What is Single Touch Payroll (STP)?
- STP is a system that sends tax and super information from your STP-enabled payroll or accounting software to the ATO when you run your payroll.
- Your STP-enabled payroll software sends the ATO a report that includes the information they need from you, such as:
- salaries and wages
- pay as you go (PAYG) withholding
- super liability information.
What has changed?
- STP enabled products and software were updated on 1 July 2026 to require the reporting of both qualifying earnings (QE) and super liability.
- Super is calculated as 12%* of qualifying earnings. This is a term which 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).
- For most employers, qualifying earnings won’t change the amount of super you pay. You can find more information on QE at ato.gov.au/QE.
- You continue to report the same amounts for super liability as you have previously.
*Note: Norfolk Island is 11% from 1 July 2026 and 12% from 1 July 2027.
STP reporting under Payday Super
- You report qualifying earnings as year-to-date (YTD) amounts for each employee in your STP reports.
- The ATO uses the amounts you report through STP to check that the right amount of super guarantee is paid. To work out how much super you should have paid, they will subtract the previous pay period’s YTD qualifying earnings from the current pay period’s YTD qualifying earnings and multiply this amount by the super guarantee rate.
- Once your employee's earnings reach the maximum contribution base, you don't need to report any further YTD qualifying earnings for that employee in STP. Your employee’s qualifying earnings YTD amount should continue to be reported as the maximum contribution base amount for the rest of the financial year.
- You will need to follow instructions from your digital service provider on what you are required to do to report qualifying earnings accurately. This may include reconfiguring your software.
- If you can't report qualifying earnings and super liability from 1 July 2026, you should begin reporting these amounts as soon as possible after that date. From 1 July 2027, if you don't report these amounts, the ATO will reject your reporting and penalties may apply.
- Until 30 June 2027, the ATO will still accept reporting of super liability and/or ordinary time earnings (OTE) in pay events. Once you start reporting qualifying earnings, OTE reporting will no longer be accepted.
- You don't need to request a deferral if you can start reporting qualifying earnings during the 2026–27 financial year.