Peter Hazell no longer has teeth and he’s also $83,000 worse off for it.
His attention was caught by an advertisement on Facebook three years ago that offered to give people their dream smile by using their superannuation.
What Mr Hazell didn’t realise was he had also been caught by a growing avalanche of advertisers offering Australians the ability to withdraw super for dental treatments.
Experts warn the controversial industry practice is flourishing as operators target “vulnerable” Australians, charging fees to fill out super withdrawal applications or being paid by dental practices to assist, while draining super accounts for treatment that can be overly expensive.
There was a rapid surge in super withdraws for dental treatment from $66.4 million in 2018 to $817.6 million last year, with more than 47,000 approvals by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
While some Australians have a genuine need to withdraw their super for treatments, advocates and even government bodies have raised alarm bells that an industry has emerged, which faces very little checks and balances.
A news.com.au investigation is examining failures in the $4.5 trillion superannuation system that are causing devastating losses for Australians.
MORE:Hidden super mistakes costing Aussies thousands
For Mr Hazell, 60, that social media ad linked him with Supercare Dental & Cosmetics clinic, which had four operations, including one a 90-minute drive from his home.
The company removed his teeth and had created a plan for dental implants. But due to a kidney cancer diagnosis, this changed to dentures, with the first pair not even fitting his mouth and constantly falling out, he said.
Then, in a huge blow, the company went into voluntary administration in April last year, before being placed into court ordered liquidation in May – before Mr Hazell ever received a new set of dentures or the $71,000 refund he was owed.
As a result, he is on a permanent diet of soft food and he feels “ripped off”.
“I don’t get to eat things I like. I love pork crackling. I can’t chew pork crackling as I have no teeth. I like nuts, but I don’t eat nuts anymore. I got to eat all soft food. I try not to talk to people because I don’t want to be seen as I’ve got no teeth,” he told news.com.au.
“If I knew it would end up like this, I would have just put up with the sore teeth and the bad teeth.”
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Ashleigh Brooker has never publicly spoken to media before about her experience until now. She is one of the 265 patients who had prepaid a combined $2.1 million for Supercare Dental & Cosmetics services which the company failed to provide, a liquidator’s report filed with ASIC showed.
She was just 30 when she withdrew more than $14,000 from her super after being sucked in by advertisements on Instagram spruiking the use of super.
The Central Coast woman did not realise the long term consequences of using her super, which sat at just $38,000 at that time.
In a letter to the ATO in 2023, Supercare Dental & Cosmetics said she had overcrowding “resulting in extreme issues functioning in daily life as well as issues in eating, speaking and emotional and social wellbeing” and recommended braces.
Ms Brooker ended up paying $9000 to Supercare Dental & Cosmetics but when the company collapsed, she was halfway through treatment with braces still on.
“I was really upset because my whole life I’ve just wanted straight teeth. I wanted to be able to smile in photos, so that was quite disappointing,” she said.
Ms Brooker said she has spent almost a year with the braces on with no treatment – finding it difficult to source another dentist as she had no access to her dental records and dentists in her area were full of other Supercare Dental & Cosmetics patients.
“I didn’t even know what was going to happen. I thought I might just have to get them ripped off and pay the cost to get them ripped off,” she said.
Currently pregnant, she was finally able to commence her new dental treatment last month – almost a year since the collapse. It means extra costs and two more years of braces.
News.com.au can now reveal that a company that worked to help patients complete ATO applications to withdraw their super to receive treatment at Supercare Dental & Cosmetics, called MySuperNow, is still operating.
Despite social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram for MySuperNow no longer existing and leading to a broken link, a visit to its Bella Vista offices in Sydney revealed the company is open, with its branding splashed on an office window.
The company is not accused of any wrongdoing, but is part of an industry practice that has experts concerned.
Lawyers for MySuperNow said the company’s Facebook and Instagram activity had ceased well before the collapse of Supercare Dental & Cosmetics as part of a review of its online presence, operating model and compliance approach.
“It was not caused by the collapse of Supercare Dental & Cosmetics,” they said.
MySuperNow was not paid from any patient’s superannuation withdrawal and did not receive any commission from released superannuation money, the lawyers added.
“Any administrative fee for MySuperNow’s services was paid separately by the relevant dental practice. No fee was deducted from released superannuation funds,” they said.
“MySuperNow did not provide dental treatment, determine eligibility for early release of superannuation, approve applications, or hold, receive or control any patient superannuation funds.
“Its role was limited to administrative support and facilitation. Patients remained in control of their applications at all times and, where an application was approved, any funds were paid directly by the relevant superannuation fund directly to the patient. MySuperNow operates in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements.”
Ms Brooker claims that she felt she had no choice but to use MySuperNow.
“What I noticed is when I did the application I could have done it myself and I didn’t even need that third party to help me,” she said. “I did the majority of the paperwork.”
Lawyers for MySuperNow said patients were not forced to use their services and were free to proceed independently or through any provider of their choosing.
“The level of assistance provided varied depending on the individual patient. Some patients chose to complete some parts of the process themselves, while others requested deeper support,” they said.
