As an employer, it's always been important to ensure your payroll data is accurate as it helps super funds match contributions to the right employee and process them without delay.
Under Payday Super, super contributions must generally be received by your employee's super fund within 7 business days of payday. This makes data quality even more important to help you meet your super obligations.
Correct data helps contributions reach the right employee
To support successful super contributions, you should:
- keep employee details up to date, including names, dates of birth, tax file number (TFN) and super account details
- check employee information is accurate before processing payroll
- work with your payroll or super service provider to resolve data issues promptly
- review your payroll processes regularly to reduce errors.
Common data errors include:
- invalid TFN
- incorrect dates of birth
- generic values added to employee records.
If the correct information isn't available for an optional field, leave it blank rather than entering incorrect or substitute data. These data errors can delay the matching and allocation of contributions.
Member verification requests (MVR) reduce errors
An MVR allows you to verify that your employee’s super fund details are correct and that the fund can accept contributions. You can use an MVR:
- before making a payment to a super fund for the first time
- when employee details have changed
- if a payment has been previously rejected.
Although many super funds and self-managed super funds are already responding to MVRs, not all funds are ready. You should check whether your payroll provider or clearing house is ready before sending an MVR.
How to resolve data errors
If you receive an error message, you should:
- review the error and follow any instructions from your provider
- check the employee details are correct, including their name, date of birth, TFN and contact details
- ask your employee to confirm the details they provided are correct
- fix any inaccurate or incomplete information before you resubmit it.
You can resolve most issues by fixing this information, so you generally won’t need to contact the fund.
Unresolved data errors can cause the super fund to reject or return contributions. Maintaining accurate payroll data helps funds process and allocate contributions on time. This reduces delays and helps you meet your super obligations.
For more information, visit SuperStream for employers.
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