Act now
Digital service providers must act now to ensure their payroll and software products support employers to meet their Payday Super payments from 1 July 2026.
You need to:
- Upgrade your products to support the updated SuperStream standard
- Enable STP reporting of qualifying earnings (QE) and super liability
- Ensure your systems support more frequent super payments
- Surface clear error messages and provide guidance on how employers fix mistakes
- Support member verification request (MVR) functionality
- Support appropriate payment channels, including NPP where available
- Communicate readiness and required actions to employer clients
- Follow the key dates.
Upgrade your products to support the updated SuperStream standard
- Your products must support the updated Contribution Standard, including new data fields, error messages, and validation rules.
- Enhancements include standardised error codes, support for New Payments Platform (NPP) payment details, improved fund information, and the new member verification request (MVR) message.
- Your systems must handle increased contribution frequency and higher transaction volumes.
- Ensure you have tested SuperStream v3 message structures with your clearing house or gateway provider.
Enable STP reporting of qualifying earnings (QE) and super liability
- From 1 July, employers must report QE and super liability in STP.
- QE includes ordinary time earnings, all commissions, salary sacrifice, and payments to workers under the extended definition (such as contractors paid mainly for their labour). DSPs must support correct mapping for these scenarios.
- You must enable the QE field (code Q) in STP and ensure your products distinguish QE from industrial super amounts.
- Provide clear instructions for employers on how to map pay codes for all employee types (including under 18s, irregular hours workers and salary-sacrifice arrangements).
- If QE reporting functionality will not be available by May–June 2026, you must communicate updated delivery timelines to your clients early.
- Ensure your systems support more frequent super payments
- Employers will shift from quarterly payments to paying super for each payday.
- Your systems must support this increased frequency without compromising performance or accuracy.
- Provide employers with clear information about how your product handles batch files, contribution creation, and payment submissions.
- If your product facilitates payments, you must clarify whether payments move through NPP, BECS or direct debit and what processing times employers should expect.
Surface clear error messages and provide guidance on how employers fix mistakes
- Employers must fix errors immediately to ensure payments are received by an employee's fund within 7 business days after payday.
- Your product must clearly surface contribution errors and return codes so employers can act quickly.
- Employers need to know where errors will appear (in-product, portal or through the clearing house). Make this clear.
- Provide guidance explaining common employer mistakes and how to correct them (for example incorrect USI, invalid member number, inactive ESA, mismatched ABN or incorrect amounts).
- Support employers in understanding what happens if a payment is rejected and what steps they must take next.
Support member verification request (MVR) functionality
- MVR will allow employers to validate member details before paying a contribution, reducing errors.
- Your products must support MVR messaging, including sending and receiving MVR responses.
- Employers need clarity on how to access MVR within your product and how to interpret MVR outcomes.
Support appropriate payment channels, including NPP
- NPP is a faster payment channel that reduces timing risk for employers.
- Your product must clearly communicate whether
- you support NPP
- employers must opt in
- NPP differs between your payroll and clearing house solutions.
- If you can’t support NPP, you must provide realistic settlement timeframes for BECS or direct debit.
Communicate readiness and required actions to employer clients
- Employers need clear information on when your updates will be released and what they must configure.
- Provide practical guides, FAQs and help articles on QE mapping, MVR, error handling and payment timing.
- Ensure employers understand which parts of the rollout are automated and which require their action.
Know the key dates
- April – 30 June 2026 – MVR and Contribution Transaction Request (CTR) changes to be tested and released.
- May – 30 June 2026 – Errors to be tested and released for SuperStream.
- 30 June 2026 – SBSCH users have no access after 11:59 PM AEST, including being able to download records. User logins will be disabled. DSPs should support clients by ensuring payment options are ready.
- Before 1 July 2026 – For STP: Complete testing in EVTE and release upgrades for employers to start reporting.
- 1 July 2026 – Payday Super starts. QE reporting and updated SuperStream requirements must be fully supported in your product.
- After July 2026 – Funds must return unallocated contributions in 3 business days. This increases the need for accurate data and strong error handling.
Newsletter/magazine content
Headline
Are your systems Payday Super ready? Act now
Know what you need to do now so your systems are ready to support more frequent super payments from 1 July 2026.
Article
Are your systems ready for Payday Super?
From 1 July 2026, employers must pay super for each payday.
Digital service providers need to ensure systems are ready to support the biggest change to Australia’s super system in decades.
You will need to update your products for all employers to report qualifying earnings, be compliant with the updated SuperStream contribution standard, handle the volume and speed of transactions, and support employers to pay super more frequently.
Check out the ATO’s resources, including videos and fact sheets at ato.gov.au/paydayresources.
More information is available at softwaredevelopers.ato.gov.au/paydaysuperExternal Link.
Social media content
Stronger systems for a smoother Payday
Payday Super is coming 1 July!
Take action now to get ready: build specifications available at softwaredevelopers.ato.gov.au/paydaysuperExternal Link
Stronger systems for a smoother Payday
Digital service providers are critical partners in supporting Payday Super, starting 1 July.
Take action now to be ready for the increased speed and transactions. Build specifications available at softwaredevelopers.ato.gov.au/paydaysuperExternal Link
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Stronger systems for a smoother Payday
1 July sees the biggest change to Australia’s super system in decades with the start of Payday Super.
Take action now to get ready. Build specifications available at softwaredevelopers.ato.gov.au/paydaysuperExternal Link