Salary sacrifice for police
what it saves, and how much room you have

When you salary sacrifice, payroll sends part of your pay to your super fund before income tax is worked out. You pay no income tax on that amount. Instead, the fund deducts 15% contributions tax when the money arrives. For most constables and sergeants the marginal rate on the last dollar is 30% plus the 2% Medicare levy, so the gap is 17 cents in every dollar.

The catch is that the money is preserved. For anyone born after 30 June 1964 that generally means until you're 60 and retired, or 65. If you need the cash for a deposit, a car or debts, salary sacrifice is the wrong tool. Our guide to preservation age and access covers the limited early-release rules.

Every instrument we read allows salary sacrifice to super. The detail differs: which salary counts, whether you can choose the fund, and what happens to your employer contributions. Here's each one, from the clause itself.

For the full scheme details in your state, see the force guides: NSW police super, Victoria Police super, Queensland police super, WA police super and AFP super.

If you're in a defined benefit scheme, your employer doesn't pay a set percentage into an account in your name. The ATO instead counts notional taxed contributions: a figure your fund calculates to represent what the employer would have paid. It counts towards your concessional cap even though you can't see it or change it.

Victoria is the big one, because the ESSS Defined Benefit Fund is still open to operational police and PSOs. Your benefit depends on the member contribution rate you choose, from 0% to 7% after tax. You can make the same contribution before tax instead, at a higher rate that allows for contributions tax.

The closed schemes work the same way for cap purposes: NSW's PSS and SASS, QSuper's Police account, SA's pre-1990 police pension scheme and the Commonwealth CSS and PSS schemes held by older AFP members. Our guide to defined benefit vs accumulation explains the two models side by side.

This table subtracts employer super from the cap at common pay points, using the current pay table for each force. It uses base salary (or base plus the 22% Core Composite for rostered AFP officers, because the composite counts for AFP super). If your loading or allowances also attract super, your room is smaller.

At 12%, employer contributions alone don't reach the cap until a salary of about $270,833, so most NSW, WA, SA, Tasmanian and NT officers below Superintendent have room. Queensland officers hit it at about Inspector. AFP members on the composite hit it sooner than their base salary suggests, because 15.4% is paid on base plus 22%.

If your total super balance was under $500,000 on 30 June 2026, you can use unused concessional cap from up to five earlier years in 2026-27. Unused amounts are used oldest first and expire after five years, so 2026-27 is the last year you can use any unused 2021-22 cap.

1. 1

   Check your total super balance

   Eligibility

   It must have been under $500,000 at 30 June of the previous year, across all your accounts. Defined benefit interests are valued by your fund.

2. 2

   Look up your carry-forward amount

   myGov

   myGov (linked to the ATO) shows unused cap for each year. Don't rely on your own maths: notional contributions for DB members can surprise you.

3. 3

   Decide how to use it

   Method

   Increase salary sacrifice for the rest of the year, or make a personal contribution and claim a tax deduction (lodge a notice of intent with your fund first).

Carry-forward is most useful in a year your income jumps, such as when a pay deal's back pay lands or you're promoted, because the deduction is worth more at a higher marginal rate. It also suits officers returning from parental leave or part-time work, who will often have unused cap from those years.

These examples use the current pay tables and 2026-27 resident tax rates, including the Medicare levy and the low income tax offset. The "cost" is how much your annual take-home pay falls. The "into super" figure is the sacrifice after 15% contributions tax.

The NSW Senior Constable keeps a 32% marginal rate after sacrificing, so every dollar sacrificed saves 17 cents of tax. The AFP Band 7.3 example shows the cap squeeze: with 15.4% employer super on $161,266, only about $7,665 of cap room is left, so a $10,000 sacrifice would go over.

Salary sacrifice turns 68 cents of take-home pay into 85 cents of super for most police officers.

The 68 cents comes from the 32% marginal rate: a dollar of pay is 68 cents after tax, or 85 cents in super. Model your own figures with the salary sacrifice field in the take-home pay calculator.

Officers with expensive debt, such as credit cards or personal loans, usually get a better return paying those off first. And if you're likely to resign and need cash, remember sacrificed super stays put. Read resigning from the police for what happens to each scheme when you leave.

If your income plus concessional contributions exceeds $250,000, the ATO charges an extra 15% on contributions above the line, so they're taxed at 30% instead of 15%. Income here includes overtime, allowances, back pay and reportable fringe benefits, such as an electric car on a novated lease.

Your payslip will show a lower taxable salary and less tax withheld. Your income statement at year end reports the sacrificed amount as reportable employer super contributions. That figure is added back for some tests, including HELP repayment income and the income tests for several government payments.

If you're preparing to buy, run your numbers through the borrowing power calculator both ways and ask the lender directly. Our police home loans guide explains how lenders treat allowances and overtime. None of this is credit or financial advice.

1. 1

   Find your cap room

   Step 1

   Check your employer super on a recent payslip or your fund statement, multiply to a full year and subtract it from $32,500. Add carry-forward if eligible.

2. 2

   Pick an amount you won't miss

   Step 2

   A fixed amount per fortnight is easiest. $100 a fortnight is $2,600 a year. Leave a buffer for overtime months and pay rises.

3. 3

   Complete the form before the pay period

   Step 3

   Salary sacrifice only works on pay you haven't yet earned. NSW's award (cl 8.4) says the election must be made before the service period starts.

4. 4

   Check the first payslip and your fund

   Step 4

   Confirm the sacrifice comes out before tax, and that employer super hasn't dropped. Then confirm the fund received it as a concessional contribution.

5. 5

   Review each July and after promotion

   Step 5

   Pay rises lift employer super and shrink your room. Promotion to Inspector in Queensland or the AFP can take you to the cap on its own.

This is general information, not financial advice. Your fund, your police association and a licensed financial adviser can look at your whole position, including insurance inside super, which some officers rely on heavily. See police TPD and income protection.