The ATO approved $1,456.7 million of super for early release on compassionate grounds in 2025-26, according to statistics it published on 22 October 2026. Applications fell slightly, but the dollar total rose. For anyone carrying a loan, the more useful detail sits in the ATO's rules on borrowed money: super can sometimes repay a loan used for an eligible expense, but never its interest or fees, and only once you show you cannot repay or refinance it.
This is general information, not financial or tax advice.
Compassionate release of super in 2025-26: the numbers
From the ATO's applications received and approved tables, last updated 22 October 2026:
- Applications received: 109,600, down from 112,400 in 2024-25.
- Applications approved: 64,600, down from 67,900. The ATO's 22 October media release describes this as a 5% decrease.
- Amount approved: $1,456.7 million, up from $1,416.0 million.
- People: 60,900 individuals approved, out of 80,800 who applied.
Our arithmetic from the same table: about 59% of applications were approved in 2025-26 (64,600 of 109,600), and the amount approved averages roughly $23,900 per approved person. That average covers very different cases, so it is not a typical release. The ATO also notes it holds no data on amounts actually paid out, because super funds make the payments.
Where the money went
Medical treatment and medical transport accounted for $1,416.3 million, about 97% of the total. The ATO's medical reasons tables show dental treatment approvals of $869.2 million for acute or chronic pain, $11.4 million for a life-threatening illness or injury and $11.0 million for an acute or chronic mental illness. Together that is about $892 million, or roughly 61% of all compassionate release approved in 2025-26 (our sum of the ATO's rounded figures).
In its media release, the ATO says it remains concerned about health practitioners and third-party facilitators who push people to access super inappropriately, and that since 1 July 2025 it has started more than 160 reviews and audits, imposing penalties of over $1.5 million. Its medical treatment page says it can only approve what is "absolutely necessary to treat the eligible condition", even if you would prefer a higher-cost option with cosmetic benefits, and that fees charged by a third party to prepare your application are not eligible.
The last resort rule comes before your super
The ATO's eligibility conditions list five conditions you must meet. Condition 4 says early access is "a last resort that should only be considered after all other financing alternatives have been exhausted", and you may be asked for evidence of the alternatives you explored. Other ways of paying, including borrowing, are part of the ATO's question before your super is.
Whether a loan suits a medical bill depends on your own budget. If you are weighing one, compare offers on the comparison rate and test the repayment against your real spending, as our guide to household expenses and loan applications explains. Our personal loans page sets out how unsecured loans work.
Already borrowed for treatment? Repaying a loan from super
The ATO's borrowed amounts page, last updated 30 October 2026, covers money borrowed from family or friends, commercial lenders, credit cards and pay later services. To have super released to repay a borrowed amount, you must meet all of its conditions. These include that the money was borrowed for, and used on, an eligible expense, that some of it is still owed, and that you do not have the financial capacity to repay it on the terms you agreed to or to get a full or partial replacement loan.
Two limits matter most for borrowers:
- Interest and fees are excluded. Interest, administrative fees and penalties charged on the borrowed amount cannot be released.
- Credit card repayments reduce the amount. The ATO can only approve the expense amount less any repayments made to the card after the payment date. If those repayments exceed the cost of the expense, nothing can be approved.
A worked illustration of the credit card rule (our example, not an ATO case): an $8,000 eligible dental bill is paid by credit card, and $3,000 is repaid to that card afterwards. The most the ATO could consider is $5,000, the $8,000 expense less the $3,000 of later repayments, and any interest the card has charged is excluded. If $8,000 or more had been repaid to the card since, no amount could be approved.
For a commercial loan, the ATO asks for the loan contract, showing the loan's purpose (or a letter from the lender confirming it), loan statements from the start of the loan to the date you apply, and a statutory declaration. If you finance a treatment, keep the quote, the invoice and the loan papers together from the start. If you used a pay later service, our guide to buy now pay later and loan applications explains how those accounts can show up when you borrow.
Mortgage arrears: why so few releases are approved
Preventing the foreclosure or forced sale of a home is a separate category. In 2025-26 the ATO received 10,500 applications and approved 860, about 8% (our arithmetic), for a total of $16.6 million.
The ATO's foreclosure page requires that the property is your home, that you are legally responsible for the repayments, that you have written advice such as a default notice from your mortgage lender, and that you have no capacity to pay an amount to prevent the foreclosure. Within a 12-month period, the release is capped at 3 months of repayments plus 12 months of interest on the outstanding balance. The ATO's own example: $1,200 monthly repayments and $9,600 of annual interest give a maximum of $13,200. The ATO also says that if you don't have enough funds to prevent the foreclosure, it will not approve any release.
Asking your lender about hardship options is a separate route that does not touch your super. Our guide on how to ask your lender for hardship help covers that conversation for car loans.
Tax and government payments
The ATO's media release says approved amounts withdrawn "may be taxable and increase reportable income, which could affect eligibility for government payments such as the Family Tax Benefit." If you receive family payments, check that effect before you apply.
A checklist before using super for a medical bill or a debt
- Confirm the treatment is not readily available through the public health system, one of the ATO's medical treatment conditions.
- Write down the other ways of paying you considered, because the ATO may ask for that evidence.
- Get an itemised quote that covers only the treatment that is necessary.
- If you have already borrowed, keep the loan contract, statements and card statements, and remember that interest and fees cannot be released.
- Be wary of businesses advertising easy access to super. The ATO says some arrangements use short online consultations and templates to streamline applications, and false or misleading statements attract penalties.
- Weigh the retirement cost: money released now no longer stays invested in your super.
For the wider early access rules, see our guide on whether you can use your super to buy a car. For how super fits with borrowing more generally, read our super guide for borrowers, or compare lender profiles when you are ready to look at finance.
