Lost Super Australia: How to Find & Consolidate for Free (Don't Pay a Third Party)
There's $18.9 billion in lost super in Australia. Yours might be part of it. Here's how to find and consolidate old super accounts for free through myGov — never pay a company to do this.
How much lost super is out there?
As of mid-2025, there is approximately $18.9 billion in lost and unclaimed superannuation in Australia. The average lost amount is around $3,000 per account, but some accounts hold significantly more. Super becomes 'lost' when your fund cannot contact you — typically because you changed address, changed your name, or simply forgot about a fund from a previous job. Super becomes 'unclaimed' when your account has been inactive for a long period and no contributions have been received. The ATO holds unclaimed super centrally and can reunite it with your active account. The average Australian has 1.4 super accounts, and each additional account means additional fees, insurance premiums, and administrative charges eating into your balance. Consolidating to a single account can save hundreds of dollars per year in duplicate fees alone, plus simplify your financial life.
How to find your lost super for free (step by step)
This is completely free through the ATO — never pay a company to do this for you. Step 1: Go to my.gov.au and sign in. Link the ATO to your myGov account if you have not already. Step 2: Select Australian Taxation Office, then Super from the top menu, then Fund details. This page shows every super account linked to your Tax File Number — including accounts you may have forgotten about. Step 3: Review the list. You may see accounts from old employers, funds that have been merged or renamed, or ATO-held super (unclaimed amounts the ATO is holding on your behalf). Step 4: Note the fund names, balances, and any account numbers shown. Step 5: To consolidate, you can either use the Transfer super button directly in myGov (available for most funds) to move money into your chosen fund, or contact each fund separately and request a rollover to your preferred fund using the fund's USI (Unique Superannuation Identifier). The ATO online process is usually completed within 3-5 business days.
Warning: never pay a company to find your super
There are businesses that charge fees — sometimes hundreds of dollars — to 'find' your lost super. They use the exact same ATO system you can access for free. Some charge a percentage of the super they find, which can be thousands of dollars for doing something that takes you 10 minutes on myGov. Some of these services are legitimate businesses offering a convenience, but many use aggressive marketing to make you think the process is complicated or that they have special access. They do not. The ATO provides this service completely free of charge. The only tool you need is a myGov account linked to the ATO — which you should have anyway for tax returns. If someone contacts you claiming they have found your lost super and asking for personal details or fees, treat it as a scam. The ATO will never call you to ask for personal information or payment.
Before you consolidate: things to check
Before rolling all your super into one account, consider a few things. Insurance: many super funds include life insurance, total and permanent disability (TPD) insurance, and income protection insurance. When you close an account, you lose that insurance cover. If you have a health condition that developed after the insurance started, you may not be able to get equivalent cover in your remaining fund. Check what insurance each account provides before consolidating. Fees: compare the fees of your different funds. Some funds charge a percentage of your balance, others a flat fee, and some have no fees at all for accounts under certain thresholds. The cheapest fund is not always the best — investment returns matter more over the long term. Defined benefit schemes: if you have a defined benefit account (common in government, universities, and large corporates), do not roll it out without getting financial advice. Defined benefit accounts often provide guaranteed retirement incomes that are extremely valuable and cannot be replicated. Employer contributions: make sure your current employer is contributing to the fund you want to keep. Provide them with your chosen fund's details using a Standard Choice Form.
What happens to unclaimed super held by the ATO?
When super is unclaimed for an extended period, funds transfer it to the ATO. The ATO holds it and attempts to proactively reunite it with your active super account. Since 2019, the ATO has been automatically consolidating small, inactive, low-balance accounts (under $6,000 with no contributions for 16 months) into your active fund. This means some consolidation may already be happening without you needing to do anything. However, larger balances and accounts the ATO cannot automatically match still require you to log in and claim them. Super held by the ATO earns interest at the CPI rate (inflation), which is typically lower than returns earned in a super fund — so there is a genuine cost to leaving money sitting with the ATO. If you think you have super from a very old employer or a fund that no longer exists, the ATO is the best starting point as successor funds are required to report all transfers.
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General information and estimates only — not legal, financial, or tax advice. Always verify with the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) or a qualified professional.
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