• Employer contributions
• Government restrictions
• Salary sacrifice
• Member after-tax
• Payments using a manual contribution advice form
• Payments using HESTA's payroll and online options
• Payroll 
• Spreadsheet
• Computer printout
• Super FileManager
• Minimum data requirements for all options
  
  

HESTA can accept a range of contributions from employers and members.  These are outlined below.

Employer contributions

As a complying super fund, HESTA can accept employer contributions that satisfy Superannuation Guarantee (SG) legislation, workplace agreement obligations or award requirements. 

Employers can claim a full deduction for all contributions to super funds made on behalf of their employees under age 75.

Employer contributions (including salary sacrifice) for employees are subject to annual caps (in 2008/08, $50,000 or if over age 55, $100,000). Contributions in excess of the caps are subject to extra tax, imposed on the employee.

Employer contributions are concessional contributions.  They should be listed in the employer column of your Contribution advice form.

Back to top

Government restrictions

If you are required to make employer super contributions under an award or certified industrial agreement, HESTA may accept those contributions irrespective of the employee's age.

SG legislation covers employees up to age 70, and super funds are not allowed to accept non-award/agreement employer super contributions (including salary sacrifice) for employees over age 75. See the table below for details, or for more information refer to Your health and community services industry super fund Product Disclosure Statement or visit www.ato.gov.au

Employees are permitted to make after-tax (non-concessional) extra contributions until age 75, subject to certain work-related requirements. The government applies a $150,000 cap to after-tax contributions, with people under age 65 entitled to bring forward entitlements to pay up to $450,000 in one year. Contributions in excess of the cap will be taxed at the top marginal rate. Government limits are based on the date funds receive contributions, not the pay period they relate to. Read  Your health and community services industry super fund Product Disclosure Statement  for more information.

Back to top
 

Salary sacrifice (pre-tax)

Salary sacrifice is an arrangement between an employer and employee by which the employee consents to reduce their gross salary by a nominated amount, and the employer uses this amount to increase their super contributions for the employee.

Most employees entering a salary sacrifice arrangement expect the employer to continue making award or SG contributions based on their pre-sacrifice salary. 

Salary sacrifice amounts are concessional contributions. They must be listed in the salary sacrifice column of your Contribution advice form.

Member after-tax (non-concessional) contributions

HESTA accepts after-tax contributions (called non-concessional contributions) from members to their super accounts.

Members can make their own after-tax contributions to their account at no cost (subject to government regulation) by:

• regular pay deductions - employers may offer this through payroll deduction
• regular deductions from their bank account
• making deposits to their account via BPay (members should contact us for the biller ID and reference number).

Member after-tax contributions may also attract a governement co-contribution . 

Member after-tax contributions should be listed in the member (after-tax) column of your Contribution advice form.

Government caps apply to non-concessional contributions, as well as concessional contributions.  Refer to www.ato.gov.au/super for more information. 

Back to top

Payments using a manual contribution advice form

Step 1 

Check the Contribution advice to see if any changes need to be made.

• If YES, go to STEP 2
• If NO, go to STEP 3
  

Step 2 

Update the Contribution advice by making any adjustments.

For example, you may need to:

• add new members
• delete terminated members and note the date and reason they left your employment
• make any other changes, e.g. name, commencement of parental leave, provide TFN

It’s important you notify HESTA of any member taking parental leave (ie maternity, paternity or adoptive leave), prior to the leave commencing. Your notification means the member may be eligible to receive up to 12 months' free insurance cover, but only after you notify HESTA that your employee has commenced leave.

Step 3 

Record for each employee how many weeks' contribution the payment represents. 

This is normally four, five or six weeks for full/part-time members. This may vary for new or terminated members.

Step 4

Record the amount being paid for each employee on the Contribution advice.

Step 5 

Check that member after-tax contributions (non-concessional) and salary sacrifice contributions (concessional) are in the correct column.

Step 6 

Subtotal the contributions for each column, including contributions for new employees, to obtain the grand total.

