What data we use and why
Payday Super provides us with earlier visibility of unpaid or underpaid super guarantee contributions by employers. This allows us to take timely compliance action to safeguard the super entitlements of employees.
We use the information you report through Single Touch Payroll (STP) and information reported by super funds to work out:
- how much super you need to pay for each eligible employee
- whether super was paid in full and on time.
This helps us identify any missed, late, or underpaid super contributions.
STP data
We use your STP data to assess your super obligations.
Your STP report is due on or before the day you pay your employees. From 1 July 2026, you must report year-to-date (YTD) amounts of qualifying earnings. These are the payments made to employees that are used to calculate the minimum super guarantee amounts.
The day you pay your employees, as reported in STP, is used to determine when super payments are due.
If you aren't able to meet your super obligations in full or on time, or want to know more about this, see Missed or late Payday Super payments.
Super fund data
Super fund data is used to determine if you have paid the minimum super guarantee contributions for your employees.
When you pay super for your workers, the fund reports the payments to us. The super fund also reports the date the payments were received.
How we use the YTD qualifying earnings amount
Qualifying earnings are reported as YTD amounts in your STP reports. To find the qualifying earnings amount for a specific payday, we subtract the previous period’s YTD qualifying earnings from the current period’s YTD qualifying earnings.
Example: calculating the qualifying earnings amount
|
Previous STP reported YTD amounts |
Current payday STP reported YTD amounts |
Calculation of qualifying earnings amount for the current payday |
|---|---|---|
|
$4,000 |
$5,000 |
$5,000 (current YTD) – $4,000 (previous YTD) = $1,000 |
End of example
To then work out the super contribution for each payday, we multiply the qualifying earnings amount by the super guarantee rate. Payday is also known as the 'QE day' – that is, the date that an employer makes a qualifying earnings payment to an employee.
Example: calculating the super guarantee amount
|
Qualifying earnings amount for the QE day |
2026–27 super guarantee rate |
Individual super guarantee amount for the QE day |
|---|---|---|
|
$1,000 |
12% |
12% × $1,000 = $120 |
End of example
Inconsistent data
In some circumstances the super data held by us may not align with your records. This may limit our ability to match or disclose contribution information to you.
This can happen if, for example:
- you pay contributions to a fund without sending all the information required under SuperStream, including your ABN, or super contributions are paid under a different ABN to that reported in your STP pay events
- from 1 July 2026, if super is paid under a different ABN you must report the ABN that reported the STP pay event for that employee as part of that contribution message
- if you use a clearing house, make sure the ABN you report to them matches the one in your STP reporting
- we are unable to identify your workers through our data-matching process
- there are STP reporting or super contribution issues or errors
- information is reported late or is incomplete.
It is important that both your details and your workers' details are complete, timely and correctly reported through STP and to the super funds.
We use the information available to us to calculate your workers' super entitlements. There may be times when corrections or exceptions affect the data you have reported. That's why it is important to maintain good records. If the information we hold indicates you have not met your super guarantee obligations, or we can’t match your information due to reporting errors, we may need to contact you.
When we take action
For the first year of Payday Super (QE days from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027), we will prioritise the areas of highest risk by investigating employers who have not paid the minimum amount of super guarantee contributions or have not paid super guarantee at all for their employees.
Employers who try to make super guarantee contributions on time and in full for each payday, and take steps to fix errors when they arise, won’t be the focus of our compliance action in the first year of Payday Super.
Our ongoing compliance approach will focus on employers' behaviours and trends, along with their compliance and payment history.
Payday Super will deliver more significant consequences and penalties for ongoing and repeated non-payment of the super guarantee charge.