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In the run-up to retirement, putting some extra money into your super can be a sensible idea. The same goes if you’re lucky enough to receive an inheritance or sell a large asset.
Not only will it give your retirement savings a boost, but when you withdraw super in retirement phase the income is generally tax free.
However, the contribution caps (or limits) can make it tricky to get a large amount of after-tax money into your super account in a single year. One solution is to use a bring-forward arrangement.
What is a bring-forward arrangement?
Although it sounds complicated, bring-forward contributions are just what they sound like. You can automatically bring forward your non-concessional contributions caps (or limits) from future years to contribute more than the non-concessional cap during a financial year without generating excessive contributions and paying additional tax.
Bring-forward arrangements are different from carry-forward contributions, which involve using previously unused concessional (before-tax) contributions cap amounts on a rolling five-year basis. Bring-forward arrangements, on the other hand, involve non-concessional contributions.
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The annual non-concessional (after-tax) contributions cap is $120,000 in 2025-26.
A bring-forward arrangement is triggered automatically if you are eligible and you contribute more than the annual non-concessional cap in a single financial year. Once you trigger a bring-forward arrangement, you have a bring-forward period, which usually lasts three financial years including the year you triggered the arrangement.
When the rule is triggered, your bring-forward amount is set. This is three times the annual cap for a three-year arrangement. If you do not contribute more than your bring-forward amount during your bring-forward period, you will not generate excessive contributions and will not need to pay additional tax.
For example, you could contribute three times the cap in the first year and make no further contributions in the second and third year. Alternatively, you could contribute one and a half times the cap in the first year and spread the remaining amount over the two following years.
If your total superannuation balance was higher than $2 million on the previous 30 June, your non-concessional cap is zero and you cannot use the bring-forward rule.
Who is eligible to use a bring-forward arrangement?
If you want to use the bring-forward rules, you need to check you meet all of the three eligibility criteria before you make your contribution:
Eligibility criteria 1: Age
If you are under 75 years of age at any time in the financial year you may be able to make non-concessional contributions of up to three times the annual general non-concessional cap in that financial year. You must be under age 75 for at least one day during the triggering year (the first year) and not already be in an active bring-forward period. When you turn 75, you legally have up to 28 days after the end of the month in which you turn 75 to make your contribution, although some super funds apply stricter time limits.
You don’t need to be working to make non-concessional contributions and use the bring-forward rule, regardless of your age. That means it is available to everyone under 75, including retirees.
Eligibility criteria 2: Total Superannuation Balance (TSB)
To make any non-concessional contribution (that is not an excessive contribution), your total superannuation balance (TSB) must be less than $2 million on 30 June of the financial year before the one in which you want to make your contribution. From 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2025 the limit was $1.9 million.
From 1 July 2025, if your TSB is $1.76 million or more on 30 June of the previous financial year, you are limited in the available amount of bring-forward contributions you can make.
Available bring-forward contribution amounts for 2025–26
| Your Total Superannuation Balance on 30 June 2025 | Your available contribution amount and bring-forward period |
|---|---|
| Less than $1.76m | 3 years of caps ($120,000 x 3 = $360,000) 3 years bring-forward period |
| $1.76m to less than $1.88m | 2 years of caps ($120,000 x 2 = $240,000) 2 years bring-forward period |
| $1.88m to less than $2m | 1 year of cap ($120,000 x 1 = $120,000) No bring-forward, general non-concessional contributions cap applies |
| $2 million or more | Nil |
The remaining cap for the second or third year of a bring-forward arrangement is reduced to nil for a financial year if your total super balance is greater than or equal to the general transfer balance cap (currently $2 million) on 30 June of the prior financial year.
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For example, if your total super balance was $1.75 million on 30 June 2025 and you trigger a bring-forward arrangement in 2025–26 you will have access to a three-year bring-forward arrangement. However, if your total super balance on 30 June 2026 is higher than $2 million, you will have a non-concessional cap of zero for the 2026–27 year (assuming the transfer balance cap has not increased). In this case, you will not be able to make non-concessional contributions without exceeding the contribtuion cap in the second year of your bring-forward arrangement. Whether contributions are permitted in the third year will depend on your total super balance on 30 June 2027 and the transfer balance cap for 2027–28.
Eligibility criteria 3: Triggering a bring-forward arrangement
If you want to commence a bring-forward arrangement in a particular financial year, you must not have already triggered a bring-forward arrangement in a previous year and be in what the ATO terms an ‘active bring-forward period’.
You are automatically considered to be in an active bring-forward period if you contribute more than the annual general non-concessional contributions cap in a single financial year ($120,000 in 2025–26).
It’s possible to accidentally trigger a bring-forward arrangement without realising it. Before making personal contributions into your super account, consider all the contributions you have made to all your super funds, as excess concessional (before-tax) contributions you have not withdrawn from super are also counted towards your non-concessional contributions cap.
How do I start a bring-forward arrangement?
Starting a bring-forward arrangement is easy.
You don’t need to notify your super fund or the ATO, or even fill in an application, as your super fund automatically reports all your contributions to the ATO.
If you are eligible to make non-concessional contributions and you contribute more than the annual general cap in one financial year ($120,000 in 2025–26), you automatically gain access to your future years of contributions caps. This is referred to as triggering the bring-forward rules.
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