Australians who have drawn down on their superannuation under the government’s early access scheme despite not suffering reduced hours of work or wages, or who are using the hardship scheme as a tax dodge, are under investigation by the Australian Taxation Office for possible breaches of anti-avoidance laws.

The ATO said it was investigating cases where workers had drawn down on savings under the program when they had not suffered a change to their regular salary, had misled the Tax Office when applying for the money, and who had accessed a tax deduction by contributing money to super before withdrawing it.