I see the question around the withdrawal of KiwiSaver funds come up time and time again. There’s a lot of misinformation about withdrawing your KiwiSaver funds to help buy a property in Australia. This blog will set the record straight!
As a NZer residing in Australia you are able to transfer your KiwiSaver funds to an eligible super fund and withdraw some of these funds to put toward the purchase of your first home in Australia.
Here’s a rundown of the rules:
- You must transfer your KiwiSaver funds to an eligible super fund provider (First Super, Brighter Super, Testra Super, or Verve Super).
- You must be resident in Australia with a Tax File Number (TFN).
- You must transfer all of your KiwiSaver (no partial transfers).
- You can only withdraw a maximum of AUD$15,000 from your transferred funds.
- You must obtain a “Determination” from the ATO approving the withdrawal.
- You must be buying your first home in Australia (it doesn’t matter if you own/have owned property in NZ).
- You must arrange the ATO determination and release of funds BEFORE you settle a property purchase.
- No price caps or income caps affect eligibility.
Banks consider KiwiSaver withdrawal (under the First Home Super Saver scheme) to be “genuine savings”. This is particularly important to those home buyers relying on the Government 5% Deposit Scheme.
You can withdraw up to AUD$15,000 per person. So, if there are two of you, each with at least $15k in your transferred KiwiSavers, you can withdraw AUD$30,000.
The process:
- Contact one of the eligible super fund providers. Set up an account and tell them you will transfer your KiwiSaver funds from NZ.
- Contact your KiwiSaver provider in NZ. Tell them you are withdrawing and transferring to Australia.
- Once the funds have been transferred, contact the ATO to request a determination under the FHSS rules.
- After you have a FHSS determination, request a release. The funds will be sent to your nominated bank account.
You must use these funds toward the purchase of your home within 12 months. Expect the whole process to take 4 to 6 weeks.