Modest early take-up of FHSS

The Federal Government’s superannuation-based First Home Super Saver Scheme (FHSS) has experienced relatively modest take-up since it came into effect from 1 July, according to data provided by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

ATO officials have told a recent superannuation industry roadshow that between 1 July and 6 August this year, 1,449 FHSS determinations were made and 592 people requested a release of their FHSS amount.

It said that in the same period, the ATO issued 498 release authorities to super funds totalling $5,341,856.18 and that this equated to an average requested release amount of about $10,727.

The ATO said it had received and processed 185 release authority statements from funds, totalling $2,074,533.15 with 61 applicants having been identified as potential credit offset candidates and 17 financial hardship applications having been lodged.

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It said the hardship provision allowed people to apply for the FHSS scheme if they had lost all property interests as a result of a hardship event including bankruptcy and divorce. Of these applications, eight had been approved and six disallowed.