The average superannuation member fund that used the early access to super scheme twice has taken out $15,854, according Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) data.
APRA data found the average initial application amount was $7,402 and the average repeat application was $8,452.
APRA data has showed that applications for the hardship scheme has tapered off with 59,000 applications over the week to 23 August, a drop from 70,000 the previous week.
Over the week, 35,000 were initial applications and 24,000 were repeat applications. This has brought the total number of initial applications to 3.1 million and repeat applications to 1.2 million since the start of the scheme.
The total amount paid is now at a total of $32.2 billion with 10 funds accounting for $21.2 billion.
The top 10 funds that had paid out the most were AustralianSuper ($4.48 billion), Sunsuper (3.26 billion), REST (2.96 billion), Hostplus ($2.8 billion), Cbus ($2.06 billion), HESTA ($1.6 billion), Retirement Wrap ($1.5 billion), MLC Super Fund ($1.91 billion), and Retirement Portfolio Services ($983.6 million).
Vanguard Super has reported strong returns across most of its investment options, attributed to a “low-cost, index-based approach”.
The fund has achieved double-digit returns amid market volatility, reinforcing the value of long-term investment strategies for its members.
Australian super funds notched a third consecutive year of strong returns, with the median balanced option delivering an estimated 10.1 per cent over the 2024-25 financial year, but an economist has warned that the rally may be harder to sustain as key risks gather pace.
AustralianSuper has reported a 9.52 per cent return for its Balanced super option for the 2024–25 financial year, as markets delivered another year of strong performance despite the complex investing environment.