Your superannuation guarantee obligations

Your superannuation guarantee obligations

As an employer you have an obligation to pay super contributions on behalf of all your eligible employees. These contributions are in addition to your employees’ salaries and wages.

This compulsory contribution is called the superannuation guarantee and it requires you to:

• pay super for your eligible employees
• contribute to the correct super funds, and
• pay contributions by the cut off date each quarter.

The minimum super amount you have to pay is 9% of each eligible employee’s earnings base. Your employee’s earnings base is generally their ordinary times earnings, from 1 July 2008 ordinary time earnings should always be used.

Generally, you have to pay super for your employees if they:

• are aged between 18 and 70
• are paid $450 (before tax) or more in a calendar month, and
• work full-time, part-time or on a casual basis.

You also have to pay super for any employee who:

• is under 18 years of age
• you pay $450 or more (before tax) in a calendar month, and
• works full-time, part-time or on a casual basis for more than 30 hours in a week.

You may also have to pay super for any employees who are visiting Australia on a temporary resident visa.

We have web-based tools to help you understand and meet your obligations:

• Superannuation Guarantee Charge (SGC) statement and calculator tool to calculate your SGC liability and prepare the SGC statement to be lodged with the Tax Office.
• Employee/contractor decision tool to help you work out whether your new or existing workers are contractors or employees for tax and super purposes
• Superannuation guarantee eligibility decision tool to help employers work out if they have an obligation to make super contributions for their workers, and
• Superannuation guarantee contributions calculator that calculates how much super employers should be contributing for their eligible workers.

There are also some circumstances where you do not have to pay super for employees, you can check a list of these circumstances at Who is not eligible for super.

Last Modified: Friday, 20 March 2009