First Nations Foundation reunites millions in lost super

Joseph Guenzler Published April 20, 2026 at 12.00pm (AWST)

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First Nations Foundation staff during the Financial Wellness Outreach program held across regional and remote Queensland. (Image: supplied)

First Nations Foundation has reunited more than $4.15 million in lost and unclaimed superannuation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in remote and regional Queensland, highlighting the scale of unclaimed retirement savings and the barriers which prevent many Indigenous people from accessing their money.

Newly lodged Australian Taxation Office (ATO) data shows the foundation's Financial Wellness Outreach program reconnected $4,148,693 in super across 12 communities during five outreach runs between July and November in FY26.

The program was led by First Nations Foundation project manager Eddie Buli.

The outreach team travelled to Sarina and Mackay, Palm Island and Charters Towers, Mapoon, Napranum and Weipa, Croydon and Normanton, and Hope Vale, Wujal Wujal and Cooktown.

Visits focused on face-to-face support in places where digital access, service fragmentation and identity verification issues can block people from accessing retirement savings.

Wiradjuri woman and First Nations Foundation chief executive, Leah Bennett, said the result showed superannuation may be compulsory, but access was not.

"Australia's retirement system is world class on paper," Ms Bennett said.

"But for many First Nations people, particularly in regional and remote communities, there is still friction at the final step.

"This result shows what happens when the system meets people where they are, on Country and in community, with culturally informed support and the right institutions at the table."

*Community members receive face-to-face support during the First Nations Foundation Financial Wellness Outreach program in Hope Vale.*

The Financial Wellness Outreach program brings together the superannuation sector, banks, utility providers, ombudsmen and government agencies, alongside ATO representatives and foundation staff.

The program delivers coordinated support on Country.

By bringing services directly into communities, the program helps people locate lost or unknown super balances, resolve identity verification barriers and navigate myGov and Australian Taxation Office platforms in areas routinely underserved by mainstream channels.

For many participants, the issue is not a lack of funds but the difficulty of dealing with paperwork, digital systems and disconnected services.

Ms Bennett said the outcome should prompt reflection across the financial services sector.

"For a small not-for-profit to travel to 12 communities across five regions in Queensland in four months and achieve this result should prompt reflection across the financial services sector," she said.

"A modest investment in logistics and partnership can translate into life changing financial outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people."

First Nations Foundation has helped reconnect First Nations people with more than $30 million in superannuation since 2016.