The ATO and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) have teamed up to issue a warning to any health practitioners and registered agents who are inappropriately supporting individuals to access their superannuation early on compassionate grounds.
“While superannuation can be accessed early under compassionate grounds, this is strictly available in very limited circumstances, including for critical medical and dental procedures,” ATO deputy commissioner Emma Rosenzweig noted.
“I want to make it clear, compassionate release of super should only be considered as a last resort, where all other options of paying for the eligible expenses have been exhausted.”
According to ATO data released today, applications for the release of super benefits on compassionate grounds have increased from 90,700 in 2023/24 to 112,400 in the past financial year. Of those requests, over 83 per cent were for medical treatment or transport, which includes dental care, in vitro fertilisation, weight-loss programs and other procedures. The number of compassionate requests for dental services alone has more than doubled in two years.
The rules state for a medical application to be approved, it needs to be certified by two practitioners as necessary to “alleviate acute or chronic pain, to treat a life-threatening illness or injury or alleviate acute or chronic mental illness”.
“We are seeing practitioners making inaccurate statements in medical reports. The ATO relies on medical and dental professionals to act in the best interests of their patients to prepare accurate reports regarding their diagnoses and the required treatment strategy,” Rosenzweig stipulated.
In response to these concerns, Ahpra and the Dental and Medical Boards of Australia have released new guidance for doctors that emphasises the need for assessments that focus on a person’s health and their needs.
“I’m stunned to hear that some businesses and practitioners are taking advantage of this process to push overly expensive or unnecessary treatments,” Ahpra chief executive Justin Untersteiner said.
Further, Rosenzweig has produced a video directly targeting doctors, clearly explaining what is required from health practitioners regarding this subject. Concerning behaviours outlined in the video include misrepresenting medical conditions, preparing medical reports without a “fulsome” examination and even collecting patient myGov details to fraudulently submit applications as if they were the patient.
