A tax accountant for Camira, for the years before retirement

Camira was named in 1972, reputedly from an Aboriginal word meaning windy. It filled fast: 486 people in 1971, 5,644 by 1991 and 7,399 by 2006. Then it stopped. The 2021 count, 7,415, was almost the same as 2006's.

A suburb that stops growing gets older in place. The 2021 median age was 38, the state's figure exactly and eight years above Redbank's. The difference sits in the middle: 21.2% of residents were 50–64, against 18.4% statewide, while fewer than average were over 65 (13.9% against 17.0%). Most of Camira's retirement decisions are still a few years off.

Using the cap you didn't use

Half of Camira's occupied homes still had a mortgage at the census, against about a third statewide. Once the loan is cleared, the repayments can go into super instead.

The concessional cap for 2026–27 is $32,500. It covers employer contributions, salary sacrifice and any personal contributions you claim as a deduction, added together across all your funds. If your total super balance was under $500,000 on 30 June 2026, you can also use cap you left unused in the previous five years, back to 2021–22. Unused 2021–22 amounts expire if they are not used by 30 June 2027.

Turning 60

Preservation age is 60 for anyone born on or after 1 July 1964, which now covers everyone yet to reach it. From 60, ending an employment arrangement counts as retiring for super purposes, and at 65 you can withdraw whether you are working or not. In between, a transition to retirement income stream lets you draw on super while still working.

Payments from super may also be tax free once you turn 60. If super from a taxed source is your only income, you won't need to lodge a return, unless tax was withheld from it. Add wages, rent or a part-time business and the return carries on.

Downsizing from a suburb with almost no small homes

Detached houses made up 94.4% of Camira's occupied homes in 2021. Only 5.4% had two bedrooms or fewer. Going smaller usually means moving out of the suburb.

As an Australian resident you pay no capital gains tax on selling your home when it was your home the whole time you owned it, was never rented out or used for a business, and sits on 2 hectares or less. Miss one of those and part of the gain may be taxable. At 55 or older you may also put up to $300,000 of the proceeds into super as a downsizer contribution, outside the caps, and so may your spouse. The conditions:

• You or your spouse owned the home for at least 10 years before the sale.
• It is a home in Australia, not a caravan, houseboat or mobile home.
• The sale qualifies, fully or partly, for the main residence exemption, or would have if the home was bought before 20 September 1985.
• You give your fund the ATO downsizer form before or when you contribute.
• The money goes in within 90 days of receiving the proceeds, usually settlement, unless the ATO grants more time.
• You haven't made a downsizer contribution before. It is once only.

The contribution joins your total super balance at the next 30 June, which can close off carry-forward later. Selling can also change age pension entitlements; ask Services Australia or a licensed financial adviser before you sign. Our part is the tax: whether any of the gain is taxable, and the return for the year of sale.

An SMSF can accept a downsizer contribution, and the ATO's own example has part of one paid in as listed shares. Whether your own fund is worth the cost and the trustee duties is covered in is an SMSF worth it.

Meeting with us

We work with clients across Brisbane and Ipswich, in person or online. Leave your details on the contact form and we'll suggest a time and place, or set up a video call. You'll have a fixed price first; the fees page shows how it is set.

Bring your latest super statements, the carry-forward figure from ATO online services, and the sale contract if there is one, or attach them to the tax return questionnaire.