Your Work Has Changed. What Should Happen to Your Financial Plan Next?

Four steps, in this order, cover most of what needs deciding:

• 1
  Understand the payout. Know what you have received and how each part is taxed before deciding what to do with it.
• 2
  Protect the cash you can reach. Plan for an income gap that may run longer than you hope.
• 3
  Check your cover. Insurance can lapse quietly after the contributions stop.
• 4
  Then look at debt and super. Both are sensible places for money to go, and both can be hard to get money back out of.

A redundancy payout is usually several payments bundled into one figure, and each part can be taxed differently. If your role is abolished and the other conditions for a genuine redundancy are met, part of the payment can be tax-free. For 2026-27 that amount is $13,598 plus $6,801 for each completed year of service. Amounts above it, and unused leave, are taxed under separate rules.

Your minimum entitlements are set by the National Employment Standards, and an award, agreement or contract can provide more. Ask your employer for a written breakdown of every component, and ask your tax adviser to confirm how each part applies to you. Every later decision rests on those two documents.

The next role can take longer to find than the notice period suggests, so plan cash flow for a longer gap rather than a shorter one.

Government support is rarely immediate. The liquid assets waiting period can run for up to 13 weeks, and an income maintenance period can apply on top of it when you receive leave or redundancy pay. That is a reason to plan, not a reason to delay applying, and Moneysmart sets out what support may be available.

Where the money sits matters as much as how much there is. Money in an offset account reduces the interest on your loan while staying available. Super does not work that way: under 60, a redundancy on its own does not release your super.

“Money added to super to save tax cannot be reached again until a condition of release is met, however long the next role takes to find.”

Many people hold life, total and permanent disability (TPD) or income protection cover through super without thinking about it. The cover does not usually end on your last day, but by law a fund cancels insurance on an account with no contributions or rollovers for 16 months, unless you tell it you want to keep it. A long gap, or a new employer paying into a different fund, can bring that date closer than you expect.

Income protection needs its own check. It is designed to pay part of your income if illness or injury stops you working, and that risk does not pause between jobs. Policy terms differ, including how a benefit is worked out and what happens while you are between roles, so read your own policy before deciding what to keep.

With the payout understood, the cash protected and the cover checked, the bigger moves come into view.

Paying down the mortgage can feel like the responsible choice, but extra repayments can be harder to get back than money in an offset account, depending on your lender’s redraw rules. If repayments could become difficult, speak to your lender early. The options can include a hardship variation.

Super contributions can be tax effective, particularly in a lower-income year. The concessional cap for 2026-27 is $32,500, and unused amounts from earlier years may be available if your balance is under $500,000. Whether a contribution makes sense, and how much, depends on your tax position, your contribution history and how much cash you need to keep within reach. That is worth assessing with an adviser before any money goes in.

Checklist

• ✓
  Pause before committing the payout anywhere
• ✓
  Get a written breakdown of every component from your employer
• ✓
  Ask your tax adviser to confirm how each part is taxed for you
• ✓
  Keep enough cash accessible for a longer search than you expect
• ✓
  Check each super fund for insurance, and tell the fund if you want to keep it
• ✓
  Read your income protection policy before contributions stop
• ✓
  Speak to your lender early if repayments could become difficult
• ✓
  Take advice before adding to super or repaying debt you may need to redraw

Brokers often hear about a change in work early, sometimes in passing during a refinance or pre-approval. A few things are worth noticing:

• ✓
  a restructure or redundancy round at the client’s workplace
• ✓
  a change to the client’s hours, role or income
• ✓
  a planned refinance or new application while work is uncertain
• ✓
  a client wanting to use a payout to pay down debt

“Has anything changed with your work, or is anything about to, before we take this loan further?”

Any of these is a good moment to bring Ryker in. Ryker works alongside the broker, so the lending and the advice move together and the client can see the whole picture before anything is committed.