) is the document you give your employer to direct your super guarantee contributions to the fund you want. You complete Section A with your personal details, then one of Sections B, C, or D depending on whether you’re nominating an APRA-regulated fund, accepting your employer’s default fund, or using a self-managed super fund. You can do it on paper or through ATO online services via myGov. The finished form goes to your employer’s payroll team, never to the ATO.
Who Can Use the Form
Most Australian employees can choose their own super fund. If you’re covered by a workplace determination or enterprise agreement made on or after 1 January 2021, your employer cannot restrict you to a particular fund. Employees on older enterprise agreements made before that date may still be tied to the fund named in that agreement until a new agreement replaces it.
One boundary worth knowing: if you don’t submit a choice form, your employer must request your “stapled” super fund details from the ATO — an existing account already linked to you that follows you between jobs.1Australian Taxation Office. Stapled Super Funds for Employers If you have no existing account, contributions default to the employer’s chosen fund. The choice form is how you override those fallback rules.
What to Gather Before You Start
Have these on hand before opening the form:
- Your Tax File Number. Providing it is optional, but leaving it off means contributions may be taxed at a higher rate.2Australian Government Office of Parliamentary Counsel. Superannuation Standard Choice Form
- Your chosen fund’s ABN and USI (Unique Superannuation Identifier). These identify the specific product within the fund and appear on the fund’s website, your annual statement, or the ATO’s Super Fund Lookup tool.3Super Fund Lookup. Super Fund Lookup
- Your employer’s ABN, usually on your contract or payslip.
- Your employer’s default fund name and USI, which your employer should give you.
If you’re nominating a self-managed super fund (SMSF), you’ll also need the fund’s BSB and account number, the bank account name, and a valid Electronic Service Address (ESA) for receiving contribution data.4Australian Taxation Office. Superannuation Standard Choice Form Check that your SMSF shows a “complying” status on Super Fund Lookup first. A non-complying fund cannot receive employer contributions that count toward the super guarantee, and the fund itself is taxed at 45 percent instead of 15 percent.5Australian Taxation Office. Super Fund Lookup Status for SMSFs
How to Access the Form
Two options. Download the paper form from the ATO website (or ask your employer for a copy), or complete it through ATO online services via myGov. In myGov, open the Employment menu, select “New employment,” and complete the Super details section. If you already have a super account on file, your fund details are pre-filled.4Australian Taxation Office. Superannuation Standard Choice Form Either way, you print the summary and hand it to your employer.
Your employer must give you the form within 28 days of your start date.6Tax Super and You. Super Guarantee Employer Obligations
Filling Out Each Section
The form has four sections. Everyone completes Section A. You then complete one of B, C, or D depending on where you want contributions sent.4Australian Taxation Office. Superannuation Standard Choice Form
Section A — Your Personal Details
Enter your full legal name, TFN, date of birth, and contact details. Write your name exactly as it appears on your fund membership. A mismatch can cause the fund’s clearinghouse or payroll system to reject the contribution.
Section B — An APRA-Regulated Fund or RSA
This is the section for industry funds, retail funds, and retirement savings accounts. Enter the fund name, ABN, and USI exactly as they appear on official fund documents. You need to attach a compliance letter from the fund confirming it’s a regulated fund that will accept contributions from your employer; without that letter, your employer can reject the form.4Australian Taxation Office. Superannuation Standard Choice Form Most major funds publish this letter as a downloadable PDF; search their forms library for “employer contribution letter” or “compliance letter.”
Section C — The Employer’s Default Fund
If you’re happy to stay with your employer’s default fund, complete this section instead. The default fund’s name, ABN, and USI should already be on the form or provided separately. No compliance letter is needed, since the employer already has the relationship with the fund.
Section D — A Self-Managed Super Fund
For an SMSF, enter the fund name, ABN, the ESA, and the fund’s bank account details (BSB, account number, and account name). Attach a document from Super Fund Lookup confirming the SMSF is ATO-regulated.2Australian Government Office of Parliamentary Counsel. Superannuation Standard Choice Form
If you’re the trustee of the SMSF, or a director of its corporate trustee, tick the declaration confirming the fund will accept contributions from your employer. If you’re a member but not a trustee, you need a separate letter from the trustee confirming the fund will accept the contributions.2Australian Government Office of Parliamentary Counsel. Superannuation Standard Choice Form Missing either the compliance document or the trustee declaration is one of the most common reasons SMSF choice forms get sent back.
Submitting the Form
Hand the completed form, along with any required attachments, to your employer’s payroll or HR team. Whether a printed copy or an electronic version is acceptable depends on your workplace’s internal policies. Do not send the form to the ATO; it goes to the employer only.4Australian Taxation Office. Superannuation Standard Choice Form
Once your employer receives a valid form, they have two months to begin paying contributions into your chosen fund. During that window they can either keep paying your previous fund or switch immediately. After two months they must be paying into your nominated fund.2Australian Government Office of Parliamentary Counsel. Superannuation Standard Choice Form Your employer must keep a copy of the form for five years.6Tax Super and You. Super Guarantee Employer Obligations
After the next pay cycle, log in to your fund’s app or portal and confirm the contribution landed. Catching a data-entry error early is far easier than tracing a missing payment months later.
Check Your Insurance Before You Switch
Most super funds include default life and total permanent disability (TPD) cover, paid for by premiums deducted from your balance. Switching funds can end the cover in your old fund, and if you have a pre-existing medical condition or are over 60, you may not be able to get equivalent cover in the new one.7Moneysmart.gov.au. Insurance Through Super
Before submitting the choice form, check your current fund’s annual statement and Product Disclosure Statement for the cover you hold. Then look at what the new fund offers and whether you need to apply or pass a health assessment. If the new cover is weaker, consider keeping the old account open with enough balance to cover premiums until the new cover is confirmed.
If Your Employer Doesn’t Pay
An employer who ignores a valid choice form or fails to pay super on time becomes liable for the Super Guarantee Charge (SGC). The SGC consists of the shortfall calculated on your total salary and wages (including overtime, not just ordinary time earnings), nominal interest at 10 percent per annum, and a $20 administration fee per employee per quarter.8Australian Taxation Office. Super Guarantee Charge Statement Completion Guide The SGC is not tax-deductible to the employer.
If the employer still doesn’t lodge an SGC statement, a Part 7 penalty applies, and if the ATO starts an audit before the employer comes forward, that penalty can reach up to 200 percent of the SGC amount. The ATO can also issue garnishee notices, director penalty notices, and directions to pay.9Australian Taxation Office. Missed and Late Quarterly Super Guarantee Payments Employers who don’t offer a choice of fund at all, or who don’t request stapled fund details for a new employee, face a separate “choice liability” penalty capped at $500 per employee.8Australian Taxation Office. Super Guarantee Charge Statement Completion Guide If contributions still haven’t appeared in your fund two months after you submitted a valid form, raise it with payroll first, then with the ATO.