Can I get insurance in super if I'm self-employed or have no employer?

Most automatic cover is built around employees. If your only contributions come from you, the answer changes fund by fund.

What the funds do

We read each fund's guide for people who join directly, not through an employer. The usual conditions still apply: 25 or older, a balance of at least $6,000, and under the fund's upper age limit.

Automatic cover without an employer:

• Hostplus: automatic Death and TPD, with no employer contribution needed. Cover is restricted at first unless you've had an employer contribution or new job in the previous 120 days, plus 30 days in active employment.
• Australian Ethical: automatic Death and TPD at 25 to 66 with $6,000. New-event limits last 24 months unless an employer contribution arrives early.
• Prime Super: four units of Death and TPD for personal members aged 25 to 69, though it's limited cover for the first 24 months.
• Brighter Super: four units of Death and TPD for direct joiners, once 25 and over $6,000, with no income protection.
• First Super: four units of Death and TPD once there's been an "active contribution", which includes personal contributions. Limited for at least 24 months for personal members.
• Team Super: treats self-employed members as eligible, but cover is limited, with no time-based end.
• Essential Super (CommBank): automatic Death and TPD at 25 once your balance reaches $6,000, with no employer contribution test.
• NESS Super: two units of Death and TPD start with your first contribution, at any age from 15 with no $6,000 test. The automatic income protection is for employees whose employer pays super to NESS, so self-employed members don't get it.
• Bendigo SmartStart and Australian Food Super: automatic Death and TPD at 25 with $6,000 (Australian Food Super adds income protection). Both depend on a contribution arriving within about 120 days for the cover to become full cover, and Australian Food Super's work test refers to being employed, so check it if you work for yourself.

No automatic cover for personal joiners (you apply, with health questions):

• AustralianSuper
• Cbus
• CareSuper
• REI Super
• Equip Super (including Catholic Super)
• Australian Retirement Trust (cover starts on an employer contribution)
• BUSSQ (automatic cover needs an employer contribution; anyone can join, but self-employed members apply instead)
• Vision Personal and MLC MasterKey Fundamentals (no automatic cover at all, you always apply)

Opt in only: UniSuper's Personal Account, Vanguard (cover starts with an employer contribution, otherwise you opt in), Aware, Rest, HESTA and NGS Super let you ask for cover, but it isn't automatic. Rest, for instance, lets anyone opt in at any age or balance by answering a few questions, as long as the balance covers a month's premium.

legalsuper and Mercer also appear to give automatic cover in some cases, but their rules are tied to specific plans, so check their guides.

These are our readings of the guides, as at 22 October 2026. Each fund has exceptions, and rules change on 1 July and 1 October.

What "limited" means for you

Even at the funds that give automatic cover, the cover for a personal joiner is often limited, and limited cover ends when you've worked a set number of days. If you work for yourself that's usually fine, since you're working. The risk is that "at work" is defined by the fund, and you may have to show it. Our table of what ends limited cover covers each fund.

Income protection is the harder one

If you're self-employed, income protection is probably the most important cover and the hardest to get automatically. Only some funds include it, and it often needs an employer. The routes that remain are applying with health questions at your super fund, or outside super, where retail policies can be set up for the self-employed, usually with proof of income.

The practical order

1. Check whether your fund's cover starts for personal members.
2. If not, compare what you'd get by applying, and what it costs.
3. Keep contributing, even small amounts, so cover doesn't lapse after 16 months. Why that happens.
4. Think about income protection separately, because it's the one that matters most.

Sources

• Fund insurance guides as at 22 October 2026 (Hostplus, Australian Ethical, Prime Super, Brighter Super, First Super, Team Super, Essential Super, NESS, Bendigo SmartStart, Australian Food Super, BUSSQ, Vision Personal, MLC Fundamentals, UniSuper, Vanguard, AustralianSuper, Cbus, CareSuper, REI Super, Equip, Australian Retirement Trust, Aware, Rest, HESTA, NGS Super), via the miadvice fund comparison

General information only, not personal advice. Fund rules and premiums change, usually on 1 July or 1 October. Check the fund's current insurance guide before relying on a figure here.