Evidence-backed. Sourced from ATO official stapling guidance, ASIC REP 779 (February 2024), APRA 2024–25 performance test results, Super Members Council research and independent super fund analysis. General information only — not financial advice. Before switching super funds, consider your insurance, fees, investment options and personal circumstances. Consult a licensed financial adviser if unsure. Last updated: June 2026.
⚡ Key Takeaways
- Super stapling started on 1 November 2021 under the Your Future, Your Super reforms. Your existing super account now follows you from job to job — unless you actively choose a different fund. [1][4]
- Stapling solved the duplicate-account problem, but it also hard-wires your contributions into whatever fund you happened to start with — good or bad. Your new employer can no longer put you into their best-in-class default if you don’t act. [1][2]
- ASIC’s 2024 report (REP 779) found that many trustees paid insufficient attention to net investment performance when designing and reviewing choice products, and that members in persistently underperforming options were suffering real financial harm. [3]
- APRA’s 2024–25 performance test data shows MySuper products are largely clean — but the platform and choice segment still carries a long tail of underperformers. Those are the products many Australians are now stapled to by default. [2][8]
- The fix is straightforward but requires action: log in to myGov, identify your stapled fund, check its performance and fees, and — if it’s a dud — choose a better one and give your employer a Standard Choice Form. [1][6][13]
Don’t Get Stapled to a Bad Super Fund for Life — How to Check and Escape in 2026
By The Fine Print editorial team | Last updated: June 2026 | 13 min read | ⚠️ Not financial advice
In 2026, most Australians don’t consciously pick a super fund — their first one gets stapled to them, and then it follows them for life unless they do something about it. Super stapling has been law since November 2021, and in the years since, regulators have quietly confirmed what critics always feared: plenty of the “choice” and platform products people are stapled to are chronic underperformers that would never have survived scrutiny if workers had to actively choose them. This guide explains exactly how stapling works, why it can cost you tens of thousands of dollars if you ignore it, and the three steps to cut yourself free of a bad stapled fund right now.📋 What’s in This Guide
How Super Stapling Actually Works — and What Your Employer Must Do
Super stapling is the mechanism introduced on 1 November 2021 under the Your Future, Your Super package. The idea was to stop people accumulating multiple super accounts with small, fee-eroding balances every time they changed jobs. Instead of getting a new default account with each employer, your existing account follows you — it’s “stapled” to you. [1][4]What happens when you start a new job:
- Your employer must first give you a Standard Choice Form, giving you the opportunity to nominate any complying super fund you prefer. [5][4]
- If you don’t nominate a fund, the employer must ask the ATO whether you have a stapled fund and pay your Super Guarantee into that fund. [1][7]
- Only if the ATO confirms you have no stapled fund can the employer use its default fund — which applies to workers who have never had a super account before. [4][6]
⚠️ The critical point: Your employer cannot just put you into their best-performing default fund if you don’t fill in a choice form. They are legally required to pay into your stapled fund — whatever that happens to be. The law assumes you will actively manage your super. If you don’t, it locks in whatever you had when you started. [1][6][4]
Four Ways Bad Stapling Costs You Money
1. You’re locked into an underperforming fund with no natural escape hatch
Before stapling, a bad fund might quietly “lose” you when you changed jobs — your new employer would put you into their default, which for industry funds was often significantly better than what you had been drifting in. That accidental safety net is gone. In 2026, your contributions keep flowing into your stapled fund regardless of how it performs, regardless of how many times you change jobs, and regardless of what your new employer’s default fund looks like. ASIC and APRA data shows many choice and platform products — where stapled members often end up — deliver lower net returns and charge higher fees than competitive MySuper products. Being stapled to one for decades can cost tens of thousands of dollars in lost compounding even if the underperformance looks small year-to-year. [2][3][8]2. ASIC REP 779 confirmed trustees weren’t prioritising your performance
In February 2024, ASIC published Report 779 — a review of how trustees managed choice products. The findings were blunt: trustees often did not give sufficient priority to net investment performance when designing and reviewing choice products, and many members remained in persistently underperforming options for years. This matters in the context of stapling because those underperforming choice products are now receiving automatic, ongoing contributions from workers who never actively chose them and who may not know they’re underperforming. The combination of ASIC’s findings on trustee inattention and the ATO’s stapling mechanism creates a quiet but real wealth drain for disengaged members. [3]3. The system expects engagement that millions of Australians don’t have
The ATO is clear that employees can change their stapled fund at any time by completing a Standard Choice Form and handing it to their employer. The problem is that this requires knowing what you’re stapled to, knowing how it compares to alternatives, and knowing that you’re allowed to change it. Super Members Council and Colonial First State research consistently shows that large numbers of Australians rarely check their super, don’t know which fund they’re in, and don’t know how it’s performing. Millions of people are now stapled to funds they’ve never consciously evaluated, and the default outcome — doing nothing — is no longer “get a fresh start” but “stay locked in forever.” [9][10]4. Marketing is pulling members into worse funds, and stapling cements the mistake
