The bill is scheduled to be tabled in the senate on Thursday (6 February).

“It seems the government is looking to team the Better Targeted Superannuation bill with a measure that would reduce surcharges on credit card transactions,” Burgess told SMSF Adviser.

“It’s a populist measure that everyone wants to see get through and it is rumoured the government is going to force the crossbench to vote for the super bill if they want the surcharge measures to also be passed.”

In October, the government announced it would put in place measures to crack down on unfair and excessive card surcharges to help Australians and small businesses at the physical and online checkout.

It announced on 15 October 2024 $2.1 million of new funding for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to tackle excessive surcharges, with further work underway to reduce payment fees.

“The government is prepared to ban debit card surcharges, subject to further work by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and safeguards to ensure both small businesses and consumers can benefit from lower costs,” the Prime Minister said last year.

“We are prepared to ban debit card surcharging from 1 January 2026, subject to the consultation undertaken by the RBA, and sufficient steps and safeguards to ensure both small businesses and consumers can benefit from lower costs.”

Burgess said the government has indicated that if the crossbench does not vote for the superannuation bill as it now stands the surcharge measures will not be implemented.

“The crossbenchers we have spoken with said they won’t support it, but there are a couple that we are concerned may vote with the government,” he said.

“As far as we know senator David Pocock will not vote for it and we are at this stage still confident that the crossbench won’t vote for it.”

He continued that it is disappointing that the government is taking this approach to try and push through the “deeply flawed” bill by pairing it with a populist measure.

“The government has backed the crossbench into a corner. If they don’t vote for the super tax bill, their constituents will miss out on the credit card surcharge measures and some cost-of-living relief,” he said.