If you've changed jobs multiple times, you likely have lost or forgotten superannuation accounts sitting idle, potentially worth thousands of dollars. These accounts may contain valuable Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) insurance that you didn't know existed.
ATO figures released in October 2025 put total lost and unclaimed super at $18.9 billion, up from $17.8 billion a year earlier. Of that, $6.2 billion was held by the ATO and $12.7 billion was still sitting with super funds as lost super.
Many Australians only realise they had TPD insurance after a serious injury or illness, but by then, their cover may have already lapsed due to inactivity.
This guide discusses:
- How to search for lost super and forgotten TPD insurance
- The risks of consolidation
- How to protect your entitlements before it’s too late
Understanding Lost Superannuation and TPD Insurance
What is lost or forgotten superannuation?
Lost super refers to accounts where you've lost contact with your fund due to changed addresses, inactive accounts, or simply forgetting contributions from previous employers. Unclaimed super is money the ATO holds from inactive accounts, waiting for you to claim it.
Common scenarios include:
- Changing jobs and opening new super accounts each time, without consolidating
- Moving house and not updating your address for the old funds
- Accounts with no contribution or rollover for 5 years, which your fund reports to the ATO as 'lost' while still holding the money itself. Super only moves across to the ATO under separate tests, mainly where the balance is under $6,000. The inactive low-balance account test in section 20QA of the Superannuation (Unclaimed Money and Lost Members) Act 1999 (Cth) only applies where no insurance is being provided in the account.
- Inheriting super from deceased family members you weren't aware of
Why TPD insurance matters
Most super funds automatically provide TPD insurance as part of your membership, covering you if you become permanently disabled and unable to work. Average TPD payouts range from $300,000 to $500,000, providing crucial financial support in times of need.
The hidden risk: If you’re unaware of these accounts, you may miss out on insurance cover worth hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time when it is sorely needed.
Your Rights and Things You Must Do
What you're entitled to:
- Access all your super accounts: The ATO must help you locate and claim lost super held in your name, including funds transferred to them.
- Insurance information: Super funds must disclose what insurance you hold, including TPD, income protection, and life insurance.
- Retain cover: You can opt in to keep insurance on inactive accounts by contacting your fund before the 16-month deadline.
Best practice:
- Update your contact details: Tell every super fund as soon as your address, name or phone number changes. There is no fixed deadline, but a fund that cannot reach you can report you to the ATO as a lost member after 12 months without a contribution or rollover.
- Act within 16 months: Make a contribution or rollover to prevent automatic insurance cancellation on inactive accounts (introduced under the Protecting Your Super Package).
- Review consolidation risks: Before combining accounts, verify that you won't lose valuable insurance cover that can't be replaced.
Key deadlines:
- 16 months of inactivity triggers automatic TPD insurance cancellation
- 2 years from permanently ceasing work to lodge the claim with your fund, if you stopped work because of the condition you are claiming for. Miss it and AFCA cannot later review a decision to decline (AFCA Rule B.4.1.1)
- 4 years from the fund's decision to take a declined TPD claim to AFCA, or 6 years if you did not stop work because of that condition
Common Scenarios and Questions
How many super accounts might I have after changing jobs 5+ times?
The short answer: The short answer: ATO data at 30 June 2025 shows around 4 million Australians hold two or more super accounts, while over 14 million hold just one. Changing jobs often is the usual reason people end up with several.
What to do:
- Log in to myGov and link to the ATO to see all of your accounts instantly
- Check for both active accounts and 'lost' or 'inactive' super flagged by the ATO
- Request statements from each fund to verify balances and insurance details
Important note: Each account may have different insurance cover, fees, and investment options. Don't consolidate until you understand the losses you may incur.
How do I check if I have TPD insurance in old super accounts?
The short answer: ATO online services through myGov will tell you which of your accounts has insurance attached, but not what that cover is. To confirm you hold TPD cover, and how much, you have to go to the fund.
