Get ready for Payday Super

Earlier this year, we contacted employers about the Payday Super changes being introduced by the Australian Government on 1 July 2026.

Under the new rules, employers need to 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.

If you missed our recent webinars, here’s a reminder of the changes and the steps to take now to ensure you are Payday Super ready.

Key changes from 1 July

The main changes impacting employers under Payday Super include:

• Pay super each payday: employers must pay employees’ Superannuation Guarantee (SG) at the same time as salary and wages, rather than quarterly (the current minimum requirement). If you are a WA public sector employer, you may already be 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 current OTE rules. Learn more about what counts as qualifying earnings
• Deadlines for super payments: super contributions must reach super funds within seven business days after payday, unless an extended timeframe applies, such as for new employees. There is no extension for any rejected payments
• Reporting: employers will be required to report both QE and super liability through their existing Single Touch Payroll (STP) enabled software. This will make 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 will also be required to:

• Allocate or return contributions that cannot be matched within three business days. This is a reduction from the current 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’s a summary of the actions the ATO recommends employers take now to get ready for 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.
  
  You can minimise potential timing issues by paying super on each payday, rather than leaving it to the last day of the seven-day period to make your payment. 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.
  
  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 will 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, 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 their details match those of their nominated fund, and start cleaning up this data now if needed
• Check whether you payroll provider is offering the new Member Verification Request Technology (MVRT). This will allow your payroll provider or software to verify an employees’ super fund details are valid before the contribution is made

• Prepare your payroll and cashflow processes
  Take time to understand what changes you may need to make to your payroll process and cash reserves. Review your expected pay cycles for July and set aside additional funds if needed to make sure you can meet your super obligations.


• Check your software supports reporting
  Reporting QE through STP may require changes to your payroll software. If you haven’t yet heard from your software provider, contact them to confirm what you need to do to report QE from 1 July.


• Stay informed
  Check the ATO’s Payday Super page for the latest information and videos to help you understand and get ready for Payday Super.

We’re here to help you make sense of your super obligations. Please contact your Relationship Manager or our Payroll General team if you need more information or support with implementing these changes.