Super Members Council’s 2026 member switching report identified a concerning pattern: marketing, lead-generation activity and social media are driving members out of strong APRA-tested funds into higher-fee platform and SMSF options that in many cases deliver inferior net returns. Once a member has switched into one of these products — attracted by slick marketing, extra features or a persuasive adviser — stapling means their future employers will keep paying into that product unless the member takes explicit action. The irreversibility of stapling amplifies the consequences of marketing-driven mistakes. [12]What’s Changed from 2023 to 2026
- Stapling is now well-established infrastructure (2021–2026): Five years in, stapling is no longer a new experiment — it’s embedded in every employer’s SG workflow. The vast majority of employers now routinely request stapled fund details from the ATO when onboarding new staff who don’t hand over a choice form. [1][7]
- ATO’s 2026 update — earlier requests in onboarding: From 27 March 2026, employers can request stapled fund details earlier in the onboarding process, alongside setting up Payday Super compliance, to reduce errors and fraud. The ATO guidance specifically links stapling to Payday Super implementation, meaning the two systems are now being administered together by employers from day one of employment. [11]
- ASIC REP 779 (February 2024): The ASIC report on choice products confirmed regulators are watching the segment closely. ASIC found material governance failures in how trustees manage performance of choice options — precisely the options where many stapled members sit. This has intensified regulatory pressure on trustees of underperforming choice products. [3]
- APRA’s 2025 test results: All 52 MySuper products passed the 2025 test. But APRA flagged that 40%+ of platform TDPs with a 10-year history show significant underperformance — and 7 platform products formally failed. The platform segment — home to many choice and stapled accounts — remains the performance problem zone. [2][8]
- Super Members Council switching data (2026): The SMC’s latest analysis confirms member switching activity is being driven significantly by marketing and financial advice rather than by objective performance comparisons. Members are being moved into higher-fee products, and stapling then locks those fee-laden products in going forward. [12]
✅ Your Three-Step Action Plan
Step 1: Find out exactly which fund you’re stapled to — and whether it’s any good
Log into myGov and navigate to the ATO section, then open the super tab. You’ll be able to see all super funds currently linked to your tax file number, along with recent contributions. The fund receiving your most recent employer contributions is effectively your stapled fund — the one that will follow you to your next job unless you intervene. Note the exact name of the investment option within the fund, not just the fund name. Then check its performance: look it up in APRA’s 2025 performance test results (separate tables for MySuper and trustee-directed products), and use the ATO’s YourSuper comparison tool for side-by-side fee and return comparisons. If you’re in a choice or platform option that has passed the formal test but is in the 40%+ of products showing significant underperformance, the APRA dashboards will show this. Pay close attention to fees — a fund charging 0.8% more in annual fees than a comparable alternative will cost you roughly $80,000 over 30 years on a $200,000 balance, even before accounting for any return differential. [13][2][14]Step 2: If it’s a dud, choose a better fund before your next job change — or right now
You don’t have to wait for a new job to change your stapled fund — you can switch right now. Use the YourSuper comparison tool and APRA’s performance data to shortlist two or three alternatives with lower fees, stronger long-term net returns, and a clean track record on the performance test. Check that the alternative fund offers the insurance cover you need (life, TPD, income protection) — insurance comparisons matter and are often the main reason people stay in a suboptimal fund. Once you’ve made a decision, open an account with your chosen fund and notify your current employer by handing over a completed Standard Choice Form with the new fund details. Your employer is then legally required to direct future SG contributions to that fund. Importantly, this makes your new, actively-chosen fund your stapled fund going forward — so future employers (when you check the box they send you, or when they query the ATO) will pay into a fund you deliberately selected, not the one you happened to open when you were 22. [1][4][13][14]Step 3: Lock in an annual stapling check — so you don’t drift back
Once you’ve sorted your fund, set a recurring reminder for tax time each year — June or July is ideal because APRA releases its annual performance test results around then and it’s the moment your super balance is typically updated with a full year’s data. Each year: log into myGov and confirm which fund is receiving contributions; check your fund’s performance in that year’s APRA results; verify the fees haven’t changed materially; and make sure insurance cover is still appropriate for your life stage. This annual check takes around 20–30 minutes and is by far the highest-return time investment in your financial life. If you change jobs, treat the onboarding paperwork as a hard trigger: before your first pay arrives, either confirm you’re happy with your current fund or hand over the details of a better one. Don’t let “I’ll get around to it” be your answer — because under stapling rules, not deciding is deciding. [16][17]❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is super stapling?
