Payday Super
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) explained it's strategy for education and engagement, emphasising that the regulations are still pending. As such we are operating from the assumptions established in the prior consultation packages.
Fund webinar
The ATO’s recent fund-facing webinar drew almost 1,800 registrations and over 1,000 live attendees, well above baseline. The recording is expected to be released via ATOtv and promoted across ATO newsletter channels. The webinar included approximately 25 minutes of live Q&A, and questions are being used to refine web guidance and frequently asked questions (FAQs).
Upcoming audience specific webinars
Next steps include a prerecorded tax professionals webinar around mid to late March, and further digital service provider (DSP) and employer webinars. For employers, the ATO intends more scenario-based education, qualifying earnings, super guarantee (SG) charge.
Employer awareness letters
Beginning mid-April, the ATO will run a staggered letter campaign to approximately 950,000 employers. Sequencing aims to avoid overlap with other campaigns, like Small Business Super Clearing House and to ensure frontline capacity is ready to handle enquiries. Triaging will prioritise employers not represented by tax professionals given they are more likely to be unaware of the measure. Letters are designed to raise awareness, not provide all technical detail, pointing recipients to more detailed guidance online.
White label toolkit
A refreshed communications toolkit, moving from 'get ready' to 'take action now' will be shared with stakeholders. It is designed to standardise language, improving search performance and message coherence across the ecosystem. The kit will present content slices by audience, funds, DSPs, employers and by topic. This will be made available for members once finalised.
Member and stakeholder feedback
Access to ATO communications was discussed. Insurance-based administrators can miss ATO updates when information is channelled primarily via fund trustees. We encourage direct subscription to ATO newsletters, superfund news, self-managed super fund news, business bulletin, recognising that communications need to reach the full chain, not just fund trustees.
Timing concerns
Some members asked whether the distribution of mid-April employer letters is too late, given potential cash flow reshaping for July. The ATO advised that with a very high proportion of employers relying on tax agents, we must ensure tax professionals have guidance first so they can advise clients when letters are received. Contact centres and ATO teams need to be synchronised to handle an expected increase of inbound phone calls.
FAQs on the web
Industry sought a single, dedicated FAQ hub, a model used for prior SuperStream shifts. We advised that current web patterns and AI search behaviour have nudged design away from extensive FAQ pages, but we will take this feedback under consideration.
Members can email paydaysuper@ato.gov.au if they have any specific questions or feedback they would like to share.
Payday Super, SuperStream improvements
Readiness survey
The ATO issued a letter to trustees on 17 Dec 2025 requesting that trustees provide us with their plans for SuperStream changes. Most respondents, covering approximately 60% of total member accounts, plan to be ready by 1 July 2026 for SuperStream changes, including the improved error messaging and member verification responses (MVR). The ATO will contact nonresponders and engage funds which have indicated a readiness date later than 1 July 2026 to understand blockers.
New payment platform
Most funds are targeting new payment platform readiness from 1 July 2026. One large fund has opted-in early and is listed on the ATO opt in register. The ATO continues to engage its working group to discuss matters such as member account transaction service (MATS) employer contribution reporting timeframes, which is expected to reduce from 10 to 3 days.
The ATO noted requests for SuperStream Alternative File Format (SAFF) specifications and will provide supporting guidance in the user guide to provide clarity to DSPs), who rely on it.
Operational impacts
The ATO acknowledged that moving from a 20-day error resolution buffer to 3 days, to align with product disclosure statement may cause an initial spike in error messages/rejections, especially for existing employees where legacy data problems exist or where the MVR is not used for new employees. Funds are expecting to see higher contact volumes, and more complaints when previously massaged contributions start bouncing back.
Payday Super, ATO compliance approach for the first year
Compliance approach Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2026/1
The risk-zoned compliance posture for 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 is as follows:
- Low risk – employers attempting to pay on payday cadence; if a payment is rejected but promptly corrected, the ATO will not pursue compliance action for that qualifying earnings (QE) day.