What to do:
- Access myGov > ATO > Super > Fund details to list every account the ATO knows about. Note which ones are flagged as having insurance included
- Then go to each of those funds directly to confirm the type of cover, the amount, and whether it is still active. Log in to the fund's own online account, read your annual statement and PDS, or call them
Important note: Some funds show only basic insurance details online. Always call the fund directly to confirm full TPD cover details, especially whether they are labelled as own occupation or any occupation.
What's the 16-month rule and how does it affect my TPD cover?
The short answer: Under the Protecting Your Super legislation, super funds must cancel your insurance if your account receives no contributions or rollovers for 16 consecutive months, unless you elect in writing to keep it. That election is free and does not require you to put any money in, and your fund has to send you warning notices once the account hits 9, 12 and 15 months of inactivity.
What to do:
- Check when your last contribution was made via myGov or fund statements
- Contact your fund immediately and ask for it to be kept running
- Make even a small personal contribution ($20-$50) to reset the 16-month clock
- Set calendar reminders every 15 months to verify accounts remain active
Important note: The rule has applied since 1 July 2019, under section 68AAA of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth). It covers any account that goes 16 months without a contribution or rollover, no matter when it was opened. The separate 1 April 2020 changes deal with something else: they stopped funds giving default cover to new members under 25, or with balances under $6,000.
Will consolidating my super accounts cancel my TPD insurance?
The short answer: Consolidating super accounts often results in automatic cancellation of insurance from closed accounts, and you may not qualify for the same cover in your receiving fund.
What to do:
- Compare insurance cover amounts, definitions, and exclusions across all accounts before consolidating
- Request product disclosure statements showing insurance terms in each fund
- Contact the receiving fund to confirm if you'll qualify for equivalent TPD cover (medical assessments may be required)
- Consider keeping multiple accounts if insurance in one offers better coverage or can't be replaced due to age or health changes
Important note: No fund has to warn you that you are about to lose insurance when you roll money out at your own request. The ATO's own guidance puts it on you to ask. Check with the fund you are leaving about any loss of entitlements, such as insurance, before you start the transfer. Once an account is closed, the cover attached to it stops for the future, so you cannot ring the old fund later and have it switched back on. What does survive is a claim for a disablement that happened while that cover was still in force.
Can I still claim TPD insurance if I didn’t know I had cover when I was injured?
The short answer: Yes, discovering forgotten TPD insurance after injury is common. You can claim if your cover was active on the date of disablement, even if you didn't know it existed.
What to do:
- Again, use myGov and ATO searches to identify all super accounts you held when your injury occurred
- Request insurance status letters from funds showing cover dates and amounts
- Gather medical evidence confirming your permanent disability from doctors and specialists
Important note: 'I didn't know I had insurance' is actually a common and valid situation. Super funds can't deny claims solely because you were unaware of cover, as long as it was active and you meet the TPD definition in the policy.
Can I get help searching for lost super and TPD insurance?
The short answer: Yes, the ATO provides free searches, super funds offer tracing services, and lawyers like Smith's can conduct comprehensive searches linked to potential injury claims.
What to do:
- Start with myGov for immediate results showing all the super accounts the ATO knows about
- Call the ATO on 13 28 65 to request manual searches using your Tax File Number and employment history
- If you cannot search online, send the ATO's paper form, Searching for lost and unclaimed super (NAT 2476), to Australian Taxation Office, PO Box 3578, Albury NSW 2640. ASIC's unclaimed money register will not help here. It covers bank accounts, life insurance policies and shares, not superannuation
- Consider assistance from a legal firm if you've been injured, as lawyers can help identify TPD cover while assessing compensation claims
Important note: A law firm has no access to the ATO's superannuation records beyond the accounts you can see yourself. What we can do is work through the accounts the ATO lists, and chase the funds and their insurers for the cover terms that applied on the date you stopped work. We also follow up old employers and merged funds, which is the part most people find hardest to do alone.
What are the small monthly charges of $20–$40 coming out of my super?
It’s common for people to notice small deductions from their super balance of between $20 and $40 each month.
In many cases, those deductions are insurance premiums, but many people have no idea what they are. A lot of super funds attach insurance cover to your account by default when you join, which can include TPD insurance (Total and Permanent Disability), income protection insurance and death benefit cover.
