Superannuation
Bring-Forward Rule
A superannuation rule that lets eligible people bring forward up to three years of non-concessional (after-tax) contribution caps into a single multi-year period. It usually applies when you contribute more than the annual non-concessional cap in one year: instead of being limited to that year's cap alone, you can open a bring-forward window and use those years' caps as one combined pool.
How many years you can bring forward - one, two, or three - depends on how much room you have under the general transfer balance cap, measured in multiples of that year's annual non-concessional cap, based on your total super balance as at the prior 30 June. For example, if the annual non-concessional cap is $130,000 and you are $150,000 below the transfer balance cap, you have more than one year's cap of room but not more than two, so you can open a two-year bring-forward window - not three. If you only had $100,000 of room, you would be limited to a single year's cap (no multi-year bring-forward). If your total super balance has already reached the transfer balance cap, you generally cannot make further non-concessional contributions at all. In short, the available window is limited so you cannot unlock more years of after-tax contributions than your remaining room under the transfer balance cap would support.
Room is measured in multiples of that year's annual non-concessional cap, based on your total super balance as at the prior 30 June. The tiers below use "years of room" so they stay useful when the dollar cap changes.
Room
At the transfer balance cap
Generally cannot make further non-concessional contributions
Bring-forward access
No access
Room
Less than 1 year of room
Limited to that year's annual non-concessional cap - no multi-year bring-forward
Bring-forward access
1-year only
Room
At least 1 year, less than 2 years of room
Trigger year plus one following year
Bring-forward access
2-year window
Room
At least 2 years of room
Trigger year plus two following years
Bring-forward access
3-year window
You don't need to apply for or opt into the bring-forward rule. If you are eligible, it is triggered automatically when your non-concessional contributions exceed the annual cap for that year. Once triggered, the window is locked in: both the number of years available and the combined period cap are fixed based on the annual cap and your eligibility when the window starts. Later indexation of the annual cap during those years does not increase the pool you already opened.
A three-year bring-forward is easy to misread. It means the year you trigger the rule plus two following years - that is, this year and two extra years - not three additional years on top of the current one. Once open, contributions across that window draw down against the fixed period pool until it is used up. For a full three-year window at today's $130,000 annual cap, that fixed pool is $390,000 (3 × $130,000). Eligibility also depends on factors such as being under 75.
Combined period pool (fixed at trigger)
$390,000
3 × $130,000 annual non-concessional cap - locked when the window opens. Later indexation of the annual cap does not increase this pool.
Year 1
Trigger year
Window opens when you exceed the annual cap
Year 2
Following year
Still draws from the same fixed pool
Year 3
Final year
Window ends; unused pool does not roll on
A three-year window means the trigger year plus two following years - not three extra years on top of the current one. Contributions across all three years draw down against the $390,000 pool until it is used up.
For the official rules, current caps, and bring-forward details, see the ATO's non-concessional contributions cap page.
Related terms
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