“More than 265,000 accounts with balances totalling $1.13 billion [were] consolidated in the six months to December 2014," the ATO said in a statement.
“This is a rise of 400 per cent from the six months to December 2013 when 52,000 accounts, worth more than $270 million, were consolidated.”
The tax office also reported that approximately $5.8 billion is held in super accounts that people have lost track of.
Australians who still hold multiple accounts could be paying thousands in unnecessary fees each year, said the ATO.
The median figure for fees and charges paid by Australians for a low-cost superannuation account is $532 per year, according to APRA figures.
ATO assistant commissioner of superannuation John Shepherd said "it is not uncommon [for] people to open a new super account when they start a new job instead of taking their super fund with them".
The ATO is encouraging those with numerous superannuation accounts to consolidate their super into one preferred account using the MyGov website.