If there have been regular deductions from your super that you weren’t sure about over an extended period of time, there is a good chance you have insurance you were unaware of.
How to check:
- Log into your super fund's online portal or app and search for an "Insurance" section.
- Call your super fund directly and ask them if you have any insurance attached to your account.
- Check your annual super statement and see if there are insurance premiums listed as a line item.
If you have TPD insurance and are unable to work because of a serious injury or illness, you may be entitled to a lump sum payment that’s separate from your super balance.
WARNING: Do Not Consolidate Your Super Before Checking for Insurance
This is one of the most common and most preventable mistakes we see.
When you roll over or consolidate your super funds into a single account, the insurance attached to each fund isn’t transferred, it’s cancelled. Once a fund is closed, the TPD, income protection and death cover attached to that account stops from that point on. It does not wipe out a claim for a disablement that happened while the cover was still in force, which is a separate question dealt with further down this page.
A recent client was about to consolidate several super funds into one single account, but he was unaware that each of those funds had TPD insurance attached to them. If he had proceeded with the consolidation, he would have lost his insurance cover across all the funds he closed.
Fortunately, our intake team identified this issue and warned him of the danger.
Before you consolidate your super, check every single fund for insurance by calling them to find out. Ensure you do this before making any changes.
We have spoken to several people who ended up accidentally destroying TPD insurance cover worth thousands of dollars by consolidating their super without checking first. In some instances, that insurance could never be replaced because the person was no longer healthy enough to pass underwriting for a new policy.
If you have multiple super funds, do not consolidate them until you have confirmed whether each fund has insurance and if it could be valuable to you.
Also read: What Happens to Your TPD Insurance If You Roll Over or Consolidate Your Super?
Step-by-Step Process to Find Lost Super and TPD
- Link myGov to the ATO - Create a myGov account at my.gov.au if you don't have one, then link it to the Australian Taxation Office using your Tax File Number and personal details. This gives instant access to all super accounts the ATO knows about.
- Check your super accounts online - Navigate to myGov > ATO > Super to view all active, lost, and ATO-held accounts. Note each fund name, member number, balance, and insurance details shown.
- Contact each super fund directly - Call every fund listed to verify insurance status, request statements showing cover dates, and confirm whether TPD insurance is currently active. Get written confirmation.
- Search for older employers - List all employers you've worked for, then contact their payroll or HR departments to identify which super funds received your contributions. Old payslips also show fund details.
- Use the ATO phone service. Call the automated lost super search line on 13 28 65. Have your tax file number, previous names, previous addresses and any fund details to hand. If you need to speak to a person, call the superannuation enquiries line on 13 10 20. If super you expect to see does not show up, it is usually because the details your fund reported do not match the ATO's records. Check and correct your details at both ends.
- Check ATO-held super - If accounts have been inactive for 5+ years, your super may be transferred to the ATO as unclaimed. myGov shows these separately under 'ATO-held superannuation'.
- Consolidate strategically - Before combining accounts, make sure you won’t lose valuable insurance, lower fees, or better investment options. You can request an insurance comparison from your receiving fund.
Documents needed to find lost Super and TPD
- Tax File Number (TFN) - This is essential for all searches for your super accounts through the ATO and myGov. Without it, funds can't confirm your identity or link accounts.
- Employment history - Dates, employer names, and locations help trace super even if you don't remember fund names. Old tax returns should show employer details.
- Identification documents - Driver's licence, passport, or Medicare card for fund verification. Birth certificate if you've changed your name through marriage or for other reasons.
- Previous addresses - Funds use addresses to match lost accounts. List everywhere you've lived, as super may be held under old details.
- Super statements - Any old statements you've kept show fund names, member numbers, and contribution dates. Check old emails for electronic statements.
What If You Don't Have MyGov or Have Never Lodged a Tax Return?
It’s not possible for everyone to search for their super online. This may be because a person has never set up a MyGov account or lodged a tax return.
We recently spoke with a man who had been disabled for 13 years. He worked as a manual labourer at several different jobs over the years, each with a different super fund. He had no MyGov account, no tax file history to search and was unable to use the standard digital pathway.
