Dependants

People who qualify as your dependants for superannuation purposes under Commonwealth law may be nominated as your beneficiary/s, as follows:

Your spouse:

  • a person who is legally married to you, or
  • a person (whether of the same sex or different sex) with whom you are in a relationship that is registered on a relationship register of a State or Territory, or
  • a de facto spouse (whether of the same sex or a different sex).

Your children including:

  • your spouse's children (see meaning of spouse above) 
  • adopted, step and ex-nuptial children
  • your children within the Family Law Act 1975 (eg children under surrogate arrangements).

Your other dependants:

  • a person whom the Trustee considers was financially dependent on you at the time of your death, or
  • a person with whom you have an interdependency relationship.

Someone you have an interdependency relationship with means a person with whom you:

  • live, and
  • have a close relationship, and
  • provide financial support (or they provide financial support to you), and
  • provide domestic support and personal care (or they provide domestic support and personal care to you).

An interdependency relationship can also occur where two people have a close personal relationship, but the other requirements are not satisfied because either or both of them suffer from a physical, intellectual or psychiatric disability. In most cases, your parents and siblings are not considered to be your dependants, unless they are financially dependent on you or they are in an interdependency relationship with you.

Your legal personal representative:

  • The executor or administrator of your estate. If you nominate a legal personal representative to receive your super benefit in the event of your death, the legal personal representative will distribute your benefit according to your will, even if the beneficiaries under your will are not dependants.

Click here for the form to nominate a dependant(s) for your death benefit: