What's not changing with Single Touch Payroll
From 1 July 2026 you still report employees' payroll information to us each time you pay them through your STP-enabled software. This includes:
- salaries and wages
- pay as you go (PAYG) withholding
- superannuation liability information.
STP reports must still be lodged on or before each payday.
Reporting payments made to contractors
If you pay independent contractors mainly for their labour, they are employees for superannuation guarantee purposes. It's not mandatory to report payments made to independent contractors paid mainly for their labour in STP.
If you choose to voluntarily report for these workers in STP, you'll need to meet the STP reporting requirements from 1 July 2026.
Super reporting from 1 July 2026
For paydays from 1 July 2026, you must include both of the following amounts for each employee in your STP reporting:
Your digital service provider will advise you on how to set up and report these amounts in your payroll software.
Qualifying earnings
You report qualifying earnings as year-to-date (YTD) amounts for each employee in your STP reports. Qualifying earnings are earnings paid to the employee that qualify for super guarantee contributions.
The amount by which the YTD qualifying earnings increases each payday, or period will:
- determine the qualifying earnings for that payday
- be used to calculate your employee’s individual super guarantee amount.
Amounts that are not qualifying earnings
Amounts that are paid to employees but are not qualifying earnings do not attract super guarantee (for example, fringe benefits and reimbursements for expenses). These amounts should not be reported as qualifying earnings. Doing so may lead to inconsistencies between STP data and contributions data from super funds, prompting us to contact you unnecessarily.
If your employee's earnings exceed the maximum contribution base
Once your employee's earnings reach the maximum contribution base ($270,830 for the 2026–27 financial year), you don't need to make more super guarantee contributions for the rest of the financial year. You can also stop reporting any further YTD qualifying earnings for that employee in STP but continue to report the maximum contribution base amount for the rest of the year. For 2026–27, this means the qualifying earnings amount remains at $270,830 for the remainder of the income year, once the maximum contribution base is exceeded.
If your employee wants to opt out of super guarantee
If your employee provides a super guarantee opt out certificate (or one is received from the ATO):
- at the start of the year – the YTD qualifying earnings amount for that employee is $0 in your STP report
- part way through the year – the YTD qualifying earnings amount for that employee doesn't change in your STP report from the start of the period covered in the certificate.
Superannuation liability
You report superannuation liability as YTD amounts for each employee in your STP reports.
The superannuation liability YTD amount includes the minimum super guarantee contributions payable. It may also contain additional super obligations you have under an industrial award or enterprise agreement to pay super on amounts that are not qualifying earnings.
Reporting superannuation liability in STP is mandatory under Payday Super from 1 July 2026. The requirements for what should be reported here have not changed.
Example: additional super paid under an enterprise agreement
Employer B Pty Ltd's employees are entitled to 12 weeks paid parental leave under their enterprise agreement. The agreement also requires super to be paid on all paid leave.
Paid parental leave is not ordinary time earnings or qualifying earnings.
Employer B Pty Ltd still calculates and pays super on the paid parental leave amounts because it's required by the enterprise agreement.
In STP, Employer B Pty Ltd:
- does not include the paid parental leave amount in the YTD qualifying earnings amount they report
- reports the total super amount payable on the paid parental leave as superannuation liability.
Your payroll product
It's important that you know what you need to do to make sure your payroll software is ready for Payday Super.
When your payroll product is updated for Payday Super
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.
When your product hasn't been updated for Payday Super
If the STP-enabled product you use hasn't been updated for Payday Super yet, you should:
- speak with your digital service provider about when your product will be updated
- still calculate and pay your employees' super guarantee based on their qualifying earnings.
If you can't report both qualifying earnings and superannuation liability through your payroll software from 1 July 2026, it is essential you keep good records of super guarantee amounts for each payday. This is even more important if you include additional contribution amounts in superannuation liability STP reporting.
You should start reporting these amounts as soon as possible from 1 July 2026. When you start reporting, you’ll need to include YTD amounts. Not reporting these amounts during the 2026–27 financial year increases your risk of compliance action.
You don't need to request a deferral if you can start reporting qualifying earnings during the 2026–27 financial year.
- Until 30 June 2027, we will still accept reporting of superannuation liability and ordinary time earnings (OTE) in pay events. Once you start reporting qualifying earnings, OTE in reporting will no longer be accepted.
- From 1 July 2027, if you don't report both qualifying earnings and superannuation liability amounts, we'll reject your reporting and penalties may apply.