His situation is more common than people think, but if you cannot use MyGov, you have several other options:
- Send the ATO a paper search request. The form is Searching for lost and unclaimed super (NAT 2476), posted to Australian Taxation Office, PO Box 3578, Albury NSW 2640. Services Australia and Centrelink staff cannot look up ATO superannuation records, so a visit to a Centrelink office will not get you a super search.
- Call the ATO. 13 28 65 is the automated lost super search line and will run a check for you. If you cannot use an automated line, ask for the superannuation enquiries line on 13 10 20 and speak to a person. The ATO holds records of the super accounts your funds have reported against your tax file number, whether or not you have ever lodged a return.
- Ask a family member or support worker for help. If you find it difficult to make phone calls or attend appointments in person, it’s completely fine to ask someone you trust to help you through the process.
The important thing to keep in mind is that not having a MyGov account won’t stop you from finding your super, it just means you need to use a different method.
Legal Framework
Primary legislation: The Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 governs how super funds manage lost members, insurance, and TPD claims. The Protecting Your Super Package (2019) introduced the 16-month inactivity rule to protect members from balance reductions due to insurance fees.
When To Be Extra Cautious
- You receive a letter about insurance cancellation or account consolidation. There is no 28-day clock on these. Your fund must warn you at 9, 12 and 15 months of inactivity, and cover has to stop once the account has been inactive for 16 months, unless you have elected to keep it. So work back from the 16-month date
- Your super account balance is under $6,000 and you haven't received contributions for 14+ months (your insurance may already be cancelled)
- You've been diagnosed with a serious injury or illness that might prevent you from working permanently (search for all possible TPD cover immediately)
- You're approaching 15 months since your last super contribution and want to keep your insurance active
- A fund notifies you that they haven’t been able to contact you or lists you as a 'lost member'
Your Policy at the Time of Injury Is What Matters
It’s more common than you might think for super funds to merge, change names, get bought out and close down. If you had TPD insurance through a fund that no longer exists in its original form, insurance that was active when you became unable to work can still be accessed even if your fund has been absorbed by another provider.
The policy that was in place at the time of your injury or illness is a separate thing altogether, and it does not disappear simply because the fund changed names.
The same applies if you have already withdrawn your super balance or your account balance is zero because TPD insurance is separate from your savings. A zero balance does not mean you have no claim.
Even if you are no longer with a fund, or it has closed, you are able to go back and access the insurance that was in place at the time of your injury or illness. The insurer that held the policy at that time is still liable under the terms of the original contract.
Key points to remember:
- A fund merger or name change does not cancel insurance that was active when you were injured.
- A zero super balance does not affect your right to claim TPD insurance.
- The relevant policy is the one that was active on the date you became unable to work, not the one you have now.
- Even if years have passed, the claim may still be valid.
Also read: Can I Still Claim TPD If I Stopped Working Years Ago?
When to Seek Legal Advice
- You've suffered an injury or illness that prevents you from working and you want to identify all possible TPD cover
- Your super fund denied a TPD claim or cancelled your insurance due to inactivity, without notifying you
- You consolidated accounts and discovered you lost valuable insurance coverage you didn't know about
- You're struggling to locate super from old employers or deceased family members, despite searching extensively
- Your TPD claim is complex, involving multiple funds, work injuries, or questions about whether you meet the 'permanent incapacity' definition
Get Help Now
If you've been injured and suspect you have forgotten TPD insurance in old super accounts, getting early legal advice helps identify all potential cover, understand your claim rights, and protect your entitlements before time limits expire.
Contact Smith's Lawyers:
- Call: 1800 960 482 for a free, no-obligation consultation about lost super and TPD searches
- No upfront costs: We operate on a No Win, No Fee, No Catch® basis for TPD and personal injury claims
- Free super searches: Our team can conduct comprehensive searches while assessing your eligibility for Queensland personal injury compensation and nationwide TPD claims
- Request a callback: Use the form below to have our experienced team contact you to discuss your situation
Our lawyers help clients across Australia locate forgotten superannuation and TPD insurance, particularly those who've suffered injuries in Queensland and may be entitled to both common law compensation and TPD super benefits.
