Paying super
- Payday Super started on 1 July 2026.
- Go to ato.gov.au/PaydaySuper for more information about what employers need to do to pay super on time, in full, and to the correct fund.
How you need to pay and report super as of 1 July 2026
- Pay super each payday: Employers must pay super for their employees for each payday. How often employers need to pay super will depend on how often they pay their employees – this could mean they pay super weekly, fortnightly, or monthly.
- New way of calculating super:
- Employers must calculate super as 12% of qualifying earnings. This is a new term that includes ordinary time earnings, all commissions, salary sacrifice contributions, and other amounts paid to extended definition employees (e.g. independent contractors paid for their labour).
- The super guarantee rate of 12% has not changed.
- For many employers, the new concept of qualifying earnings doesn’t change the amount of super they’re currently paying for their employees.
- Deadlines for super payments: Super contributions must reach super funds within 7 business days after payday to be considered on-time (unless longer applies, such as for new employees).
- Reporting: Employers will report both qualifying earnings and super liability amounts through Single Touch Payroll (STP). The ATO uses data from STP reporting and super fund data to check how much super needs to be paid and if it was paid on time.
- ATO’s Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH) permanently closed 1 July 2026.
- System improvements including:
- updated SuperStream error messages for rejected contributions
- a member verification request (MVR) which allows employers to verify an employees’ super fund details are valid and can be accepted by their super fund before a contribution is made
- faster payments through the New Payments Platform (a near real-time payment platform).
- Late payments and penalties:
- Employers who don’t pay the right amount, on time, and to the correct fund, are liable for the super guarantee charge (SGC).
- The SGC is calculated by the ATO. An employer no longer needs to lodge a super guarantee statement to the ATO.
- Once the ATO has calculated an employer’s SGC, they will send a notice of assessment to the employer. Until an employer receives the notice, they should pay late contributions to their employees’ super funds.
- If the ATO raises an SGC assessment, employers may be liable for general interest charge and penalties for not paying the SGC.
- Changeover period: Employers will have had multiple super payments due in July 2026. This may include the final quarterly super payment due 28 July as well as super payments due for each payday.
The ATO’s compliance approach for the first year
Employers who try to do the right thing and resolve any issues quickly won't be the focus of ATO compliance actions in the first year of Payday Super. Read the guide to the ATO’s compliance approach for the first year of Payday Super at ato.gov.au/PDScompliance.
Newsletter or magazine content
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All together now: super, salary and wages
Employers pay their employees’ super for each payday – in line with salary and wages. Depending on payroll timing, they could pay super weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
Visit ato.gov.au/PaydaySuper to learn more.
Article
Super is now paid for every payday
Employers must pay their employees’ super for each payday, in line with their salary and wages. Depending on payroll timing, they could be paying super weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
Employers who haven’t made this change from 1 July should visit ato.gov.au/PDScompliance to learn more.
Remember, employers who try to do the right thing by paying for each payday and fixing issues quickly won’t be the focus of ATO compliance action in the first year.
Social media content
All together now: super, salary and wages
Employers must pay their employees’ super for each payday – in line with salary and wages. Depending on payroll timing, they could be paying super weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
Visit ato.gov.au/PaydaySuper for more info.
All together now: super, salary and wages
Employers must pay their employees’ super for each payday – in line with salary and wages. Depending on payroll timing, they could be paying super weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
Visit ato.gov.au/PaydaySuper for more info.
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Employers must pay their employees’ super for each payday – in line with salary and wages. Depending on payroll timing, they could be paying super weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
Visit ato.gov.au/PaydaySuper.