The Federal Government is changing how businesses make their mandatory super contributions for their employees. From 1 July 2026, you’ll be required to pay your employees’ super at the same time as salary and wages.
That means no more quarterly SG payments after 1 July 2026 - contributions need to be made at the same time as your payroll.
Update on Payday Super
In September 2024, the government provided more information on what Payday Super will look like for employers.
Here's a snapshot:
Employees must receive their contributions in their super account within 7 calendar days of payday. For missed or delayed payments, there will be an SG charge to make up for delays or potentially missed money from these late payments.
The purpose of the SG charge is intended to put workers in the same position as if the contributions had been received in full and on time. The SG charge is also designed to incentivise employers to self-report missed payments, while increasing penalties for employers who repeatedly miss SG payments to their employees.
There are limited exceptions to the 7-day super payment rule, including new starters or small or irregular payments.
Other changes include:
- The deadline for superannuation funds to allocate or return contributions will be reduced to three business days, down from 20.
- The SuperStream data and payment standards will be revised to allow payments via the New Payments Platform and improve error messaging to ensure employers and intermediaries can quickly address errors.
- The ATO’s Small Business Superannuation Clearing House will be retired from 1 July 2026. The ATO will engage with small businesses ahead of time to support them in transitioning to an alternative that is fit-for-purpose for Payday Super.
- Revised choice of fund rules will make it easier for employees to nominate their superannuation fund when they start a new job. Employers will be able to show employees their existing ‘stapled’ fund during onboarding, as part of the choice of fund. This will reduce the risk of unintended duplicate accounts and give employers more timely and accurate details.
- Advertising of superannuation products during onboarding will be limited to MySuper products that have passed the most recent performance test to protect employees from poor outcomes.
Legislative design will progress through the second half of 2024. The ATO will engage industry to inform administrative design. Following consultation, there may be some refinements to the details set out in the factsheet provided.
To read more on Payday super, refer to the Australian Government fact sheet released in September 2024.
Why is the government making the switch?
Research supporting the switch shows that more frequent contributions put employees 1.5% better off at retirement.1
More frequent contributions can also benefit people employed in casual or insecure work. Anybody who is receiving infrequent contributions are more likely to miss out at retirement, particularly women in the workforce.
According to the release from the Federal Treasury, people on irregular contracts, lower paid employment or casual work are the most impacted groups by infrequent super contributions by their employers, and this group is overrepresented by women.
But you don’t have to wait till 2026 to make the change. You can help your employees retire better with more frequent super contributions. Switching to payday contributions is a great way to care for you and your employee’s retirement plans.
Super payments resources for business owners
Although Payday Super isn’t kicking in until 2026, you can start preparing by streamlining your super payments and onboarding processes. Employers registered with ART have access to some market leading technology to help reduce super payments pain points.
Super Fund Onboarding (SFO) is one tool that helps streamline the onboarding process by simplifying super fund stapling. SFO is available to all registered employers on ART’s Employer Online Portal (EOL)
This isn’t just useful for Payday Super, it’s a great way to meet your obligations as an employer.
If you’re not already using ART’s Employer Online super payments portal (EOL), registration only takes 10 minutes and gives you access to our super payments clearinghouse, as well as Super Fund Onboarding.
Already registered for Employer Online? Get access to SFO here.
Stay up to date on all things superannuation
Keep ahead of the curve on new requirements and trends by visiting our Employer Hub, where you can go to get resources, information and assistance.
Learn more about Australian Retirement Trust and how you and your employees can benefit from partnering with us.
1based on a 25-year-old median income earner. Source: ministers.treasury.gov.au/ministers/stephen-jones-2022/media-releases/introducing-payday-super
2ibid