Six in ten Australians support being able to withdraw some of their superannuation to fund a major purchase such as a housing deposit, new DemosAU research shows.

The poll, first published in Capital Brief, found 60% of Australians agree people should be able to withdraw some of their super toward buying a house, while just 17% disagreed and 23% were unsure.

The findings also show Australians are open to greater flexibility in how they use their superannuation before retirement.

While 44% agree that super exists to fund retirement and people should not be able to access it before age 60, 27% disagree.

There is also some support for giving workers greater control over their compulsory contributions, with 41% agreeing people should be able to reduce their super contributions to increase their take-home pay. Some 28% disagreed, while 31% were unsure.

Support for accessing super for major purchases like a housing deposit also crosses political lines. Labor (55%), Coalition (59%) and One Nation voters (76%) agree, while 50% of Greens voters also support the proposition.

The findings come as One Nation announced its new superannuation policy this month, allowing renters and owner-occupier mortgage holders the choice to take one quarter of their compulsory superannuation payment in their take home pay for up to three years.

DemosAU Head of Research George Hasanakos said the strong levels of support for withdrawing superannuation was a result of people struggling with the cost of living.

“Labor looks to the Hawke-Keating years as the golden years for retirement policy and in 1992 with the introduction of the superannuation guarantee where Labor pioneered a modern, universally compulsory system,” he said.

“Superannuation has traditionally been seen as a way to save the government budget bottom line and to ensure people have a good level of retirement savings which leads to a better quality of life.

“But these poll results show people are more flexible with how superannuation could be used, and with many people struggling with the cost of living and getting into the housing market, it is no wonder that people support alternatives to get more cash now.”

Mr Hasanakos said the issue was gaining political traction. 

“Support for accessing super for a major purchase extends across Labor, Coalition, One Nation and Greens voters, which suggests this is broader than a traditional left-right divide,’’ he said.

The DemosAU poll of 1,583 Australians was conducted via internet panel between 10 and 14 September 2026. The effective margin of error was +/- 3.3%. View the full report here.