- Medium risk – employers sticking to quarterly cadence; may be subject to review.
- High risk – late/insufficient contributions, these cases are prioritised for enforcement.
Post-consultation changes include a more precise definition of 'as soon as reasonably practicable,' expanded timing examples, and 2 new illustrations (examples 8 and 9) showing how employers can move between risk zones across QE periods. The ATO aims to protect members’ entitlements while enabling transition, resisting calls to be either more lenient (a 2-year glide path) or more punitive (zero tolerance for quarterly cadence).
Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) engagement
The ATO is actively collaborating with APRA, recognising that funds will face their issues, throughput constraints, and triage challenges, especially if MVR uptake is uneven. This coordination aims to maintain sector stability during the transition.
Better targeted super concessions
Bills were introduced to parliament and are expected to be debated in the first March sitting. While a detailed policy walkthrough was not provided an update clarified fund obligations.
The calculation of total super earnings for an individual has now changed. An individuals total super earnings for an income year is made up of their relevant super earnings from each of their super interests that is included in their total superannuation balance.
Total super earnings do not include earnings from a foreign fund interest or Div 296 excluded interest.
Super funds will be required to:
- Calculate their Div 296 fund earnings via the statutory formulae, then attribute earnings to each member interest. Attribution of those earnings depends on the type of fund with further details to be prescribed in the regulations.
- APRA funds will report their in-scope member’s relevant super earnings to the ATO via a request for information (RFI) process that was previously designed.
- Defined benefit (DB) funds will report, via an RFI process, relevant components that allow the ATO to calculate the individual’s relevant super earnings.
- Self-managed super funds will report their in-scope members relevant earnings to the ATO, how they will do this is currently being considered.
- Funds that have in-scope members with both accumulation and defined benefit interests will need to report the relevant super earnings for the accumulation interests and the relevant components for the defined benefit interest.
We expect our RFIs to start issuing from November 2027, this will be to defined benefit funds. For APRA funds the RFI process will begin around February 2028, allowing time for them to lodge their income tax return which is due at the end of January 2028.
Assessments are expected to issue from March 2028 and due to our deployment schedule defined benefit members may receive 2 assessments in the 2028 calendar year, 2026–27 assessment in March 2028 and 2027–28 assessment in November-December 2028.
Superannuation on government funded parental leave pay (PLP)
Legislation is in force – a miscellaneous technical amendment is progressing to allow funds to accept Paid Parental Leave Superannuation Contribution (PPLSC) without a tax file number (TFN). The aim is that this will be in place before the first payments issue.
Systems build is complete, interagency testing with Services Australia is underway.
Payments are expected to commence from July 2026, eligible recipients are those who have had children born on or after 1 July 2025. In a full year, based on Services Australia previous data, up to 300,000 individuals receive PLP. Volumes will be similar for those eligible to receive PPLSC.
PPLSC will be sent using existing SG contribution message formats, and funds will report receipts back via MATS accordingly.
Low income super tax offset
The low-income super tax offset (LISTO) threshold will increase from $37,000 to $45,000, effective 1 July 2027. Because LISTO is administered via established processes, funds should expect greater volume and amounts, but no fundamental message format changes.
Several funds flagged recurring operational issues including:
- LISTO contributions sent where the fund does not hold a TFN, which forces rejection and recycling.
- Repeat sending of rejected LISTO amounts in later cycles.
The ATO acknowledged and indicated these matters sit outside the current scope of the project but could be explored with ATO Data & Services.
Access to offenders super exposure draft
Treasury have released an exposure draft for public consultation, with submissions closing 20 February 2026. The policy intent is to let eligible child sexual abuse victims with unpaid compensation orders seek to fulfill these by accessing the perpetrators super, as determined by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.
High level flow
- The victim approaches the ATO with the original unpaid compensation order.
- The ATO provides visibility of a monetary super balance of the perpetrator (not disclosing fund identities).