“MySuperNow’s role was to assist where required in navigating an administrative process, but patients remained in control of their applications at all times.”
Leanne Hutchinson is another patient impacted. After her first consultation at Supercare Dental & Cosmetics’ Tuggerah clinic on the NSW Central Coast in July 2024 she claimed the use of super was strongly encouraged as she was pulled into a room with multiple employees.
The 47-year-old was put in touch by Supercare Dental & Cosmetics with MySuperNow which helped fill out application to the ATO on the same date as her initial dental appointment, documents seen by news.com.au show.
She was approved by the ATO to withdraw $38,000 from her super for crowns and veneers, implant surgery, removal of teeth and teeth restoration and paid $20,000 to Supercare Dental & Cosmetics.
Then there’s Trish Gyler, who works as a petrol station attendant, and was also a patient at Supercare Dental & Cosmetics’ Tuggerah clinic.
Her dental care plan saw $56,000 ripped out of her super in March 2024 with $43,880 paid to Supercare Dental & Cosmetics for work including restorative veneers and implants and the rest paid as tax.
Like Ms Hutchinson, she was also aided by MySuperNow. She was concerned the price quoted by the dental practice for treatment was “really exorbitant”.
“I very much felt pressured when it came to the actually paying the money to Supercare (Dental & Cosmetics). In fact, the very day that I sat and had that consult and the care plan was drawn up, I was told that when the money came through (from my super) that I must send it to them straight away in a lump sum,” she claimed.
“Otherwise, I could get myself in trouble and the (ATO) would be after me. So I felt quite intimidated about that.”
It left her with a super balance sitting under $100,000 after working for 40 years, yet she said her treatment was never completed and has now been rendered useless after the company went bust.
Those impacted by Supercare Dental & Cosmetics collapse have desperately made complaints but so far there has been no intervention.
This has included to the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC), the ATO, NSW Fair Trading, Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and ASIC.
A NSW Fair Trading is in final stages of an investigation into SuperCare Dental & Cosmetics, which includes six separate entities in liquidation, a spokesperson said, but no other action has been taken in relation to complaints.
NSW Fair Trading received 41 complaints in 2025 and 15 complaints across the two years prior about the company.
“Customers complained about a range of matters including that services were not supplied or not completed, even where paid for from the patient’s superannuation funds,” a spokesperson said.
Many politicians have also been contacted including the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Federal Health Minister Mark Butler but patients said it has all been a “dead end”.
Patients question how the ATO is responsible for approving applications but when something has gone terribly wrong, has washed its hands of the matter, despite slugging Australians with thousands of dollars in tax for withdrawing their super.
“It just makes me sick,” Ms Hutchison said. “When someone owes a government organisation the smallest amount of money, we are hounded with invoices and late fees.
“But when we approach the government telling them that we are owed five figures, they don’t give a shit. They’ve turned their back on every single patient. This cannot just be swept under the carpet.”
Meanwhile, Ms Gyler is also “really cranky” with the ATO.
“They got $12,000 of my money. I’ve said to them why should you still have that money if I didn’t get what I was supposed to get? You’re part of a system here that has broken down and it doesn’t work,” she said.
“It just seems wrong to me that a person can authorise $43,000 for dental work and seemingly not bad an eyelid.”
The mum-of-four said the loss of her super money was “huge” and the emotional toll was significant.
“I’m actually 61. I don’t see myself retiring until I’m 80 looking at the figures,” she said.
“I am now in a position where my implants are starting to feel a bit shaky. I’ve started to get a few cracks here and there in my other teeth and I’m too afraid to now go back to another dentist.”
An ATO spokesperson said staff review every compassionate release of super (CRS) application to ensure the required documents have been provided and contain information that confirms the individual’s eligibility.
“When super is accessed early via CRS, the law provides that amounts paid are taxed as a super lump sum,” they said.
“Where the ATO identifies providers advertising inaccurate information about CRS, we will raise these concerns directly with the provider and work with them to correct the information.”
Super Members Council CEO Misha Schubert said withdrawing super early can create catastrophic financial losses that particularly harm vulnerable groups. Analysis by the group shows withdrawals of $20,000 from super at age 30 could mean a person is left with $93,000 less at retirement.
“Super’s role is not to be a bandage for the health system,” she said. “Aggressive marketing by third party operators and others is exploiting loopholes in the safeguards that are meant to protect all Australians.”
The group is pushing for stronger consumer protections, including a ban on advertising and third-party fees for facilitating compassionate release applications.
“There must be much clearer warnings about the long-term financial damage that people are being encouraged to endure by those who would seek to have you take your money out,” she added.
“Not only will you be hugely poorer in retirement without that money and miss out on the compounding investment returns you’ll earn across the next decades, you’ll also pay a big lick of tax when the money is taken out.”
MySuperNow’s lawyers said it was made clear to Supercare Dental & Cosmetic patients that accessing superannuation early may have financial consequences and they should seek financial advice before making a decision.
“MySuperNow supports fair and balanced regulation that protects consumers while preserving lawful and appropriate assistance for Australians seeking access to their superannuation funds for necessary treatment,” they added.
