Multiple Super Accounts Are Costing Australians $2.6 Billion a Year. Here’s How to Fix It in 5 Minutes

Four million Australians have two or more super accounts. Most of them don’t know it — and most of them are paying for it. Duplicate admin fees, duplicate insurance premiums, and the compounding drag of money split across accounts instead of pooled and growing adds up to $2.6 billion in unnecessary costs every year across the super system. UniSuper’s modelling shows a single extra account can cost you $100,000 at retirement. The fix takes five minutes in myGov. Here is everything you need to know to consolidate and stop the bleed.

General information only. Not financial advice. Always check insurance implications before consolidating super accounts.

Table of Contents

• How many Australians have multiple super accounts?
• The real dollar cost of duplicate accounts
• Why AustralianSuper was fined $27 million
• How to consolidate your super in 5 minutes
• Before you consolidate: the insurance check
• Frequently asked questions

How Many Australians Have Multiple Super Accounts?

ATO data as at June 2025 shows approximately 14 million Australians with a single super account, and 4 million with two or more. Within those 4 million, around 10 million individual accounts are classified as “unintended” — accounts opened because an employer defaulted an employee into a new fund, rather than because the member chose to maintain multiple accounts. ^[1]Multiple accounts typically accumulate across working life: a summer job at 18, a casual retail role at 20, a graduate position at 23, each with a different employer’s default fund. The stapling reform of November 2021 slowed this down for new employment relationships — but the existing 4 million members already split across multiple accounts are unaffected unless they act. ^[5]

The Real Dollar Cost of Duplicate Accounts

The mechanism is straightforward. A $100 annual admin fee on a second account doesn’t just cost you $100 this year — it costs you $100 that would have been invested and compounding at 7.5% p.a. for 40 years. The future value of $100 invested at 7.5% for 40 years is approximately $1,842. Multiply that by 40 years of $100 admin fees and the compounding cost is enormous — before factoring in the insurance premium drag on top.

Why AustralianSuper Was Fined $27 Million

In 2024, ASIC imposed a $27 million fine on AustralianSuper for failing to proactively consolidate members’ duplicate accounts — cases where the fund knew a member held multiple accounts and had the information to merge them, but did not do so, causing members to pay unnecessary fees and insurance premiums. ^[4]The case is significant because it establishes that super funds have an obligation under the Best Financial Interests Duty to act when they have the information — members cannot be expected to always identify and act on duplicate accounts themselves. The fine was for failing to act on this obligation, not for creating the duplicate accounts in the first place. It also signals to all funds that passive non-action on identifiable member detriment is not a compliance-safe position.

How to Consolidate Your Super in 5 Minutes

1. Log into myGov at my.gov.au. If not set up, create an account and link the ATO service.
2. Navigate to Super → Manage → Consolidate. The ATO’s super page shows all accounts linked to your TFN. Select the accounts you want to consolidate and choose your destination fund.
3. Confirm insurance before proceeding (see section below). Rolling over closes the old account and cancels any insurance. Do this step before confirming.
4. Confirm and submit. The rollover typically completes within 3 business days. You’ll receive confirmation from both funds.
5. Update your employer. After consolidating, provide your employer with your chosen fund’s details (USI and account number) to ensure future contributions go to the right place. From November 2021, your stapled fund follows you automatically — but it’s best to confirm directly.

Before You Consolidate: The Insurance Check

This is the most important step — and the one most people skip. Rolling an old super account into another fund closes the old account and permanently cancels any insurance attached to it. You cannot reverse this. ^[5]Before consolidating each account:

• Log into the old fund’s portal and check what insurance you hold: death cover amount, TPD cover amount, income protection (if any)
• Compare against your destination fund’s cover. If the old fund has better terms, higher cover amounts, or broader definitions (e.g., own occupation TPD), consolidating into your main fund may result in a net insurance downgrade
• Consider whether the old account’s insurance is worth keeping — in some cases, it’s rational to keep an old account open solely for the insurance, accepting the admin fee cost as the price of maintaining better cover
• If uncertain, consult a licensed financial adviser before closing an account with significant insurance attached

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I find all my super accounts?

myGov → ATO → Super. Every account linked to your TFN appears, including lost and inactive accounts. Takes 2 minutes. From there you can initiate rollovers directly.

Will I lose insurance if I consolidate?

Yes — closing an account cancels attached insurance permanently. Check each old account for death, TPD, and income protection cover before rolling over. If the old fund has better terms, it may be worth keeping the account open just for the insurance.

Why was AustralianSuper fined $27M?

ASIC fined AustralianSuper $27 million in 2024 for failing to proactively consolidate members’ duplicate accounts when it had the data to identify them — causing unnecessary fee and insurance costs. A breach of the Best Financial Interests Duty.

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Sources

1. ATO, Super account data — members by number of accounts, June 2025. ato.gov.au
2. Industry Super Australia / ASFA, The cost of unintended multiple super accounts. industrysuper.com
3. UniSuper, Multiple super accounts financial impact modelling. unisuper.com.au
4. ASIC, ASIC imposes $27 million in penalties against AustralianSuper for failing to consolidate member accounts, 2024. asic.gov.au
5. ATO / Treasury, Super account stapling — Your Future, Your Super. ato.gov.au