From 1 July 2026, Payday Super requires employers to pay superannuation at the same time as salary, not quarterly. The Super Guarantee is 12% of qualifying earnings and must be paid within 7 business days of payday. New employees and fund changes have a 20-day window. Single Touch Payroll reporting and real-time payments via the New Payments Platform will be mandatory. The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House will cease, and the ATO will adopt a pragmatic compliance approach initially.
From 1 July 2026, Payday Super changes when employers must pay superannuation. Instead of paying super at least quarterly, employers will be required to pay super at the same time as salary and wages.
The changes aim to:
- Reduce unpaid super
- Improve transparency
- Help employees build their retirement savings earlier and more consistently
What is the Super Guarantee (SG)?
Under Payday Super, the Super Guarantee (SG):
- Is calculated at 12% of an employee's qualifying earnings (QE).
- Qualifying earnings is a new term that brings together ordinary time earnings (OTE), salary sacrifice amounts, and certain other payments.
- Must be paid on payday, at the same time as salary or wages.
- Must be received by the employee's super fund within 7 business days of payday, unless an extended timeframe applies.
What is changing?
Super will be paid on every payday
- Employers must pay super each time they pay salary or wages.
- Super contributions will be made more regularly, rather than quarterly.
- Members can expect contributions to appear in their super accounts more frequently.
Contributions must be received within 7 business days
- Employers have 7 business days from payday for super contributions to be received by the super fund.
- Whether an employer has met their Super Guarantee obligations will be assessed against this 7‑day timeframe.
New employees and new fund nominations
- For new employees, employers have up to 20 business days to make the first super contribution.
- The same 20 business day timeframe applies when an existing employee nominates a new super fund. For example, if they choose to change funds during their employment.
Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting
- From 1 July 2026, employers must report both qualifying earnings and their super liability through Single Touch Payroll (STP) each payday.
Super fund processing timeframes
- Super funds must allocate or refund contributions within 3 business days of receiving them.
- If a contribution is refunded (for example, due to incorrect details), employers must correct and resend it within their original 7‑day payment window.
Super Guarantee Charge (SGC) is changing
If super is paid late or missed:
- The Super Guarantee Charge will apply.
- It will be calculated based on qualifying earnings.
- Interest will apply and compound daily at the general interest charge rate.
Changes to employee data and payment processing
To support Payday Super, system and process changes are being introduced:
- All super funds must be able to receive payments via the New Payments Platform (NPP), allowing payments to be received in real time.
- Improved error messaging will help employers identify and fix issues more quickly.
- A new member verification request process will allow employers to confirm:
- A super fund can match the contribution to an employee, and
- The fund is ready to accept a contribution for that employee.
Netwealth expects to be ready to respond to member verification requests from September 2026. In the interim, employers can continue to submit contributions to Netwealth in the usual way.
Important: Clearing house changes
The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH) will no longer be available from 1 July 2026.
Employers who currently use SBSCH will need to move to another option to pay their employees' super.
ATO compliance approach
The ATO has indicated it will take a pragmatic, risk-based approach to compliance during the first 12 months of Payday Super. Employers who make genuine efforts to meet their obligations and fix honest mistakes may be supported through education rather than penalties during this transition period.
Keep in mind
This information explains how Payday Super works under current legislation. Rules and processes may change over time, and different circumstances may apply for different employers or employees.