The Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law, Senator the Hon Nick Sherry, today announced the release of regulations which introduce a new condition of release for persons suffering from terminal medical conditions.
"Under the previous early release rules, persons in this situation who continued working faced restrictions on the amount of benefits they could access. The new condition of release will give persons with terminal medical conditions unrestricted access to their superannuation benefits," Minister Sherry said.
This change complements the Government's related measure, contained in the Tax Laws Amendment (2008 Measures No. 1) Bill 2008 which was introduced into the House of Representatives on 13 February, to make superannuation lump sum payments tax free where paid to persons suffering from terminal medical conditions.
The details of the new condition of release are contained in the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Amendment Regulations 2008 (No. 1) which can be viewed on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments website at www.comlaw.gov.au.