Step 7 

Write a cheque payable to 'HESTA Super Fund' for the required amount.

Write your HESTA employer number on the back of the cheque and attach the cheque to the form.

Step 8 

Post to reach HESTA by the 14th of every month:

• the Contribution advice form
• the cheque, AND
• any New member application forms your new employees have been completed (together with their TFN).

Send to: HESTA, PO Box 600, Carlton South, Vic 3053

If you have any problems completing your Contribution advice , free call 1800 813 327 for help.

Back to top

Payments using HESTA's payroll and online options

Employer Online

An online help facility is available to take you through the following process. You can also email enquiries by selecting the 'Contact us' menu option .

Step 1

In the employers section, click on the 'Employer Online Login' prompt. You will need to enter your User ID and password.

You need to register prior to using our internet service for the first time: contact HESTA on free call 1800 813 327 or download the form here .

Step 2 

Move the cursor over 'Contributions' and select 'Contribution advice'. Enter the contribution amount for that month for each employee. 

You can update contributions during the month and save the information until you are ready to submit your completed Contribution advice .

Step 3

Update your employee records. 

You can add new employees to the Contribution advice by clicking on the 'Add' button and completing the following mandatory fields: 

• employee's full name
• date of birth
• address
• state
• postcode
• suburb
• TFN (from their TFN declaration form).

To show that a member's employment has been terminated, complete the relevant fields on the Contribution advice making sure you enter the date and code for the termination.  To update their details click on the employee's name.

Terminated employees may be reinstated at a later stage if required.

Step 4 

When the Contribution advice is completed, click on the 'Submit' button.

Once submitted, the payment screen is displayed. This shows the totals for employer and member contributions. You will need to select one of the following payment methods:

• direct debit: the payment will be automatically debited from your bank account
• EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer): you need to make a separate payment through your bank.

If you select EFT, it is important to quote your employer number on your EFT payment to ensure the funds are credited to your account.

• BPay: your reference number will be displayed after you submit the payment and choose BPay. 

Step 5 

You will be issued with a remittance advice for your transaction.

You can print this screen for your reference. A reference number will be supplied and can be quoted in correspondence if required.

You need to register to pay by direct debit. Contact us on 1800 813 327 for a form.

Note: tax file numbers

If we don't hold your employee's TFN, an additonal 31.5% tax will apply to employer contributions (including salary sacrifice) and we are not permitted to accept their after-tax contributions.

Back to top 

Payroll transfer

Step 1

Contact us on free call 1800 813 327 and we will discuss your best options given the payroll system or the payroll services provider you use.

Step 2

Send us a test file and we will advise you if any changes are required.

Step 3

After receiving confirmation that your payroll is compatible, run your end of month payroll file.

Step 4

Send your fully-formatted payroll file to HESTA either by email or disk. You can send your payment by EFT or cheque.

Back to top

Spreadsheet

Step 1 

Request an employer spreadsheet by contacting us on free call 1800 813 327. This is pre-populated with your employees' details.

Step 2

Confirm the details, save the file in the special CSV format, and send the test file back for registration and confirmation the file can go live.

Step 3 

After receiving confirmation that your file is OK, update your next Contribution advice using the spreadsheet.

Step 4 

Once all changes have been made, save your spreadsheet as a CSV file and forward it to HESTA either by email (hesta@hesta.com.au) or disk. You can send your payment by EFT or cheque.

Back to top

Computer printout

Step 1 

Print out your payroll data. This option is only available if the printout includes the information detailed here.

Step 2 

Send the printout to HESTA by post with your cheque.  Please ensure your employer name and HESTA employer number are on the printout.

Back to top

Minimum data requirements for all options

• member name
• member address
• member date of birth
• payment amounts to members (shown separately for each payment type, eg. employer agreed, salary sacrifice and member after-tax extra contributions)
• member number or unique Payroll ID
• payroll period end date
• HESTA employer number

Additional information that must be sent manually if it is not included in the file is:

• member TFN (if provided)
• termination date
• termination reason code
• employer name with file