Payday Super is here

Payday Super changes introduced by the Australian Government came into effect on 1 July 2026.

Under the new rules, employers must pay Superannuation Guarantee (SG) at the same time as salary and wages. In most cases, contributions must reach super funds within seven business days, or the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) may apply penalties.

This guide explains what has changed and outlines some steps you can take to help you meet your Payday Super obligations. If you need more help, our Relationship Managers are here to support you through the transition.

Key changes from 1 July

The main changes impacting employers include:

• Pay super each payday: employers must pay employees’ Superannuation Guarantee (SG) at the same time as salary and wages, rather than quarterly (the previous minimum requirement). If you are a WA public sector employer, you may have already been paying SG in line with employees’ pay each fortnight
• New way of calculating super: employers must calculate super as 12% of qualifying earnings, or QE. While this term is new, QE mostly aligns with the previous OTE rules. Learn more about what counts as qualifying earnings
• Deadlines for super payments: contributions must reach super funds within seven business days after payday, unless an extended timeframe applies, such as for new employees or out-of-cycle payments, including commissions and bonuses. There is no extension for any rejected payments
• Reporting: employers are required to report both QE and super liability through their Single Touch Payroll (STP) enabled software. This makes it easier for the ATO to identify employers with unpaid or late super
• Penalties for late payments: employers who don’t pay the right amount on time, or to the correct fund, may need to pay the super guarantee charge (SGC). There may also be general interest and other penalties for not paying SGC

To support faster and more reliable payments, super funds are now required to:

• Allocate or return contributions that cannot be matched within three business days. This is a reduction from the previous 20 business days
• Receive faster payments through a real-time payments platform, known as the New Payments Platform (NPP)
• Provide clearer error messages when rejecting a contribution to give employers the information you need to quickly resolve errors

Learn more about the updates to SuperStream from 1 July.

Your Payday Super checklist

Here are some steps you can take to help manage the transition to Payday Super.

• Understand the timing for super payments
  Super must generally be received by the super fund within seven business days after payday. For new employees, or payments to a super fund for the first time, you will have 20 business days for the initial contribution.
  
  Paying super on each payday, rather than delaying your contributions, can help avoid timing issues.


• Understand the consequences of late payments
  If super payments are not received by super funds within seven business days after payday, the SGC applies. The SGC is assessed by the ATO, is calculated based on QE, includes daily compounding interest and an administrative uplift amount (which may be reduced through voluntary disclosure), and is tax deductable. Any additional penalties for not paying SGC are not tax deductable.
  
  The ATO has advised that employers who genuinely try to do the right thing won't be the subject of compliance action in the first year of Payday Super.
  
  

  Visit the ATO website for more information on the SGC, including examples of how it’s calculated.

• Know where you can find errors and how to fix them immediately
  You need to be able to identify and fix any issues with your super contributions quickly to meet the seven-business day timeframe and avoid the SGC.
  
  If you’re a WA public sector employer, you will see any errors and warnings - and information on how to resolve them - when you upload your contribution file in Employer Online. You must fix all errors before you can submit the file. We also recommend resolving any warnings before submitting to help avoid issues later.
  
  If we can’t allocate a contribution after submission, we will contact you with details of what needs to be fixed.
  
  To help prevent errors in your employee data and meet Payday Super timeframes, we recommend you also:
  • Ask your employees to confirm that their details on your system match those of their nominated fund, and clean up your data now if needed
  • Use the member search function in Employer Online to identify current GESB members and ensure their membership details are correct in your contribution file
  • If you haven’t already, check whether your payroll provider is offering the new Member Verification Request (MVR) technology. When a new employee has chosen another fund, MVR allows your payroll provider or software to verify the fund’s details before the first contribution is made. MVR will be compulsory for choice of fund requests from 1 March 2027

• Start reporting QE and super
  If you’re not yet reporting qualifying earnings and super liability through Single Touch Payroll (STP), you should begin reporting these amounts as soon as possible.
  
  If you haven’t already, check with your payroll software provider to find out when their STP product will be updated.
  
  From 1 July 2027, if you don't report these amounts, the ATO will reject your reporting and penalties may apply.