How Payday Super works
Payday Super is a change to how you pay your employees’ super guarantee. From 1 July 2026 you must:
- pay employees their super guarantee for each payday (instead of quarterly)
- calculate super based on an employee's qualifying earnings, which is a new term that brings together ordinary time earnings and other payments.
Payday Super does not change:
- who you have to pay super for (you continue to pay super for eligible employees, including independent contractors paid mainly for their labour)
- the percentage you use to calculate super guarantee payments (still 12%)
- the systems and platforms you use to make super guarantee payments (except for the Small Business Super Clearing House).
Media: Payday Super is here
https://tv.ato.gov.au/media/bi9or7orsim83tExternal Link (Duration: 2:40)
You can download this page as a printable fact sheet, Payday Super (PDF 175KB)This link will download a file.
What you need to do
- Check the information below about what's changing.
- Plan ahead. Review your payroll systems and super processes and get ready to pay super guarantee more frequently.
- Stay informed. Keep checking these pages for updates or speak to your tax professional for advice.
To find out how to pay super for your employees under Payday Super, see Paying super on payday.
What's changing
- Deadline for super payments
- Calculating super guarantee amounts
- Reporting super payments
- Late payments and the super guarantee charge
- Penalties
- Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH)
- Checking employee data and processing payments
- Allocations by super funds
- Offering employees a stapled fund
Deadline for super payments
Now
Super guarantee payments must be received by a super fund within 28 days of the end of the quarter, but can be paid quarterly or more frequently, e.g. monthly.
The due dates are 28 October, 28 January, 28 April and 28 July.
From 1 July 2026
Super guarantee payments must be received by your employees’ super funds within 7 business days after paying your employees, with enough information to allocate the payments to the employees' member accounts.
There are some exceptions to the 7 business day deadline, such as for new employees.
For more information see Payment deadlines for Payday Super.
Calculating super guarantee amounts
Now
The super guarantee amount is calculated as 12% of ordinary time earnings.
From 1 July 2026
The super guarantee amount is calculated as 12% of qualifying earnings. Qualifying earnings include ordinary time earnings, all commissions, salary sacrifice contributions and other amounts that are currently included in an employee's salary or wages for super guarantee.
For more information see What payments are qualifying earnings.
Reporting super payments
Now
You report either ordinary time earnings or super liability through Single Touch Payroll (STP).
From 1 July 2026
You report both qualifying earnings and super liability through STP.
Late payments and the super guarantee charge
Now
The super guarantee charge applies when amounts aren’t received by a super fund within 28 days of the end of a quarter. The super guarantee charge:
- is self-assessed by the employer, who must lodge a super guarantee statement
- is calculated based on salary and wages
- includes interest at 10% per annum
- includes a flat administration fee
- is not tax deductible.
From 1 July 2026
The super guarantee charge applies when amounts aren’t received by a super fund within 7 business days after payday (unless longer applies, such as for new employees). The super guarantee charge:
- is assessed by the ATO (employers don't lodge a super guarantee statement)
- is calculated based on qualifying earnings
- includes interest that compounds daily at the general interest charge rate
- includes an amount to reflect the cost of enforcement and encourage early disclosure by employers – this is called the administrative uplift amount. It can be reduced if the ATO hasn't taken action in the past and if the employer lodges a voluntary disclosure statement
- is tax deductible.
Penalties
Now
Penalties are a maximum of 200% of the super guarantee charge, which can be remitted in part or in full.
From 1 July 2026
Penalties are 25% or 50% of the unpaid super guarantee charge, depending on any prior penalties.
Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH)
Now
The SBSCH closed to new users on 1 October 2025.
Existing users have access to the service until 30 June 2026. All users must transition to an alternative option to pay their employees’ super. See Small Business Superannuation Clearing House.
From 1 July 2026
SBSCH is no longer accessible.
Checking employee data and processing payments
Now
- Super payments may take a number of days to be received by a super fund.
- Employers could receive incomplete or inaccurate data from their employees, which causes errors when they try to contribute to a super fund and delayed payments.
- Employers may be unaware of key changes to large super funds' details.
From 1 July 2026
To help employers and intermediaries meet the new deadlines, the SuperStream data and payment standards will be revised to:
- allow near real-time payments through the New Payments Platform
- improve error messaging so employers can address errors faster
- provide a new member verification request, which enables employers to confirm that a super fund can match their employee contribution to the super fund for the first time and will accept a contribution for them.
Improvements to the Fund Validation Service will also give employers early notice of key changes to large super funds' details, such as fund mergers, that could affect their ability to make contributions to super funds.
Allocations by super funds
Now
Super funds have 20 business days to allocate or return contributions.
From 1 July 2026
Super funds have 3 business days to allocate or return contributions.
For more information see Changes to SuperStream.
Offering employees a stapled fund
Previously
You must provide your employees with a choice of super fund. If you don't receive a choice form from an employee, you can request stapled super fund details from the ATO.
From 27 March 2026
You can request details of an employee's stapled super fund and offer this to your employee at the same time you provide their choice form.