But patients told news.com.au they were never warned about financial consequences or advised to seek independent advice and emails from MySuperNow sent to patients only discuss forms required to lodge the application for the ATO.
Ms Gyler added her dealings with the company only involved what forms were needed to be filled out and what was required by her doctor in a letter.
Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia CEO Mary Delahunty also warned the issue was “quite alarming”.
She said AHPRA and the ATO have identified a trend where some practitioners are making “inaccurate statements” to support applications and this undermines the integrity of the scheme.
“That smells a lot like financial product advice and should be licenced and captured in a certain way that brings it under ASIC’s purview,” she said.
In May last year, AHPRA and the Medical and Dental Boards aired deep concerns that some practitioners were putting their own financial gain ahead of patients’ best interests when it came to use of super for treatment.
AHPRA CEO Justin Untersteiner said they were working with “the ATO to identify any potential predatory practice”.
In October, new guidelines for dentists were released with warnings that some practitioners were “taking advantage of this process to push overly expensive or unnecessary treatments”, Mr Untersteiner added.
Between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2025, AHPRA received 95 notifications related to compassionate release of superannuation with 44 involving dentists. Most complaints were about treatment outcomes or payment disputes.
After investigations by AHPRA, one dentist has had conditions imposed on their registration, a spokesperson said.
“Patients must be able to trust that treatment advice is driven by clinical need, not financial gain,” they added. “Misusing the superannuation system to push unnecessary or excessively costly procedures is completely unacceptable.”
Practitioners have also been put on notice that providing financial advice without a licence could also result in severe penalties from the Australian Securities Investment Commission.
An ATO spokesperson said privacy prevented them from revealing the number of health providers referred to ASIC for investigation last year on the issue.
Assistant treasurer and minister for financial services Daniel Mulino said Treasury is monitoring the increase in the number of individuals that are releasing super early for medical treatment.
He said dental care was a particular focus, while Treasury was also monitoring third-party intermediaries who are engaging in conduct to facilitate the release of superannuation in a manner that is concerning.
But it’s all too late for Supercare Dental & Cosmetics patients.
Mr Hazell, a power station labourer, was told in a voice note from Supercare Dental & Cosmetics that he would be paid back with weekly instalments of $10,000. But despite sending a letter of demand, the money never appeared in his account.
“I went and got all my teeth pulled out and I kept asking them for the money back that they owed me, like the difference,” he said. “I’ve got no money, no teeth, no nothing, no dentures. I’m pretty pissed off.”
Ms Hutchinson also requested a refund at the end of 2024 – well before the company was ordered into liquidation – but was told it was not possible due to the contract. She was also told transferring her records would incur a $2500 fee.
Ms Gyler sought $20,000 back, including through a complaint to the NSW HCCC but was told by the regulator no further investigation was needed.
Ms Brooker said patients have been caught out as they trusted Supercare Dental & Cosmetics as health experts. She feels like she is starting from scratch again with her super describing the situation as “heartbreaking”.
“I was willing to risk that for a smile so it just sucks,” she said.
“I was happy to build it up again, but with having an end result of a smile, perfectly good teeth, and being able to eat and function. Instead, I don’t get the smile, I fork out more money, and I’ve lost part of my super.”
Meanwhile, a liquidator’s report from Hogan Sprowles on the Supercare Dental & Cosmetics’ Tuggerah branch and another company in August last year warned it was unlikely that creditors would see any money returned.
The liquidator was investigating possible insolvent trading worth $2.8 million potentially since July 2023 and a breach of directors duties to the tune of $8 million, the report said. No action has been taken agains the directors.
It found the company had just $3530 in assets, while 330 unsecured creditors had claims totalling $2.7 million
The reasons for failure of the company suggested in the liquidator’s report included the substantial cash transfers and loans from the company to the director, related parties and associates without a proper basis or explanation and inadequate cash flow to meet the liabilities of the company.
Liquidators claimed in the report there was also the mismanagement of the business and poor corporate governance, including a lack of books and records.
News.com.au made multiple attempts to contact the director of Supercare Dental & Cosmetics, Syma Usman, but no response was received.
Another report filed by liquidators Mackay Goodwin in October to ASIC, examining Supercare Dental & Cosmetics’ Penrith and Kotara branches as well as another company, revealed sales dramatically decreased from $2.5 million in the 2023 financial year to $873,000 in 2024 due to a lack of available dental practitioners.
The report added that the company was “clearly insolvent” by 30 June 2022 and possibly from the date of its inception.
Ms Hutchinson believes government and others are hoping Supercare Dental & Cosmetics patients will just shut up and eventually disappear.
She doesn’t want to see other Australians prevented from accessing their super when they truly need it but does want to see consequences for what’s gone wrong.
“I’m scared for my future, what it’s going to look like, because that big chunk that’s gone. Realistically, even if I had my teeth fixed, that money would still be gone, but at least I’ve got something from it,” she said.
“The fact that it’s gone and all that tax that’s paid on it. It stings a lot. It’s a massive chunk.”
