How Payday Super works
Payday Super is a change to how you calculate and when you pay your employees’ super guarantee. From 1 July 2026 you must pay employees their super guarantee on payday, at the same time as their salary and wages.
Super guarantee is:
- calculated as 12% of an employee’s qualifying earnings (QE), which is a new term that brings together ordinary time earnings (OTE) and other payments
- paid to an employees’ super fund on payday and received by the super fund within 7 business days (unless an extended timeframe applies, such as for new employees).
You can download this page as a printable fact sheet, Payday Super.
What you need to do
- Check the information below about what’s changing.
- Plan ahead. Review your payroll systems and super processes and get ready to pay super guarantee more frequently.
- Stay informed. Keep checking these pages for updates or speak to your tax professional for advice.
You don’t need to wait until 1 July 2026 to start paying super at the same time as you pay salary and wages – you can start now.
What’s changing
- Deadline for super payments
- Calculating super guarantee amounts
- Reporting super payments
- Late payments and the super guarantee charge (SGC)
- Penalties
- Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH)
- Checking employee data and processing payments
Deadline for super payments
Now
Super guarantee payments must be received by a super fund within 28 days of the end of the quarter, but can be paid quarterly or more frequently, e.g. monthly.
The due dates are 28 October, 28 January, 28 April and 28 July.
From 1 July 2026
Super guarantee payments must be paid to an employees’ super fund at the same time as paying qualifying earnings (QE), on payday, and received by the super fund within 7 business days.
There are some exceptions to the 7-day deadline, such as for new employees.
For more information see Payment deadlines for Payday Super.
Calculating super guarantee amounts
Now
The super guarantee amount is calculated as 12% of ordinary time earnings (OTE).
From 1 July 2026
The super guarantee amount is calculated as 12% of qualifying earnings (QE). QE includes OTE, salary sacrifice contributions and other amounts that are currently included in an employee’s salary or wages for super guarantee.
For more information see What payments are qualifying earnings.
Reporting super payments
Now
You report either OTE or super liability through Single Touch Payroll (STP).
From 1 July 2026
You report both QE and super liability through STP.
Late payments and the super guarantee charge (SGC)
Now
The SGC applies when amounts aren’t received by a super fund within 28 days of the end of a quarter. The SGC:
- is self-assessed by the employer, who must lodge an SGC statement
- is calculated based on salary and wages
- includes interest at 10% per annum
- includes a flat administration fee
- is not tax deductible.
From 1 July 2026
The SGC applies when amounts aren’t received by a super fund within 7 business days of payday (unless an extended timeframe applies, such as for new employees). The SGC:
- is assessed by the ATO
- is calculated based on QE
- includes interest that compounds daily at the general interest charge rate
- includes an administrative uplift, which can vary based on an employer’s history of meeting super guarantee obligations and may be reduced by a voluntary disclosure
- is tax deductible.
For more information see:
Penalties
Now
Penalties are a maximum of 200% of the SGC, which can be remitted in part or in full.
From 1 July 2026
Penalties are 25% or 50% of the unpaid SGC, depending on any prior penalties.
Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH)
Now
The SBSCH closed to new users on 1 October 2025.
Existing users have access to the service until 30 June 2026. All users must transition to an alternative option to pay their employees’ super. See How to pay super.
From 1 July 2026
SBSCH is no longer available.
Checking employee data and processing payments
Now
- Super payments may take a number of days to be received by a super fund.
- Employers receive incomplete or inaccurate data from their employees, which causes errors when they try to contribute to a super fund and delayed payments.
- Employers are unaware of key changes to large super fund’s details.
From 1 July 2026
To help employers and intermediaries meet the new deadlines, the SuperStream data and payment standards will be revised to:
- allow near real-time payments through the New Payments Platform
- improve error messaging so you can address errors faster
- provide a new member verification request, which enables employers to confirm that a super fund can match their employee contribution to the super fund for the first time and will accept a contribution for them.
Improvements to the Fund Validation Service will also give employers early notice of key changes to large super fund’s details, such as fund mergers, that could affect their ability to make contributions to super funds.
Expected changes
This information is not yet law
The information below is intended to help you prepare for anticipated changes from 1 July 2026. For updates on the progress of the law see Payday superannuation legislation.
Offering employees a stapled fund
Now
You must provide your employees with a choice of super fund and request stapled super fund details from the ATO if you don’t receive a choice form from an employee.
From 1 July 2026
You can request a stapled super fund and offer this to your employee at the same time you provide their choice form.
You must still provide your employees with a choice of super fund and request stapled super fund details from the ATO if you don’t receive a choice form from an employee.
Allocations by super funds
Now
Super funds have 20 business days to allocate or return contributions.
From 1 July 2026
Super funds have 3 business days to allocate or return contributions.
For more information see Changes to SuperStream.
This transition can impact your business, so getting a head start is critical. Reach out to Carrick Aland if you have any questions about Payday Super on 07 4669 9800.
Source: ato.gov.au November 2025
Reproduced with the permission of the Australian Tax Office. This article was originally published on https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/super-for-employers/payday-super/about-payday-super
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