The end of the 2025/26 financial year is approaching, which makes now a valuable time to pause, review your position and make sure you’re not leaving important planning opportunities until the last minute.

For many Australians, superannuation plays an important role in building long-term wealth, preparing for retirement and improving tax efficiency. But the rules can be complex, contribution caps apply, and timing matters.

Here are some key areas to consider before 30 June 2026.

Review your super contributions

Depending on your circumstances, making additional contributions to super may help you build your retirement savings while taking advantage of available tax concessions.

Before contributing, it’s important to check what you’ve already contributed this financial year, including employer contributions, salary sacrifice arrangements and any personal contributions.

1. Concessional contributions

Concessional contributions are generally made from pre-tax income or may be claimed as a personal tax deduction.

For the 2025/26 financial year, the concessional contributions cap is $30,000. This cap includes employer Superannuation Guarantee contributions, salary sacrifice contributions and personal deductible contributions. The Superannuation Guarantee rate for 2025/26 is 12%.

For higher-income earners or those wanting to reduce taxable income, this can be a useful area to review before 30 June. However, exceeding the cap may result in additional tax, so it’s important to get advice before making a contribution.

2. Non-concessional contributions

Non-concessional contributions are generally made from after-tax savings and are not claimed as a tax deduction.

For the 2025/26 financial year, the annual non-concessional contributions cap is $120,000. Eligibility depends on your total super balance, and the cap may be unavailable if your total super balance was $2 million or more on 30 June 2025. In some cases, bring-forward rules may allow eligible people to contribute more than the annual cap.

This may be worth considering if you have surplus cash, have recently sold an asset, or are looking to strengthen your retirement position.

3. Spouse contributions

If your spouse earns less than $37,000, you may be able to make a spouse contribution of up to $3,000 to their super and receive a tax offset of up to $540. A reduced offset may apply if your spouse’s income is between $37,000 and $40,000.

This strategy may be helpful for couples where one person has taken time out of the workforce, works reduced hours, or has a lower super balance.

4. Government co-contribution

If you earn less than $47,488 in the 2025/26 financial year and make an eligible after-tax contribution to super, you may receive a government co-contribution of up to $500. A reduced co-contribution may be available for income up to $62,488.

For eligible people, this can be a simple way to give their super a boost.

Don’t leave contributions until the final days of June

To count for the 2025/26 financial year, your contribution needs to be received by your super fund before 30 June 2026.

That means it’s not enough to make the transfer on 30 June and assume it will be processed in time. Banks, clearing houses and super funds can all have different processing timeframes.

A safer approach is to act early, confirm your fund’s cut-off dates, and allow enough time for the funds to clear.

Check your account-based pension payments

If you receive an account-based pension through a retail or industry super fund, your minimum pension payments may be managed automatically. Even so, it’s worth checking that the required minimum has been met before the end of the financial year.

If your pension is held within a self-managed super fund, this can be more manual. You may need to speak with your SMSF administrator, accountant or adviser to ensure the minimum pension amount has been withdrawn before 30 June.

Failing to meet the minimum pension requirement may have tax consequences for the fund, so this is an important item to review early.

Make the most of the opportunity — with advice

End-of-financial-year planning is not about rushing into contributions or making decisions because a deadline is approaching.

It’s about taking a clear look at where you are now, what opportunities may be available, and what makes sense for your broader financial plan.

At Heard Financial, we help clients make confident, informed decisions about super, retirement planning and long-term wealth. If you’re unsure what you’ve contributed this year, whether you still have cap space available, or which strategies may be appropriate for you, now is the time to seek advice.

To discuss your end-of-financial-year planning, please contact the Heard Financial team.

General advice disclaimer

The information in this article is general in nature and has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information, you should consider whether it is appropriate for your circumstances and seek personal advice from a qualified financial adviser.

Taxation and superannuation rules are complex and subject to change. You should also seek advice from a registered tax agent or accountant in relation to your personal tax position.