- The victim seeks a Federal Circuit Court order (perpetrator compensation release order).
- The ATO issues release authorities to relevant funds.
- The Funds remit to the ATO, which pays the victim directly.
Operational considerations:
- Volume is expected to be low, but sensitivity is very high.
- Anticipate paper-based release authority processing.
- The ATO plans to create a specialist handling team with restricted access levels to manage privacy and trauma aware interactions.
Funds are urged to submit exposure draft feedback promptly, particularly on bankruptcy interactions, family law splitting ramifications, preservation nuances, and paper response requirements.
Cook Islands superannuation portability
The Cook Islands portability measure is supported by a Memorandum of Understanding signed in November 2024. The aim is to enable reciprocal transfers between the Cook Islands National Super Fund and APRA regulated funds, self-managed super funds are out of scope. Unlike Trans-Tasman portability with New Zealand, this channel is narrow with a single counterpart fund. As such volumes are expected to be very small, there are approximately 7,000 Cook Islanders in Australia.
Key points raised included:
- Outbound (Australia to Cook Islands) – APRA funds must facilitate member requests to transfer to the Cook Islands fund, like KiwiSaver obligations on outflows.
- Inbound (Cook Islands to Australia) – Voluntary for Australian funds to accept; likely to mirror the current pattern with KiwiSaver, where only some funds offer intake due to administrative complexity.
- Tax and preservation – Different treatment for voluntary vs. involuntary, employer amounts must be encoded in fund withdrawal types and tax codes.
- Implementation timing depends on legislation in both jurisdictions; the ATO will progress Australian readiness while monitoring Cook Islands legislative steps.
Frontline operations and super enquiry service trends
The ATO presented recent operational statistics for 18 October 2025 to 15 February 2026 with 1,260 enquiries received across the period – main themes included:
- Departing Australia superannuation payment queries. The increase for this period was some online access issues for some administrators which have been mostly resolved.
- Early release of super benefits approval letters. These should be downloaded from Online services for business prior to contacting us via Super Enquiry Service. Funds should have process to download these files before they are archived.
- Reconciliations/SFT (Successor Funds Transfer). Funds are to reconcile accounts proactively and when an SFT occurs ensure that we are notified well in advance and that there is a contact for the fund. Reconciliations for ATO accounts to be preferably completed prior to SFT. Funds are to proactively undertake reconciliations and contact us if any questions regarding payment variation advice and payments.
- Release Authority (Division 293) – excess concessional contributions, excess non-concessional contributions, first home super saver.
- Funds to refer to problem solving guide and incorporate it into their process to ensure payment and Release Authority statement (RAS) process and funds meet their legislative obligations.
- Release authorities – problem solving for SuperStream users.
- Member account attribute service (MAAS) and MATS reporting – for common reporting errors, see our article avoid common MAAS and MATS reporting errors.
- ATO initiated requests to funds
- requests created in the same period was 153
- suspended payments related to 71, for example inbound failed validations, unclaimed superannuation money statement complications
- reminder to monitor the registered mailboxes and respond by due dates; lagging responses block downstream ATO processing.
Other business
Members appreciated the ATO’s willingness to escalate technical issue, for example fund verification service, bulk guidance.
The pragmatism of PCG 2026/1, and the communications approach recognising the complexity of reaching funds, DSPs, trustees, payroll, and employers with consistent language.
Key forward date timeframes:
- fund webinar recording available shortly for on demand access
- tax professional’s webinar mid to late March – employer webinar following
- Staggered employer letters from mid-April
- co-design sessions restarting for Div 296
- possible DB RFIs from November 2027
- APRA RFIs February 2028
- early assessments March 2028
- PPLSC first payments July 2026, TFN exemption instrument anticipated before first payments.
- LISTO higher threshold 1 July 2027.
The co-chairs acknowledged the compressed timelines and breadth of current change, and emphasised the delivery goals will require precision, operational patience, and proactive stakeholder testing.