What you must do
You must:
- work out which workers are eligible
- offer a choice of fund to eligible employees
- work out how much to pay and which complying super funds or retirement savings accounts to pay into
- pay at least quarterly by the cut-off dates
- understand what you need to do if you do not pay the minimum amount of super by the cut-off dates
- pass on your employees' TFN to their super funds.
Working out which workers are eligible
Generally, employees aged between 18 and 70 who are paid $450 (before tax) or more in a calendar month are covered by the superannuation guarantee law, whether they work full-time, part-time or on a casual basis.
The definition of 'employees' is extended, for super purposes, to include some additional categories of workers, including company directors and contractors who wholly or mainly supply labour.
Exceptions include employees who are:
- paid less than $450 (before tax) in a calendar month
- aged 70 years and over
- non-resident employees paid solely for work done outside Australia
- under 18 years and employed for no more than 30 hours a week
- paid to do work of a domestic or private nature - that is, work that relates personally to the payer or the payer's home or household affairs, for not more than 30 hours a week.
Offer a choice of super fund
You must offer eligible employees a choice of super fund. To do this, provide each new eligible employee with the Standard choice form (NAT 13080) within 28 days of their start date so they can nominate a fund for their super contributions. You should already have done this for existing employees.
Work out how much you must pay
The minimum amount of super you must contribute for your employees is equal to 9% of each employee's earnings base. For most employees, their earning base is their ordinary time earnings as defined in the superannuation guarantee law.
Any existing super obligations you have under an industrial award count towards the minimum level of support you must provide. However, an employee's own contributions (for example, amounts they ask you to deduct from their salary) do not count towards your obligations.
Where to pay contributions
You must pay the super contributions you make for your employees at least quarterly into a complying super fund or retirement savings account.
If an employee doesn't choose a fund, you can pay the contributions into the fund you have chosen as your employer-nominated or default fund. From 1 July 2008, as an employer, you must nominate a super fund that offers minimum life insurance benefits for its members.
If an employee chooses a fund and provides all of the necessary information to you, you must start paying contributions to the chosen fund within two months.
A super fund is complying if it meets specific requirements and obligations under super law.
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You can check the register of complying super funds by visiting Super Fund Lookup on the Australian Business Register website.
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What is a retirement savings account?
A retirement savings account is a type of account offered by:
- banks
- building societies
- credit unions
- life insurance companies
- prescribed financial institutions.
It is used for retirement savings and is similar to a super fund.
When to make payments
The table below shows the quarterly cut-off dates for superannuation guarantee payments. If the cut-off date for payment falls on a weekend or public holiday, you must make the payment by the next working day.
Quarterly cut-off date for paying superannuation guarantee payments
Quarter
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Cut-off date
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1 July-30 September
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28 October
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1 October-31 December
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28 January
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1 January-31 March
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28 April
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1 April-30 June
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28 July
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Do you have to report to workers?
If you make super contributions under a salary sacrifice arrangement, or extra super contributions to a super fund for an employee, you may need to report those contributions on your employee's payment summary.
These contributions are called reportable employer super contributions.
Sections within Your super obligations
Last Modified: Thursday, 8 September 2011