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Being a Member

Who is a contributor

Contributors comprise current serving members who joined the ADF prior to 1 October 1991 and

  • elected to remain in DFRDB; and
  • retirement pay recipients who have re-entered the ADF full time or on continuous full time service for 12 or more months and have elected, prior to re-entering to again become contributors to DFRDB.

Important: If you are a DFRDB recipient member who does not make a scheme election (MilitarySuper or DFRDB) before re-entering the ADF, you will automatically join MilitarySuper for this and all future periods of service.

For more information please see Re-entering the Australian Defence Force

How much do I Contribute?

As a Scheme Member, you are required to contribute 5.5% of your fortnightly salary for superannuation purposes. Your superannuation salary is the maximum incremental rate of pay for your substantive, provisional or probationary rank and includes any recognised environmental allowance that is payable. Your contributions are paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) and do not earn any interest.

You also have the option to make additional voluntary contributions, known as ancillary contributions, to the Military Superannuation and Benefits Scheme (MSBS).

Contributions after forty years’ service

After 40 years of effective service, you are not permitted to contribute to the Scheme. Should this apply to you, ComSuper will maintain a record of your salary for superannuation purposes, so that when you leave the Defence Force, your benefit is based on your final salary.

Leave without pay (LWOP) provisions

If you go on LWOP for 21 days or less, you must continue to pay contributions.

However, for periods of LWOP that exceed 21 days, you cannot continue to pay contributions, and such periods will be counted as non-effective service. This is significant because your retirement pay is based on your years of effective service.

Discharging

Information about DFRDB options when you leave the full time ADF can be found under Discharging.

Request an Estimate

For details on how to request an estimate of your benefit please see Request an Estimate.

More Information

Links

Customer Service Centre

For information about your superannuation entitlement, the payment of your benefit or about any other superannuation related matter, see the Customer Service Centre.

Publications

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