Your existing super account follows you from job to job, started 1 November 2021. If you don’t nominate a fund, your employer pays into your stapled fund as confirmed by the ATO. [1][4]Can my employer change my stapled fund?
No — they must use your stapled fund unless you hand them a Standard Choice Form nominating a different one. Your nomination overrides the stapled fund and becomes the new default going forward. [6][4]How do I find out what I’m stapled to?
Log in to myGov → ATO → Super. The fund receiving your most recent employer contributions is effectively your stapled fund. [1][7]Can I change my stapled fund?
Yes, at any time — complete a Standard Choice Form and give it to your employer. The ATO updates its records and future employers will be directed to your chosen fund. [1][6]What happens if I do nothing when starting a new job?
Your contributions go into your stapled fund — whatever that is. Doing nothing is no longer a fresh start; it’s a permanent lock-in of wherever you started. [1][7][4]⚖️ The Fine Print Verdict
Super stapling was sold as consumer protection — a way to stop Australians accumulating dozens of accounts and paying fees on balances they forgot existed. That part works. But in 2026 the evidence is also clear that stapling has a shadow side: it locks disengaged workers into whatever fund they happened to start with, removes the accidental fresh-start that job changes used to provide, and channels ongoing contributions into choice and platform products that ASIC and APRA have both flagged as chronic underperformers. The system isn’t broken — it just requires you to be the active participant it assumes you are. Millions of Australians are being silently stapled to mediocre funds right now, and the cost of that inaction compounds every year. Finding out what you’re stapled to takes ten minutes. Deciding whether it’s good enough takes another twenty. Choosing a better fund takes an afternoon. The cost of not doing any of that shows up decades later as a smaller number on your retirement statement — and by then it’s too late to fix.
👉 Log into myGov this week, find out what you’re stapled to, and check APRA’s performance test results. If your fund is on the wrong side of that data — switch.
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- ATO, “Super fund stapling: 3 things every employer needs to know,” ato.gov.au/media-centre/super-fund-stapling-3-things-every-employer-needs-to-know
- APRA, “APRA releases 2024 superannuation performance test results,” apra.gov.au (2024)
- ASIC, “REP 779 Superannuation choice products: What focus is there on performance?,” download.asic.gov.au (February 2024)
- Lockwoods, “New superannuation stapling rules introduced — what you need to know,” lockwoods.com.au
- REI Super, “New staff — super for employers,” reisuper.com.au
- AustralianSuper, “Super stapling for business,” australiansuper.com/employers
- Vision Super, “Your guide to superannuation stapling,” visionsuper.com.au
- APRA, “2025 annual superannuation performance test — trustee-directed products,” apra.gov.au
- Super Members Council, “Young Aussies not checking their super enough,” smcaustralia.com
- CFS, “Australians lack confidence to make choices about their super,” cfs.com.au
- ATO, “About Payday Super,” ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/super-for-employers/payday-super/about-payday-super
- Super Members Council, “Member super switching in 2024–2025,” smcaustralia.com (2026)
- APRA, “2025 annual superannuation performance test — MySuper products,” apra.gov.au
- APRA, “Your Future, Your Super frequently asked questions,” apra.gov.au/your-future-your-super-frequently-asked-questions
- Microkeeper, “Stapled superannuation glossary,” info.microkeeper.com.au
- Xero, “Upcoming changes to super in Australia,” blog.xero.com
- KPMG, “Australian superannuation industry insights and analysis,” kpmg.com/au/en/insights
- Actuaries Institute, “Future-proof super funds through modern data platforms,” actuaries.asn.au
This article is general information only and does not constitute financial advice. Before switching super funds, consider your insurance, investment options, fees and personal circumstances. Consult a licensed financial adviser before making changes to your superannuation. Information is based on ATO stapling guidance, ASIC REP 779, APRA performance test data and independent research, current as at June 2026. The Fine Print 🇦🇺 is not affiliated with any super fund, ASIC, APRA or the ATO.