Payday Super: paying super on payday from 1 July 2026

Since 1 July 2026, employers have had to pay their employees' super guarantee (SG) every payday rather than every quarter. Most of the work is in payroll and cash flow, but the penalty regime has changed too. Here is what the law now requires, and where small employers are most likely to trip up.

What changed, and the law behind it

"Payday Super" was legislated by the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Act 2025 (No. 57, 2025), which received Royal Assent on 6 November 2025 and commenced on 1 July 2026. A companion Act, the Superannuation Guarantee Charge Amendment Act 2025, commenced on the same day.

The Act rewrote the core of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992. It replaced sections 16 to 29, which calculated shortfalls quarter by quarter, with a new regime built around each "QE day" (the day you pay qualifying earnings). It inserted a new definition of qualifying earnings (section 10A), replaced the employer-lodged SG statement with ATO assessments (sections 33 to 36) and added a new penalty regime for unpaid charge (sections 59 to 59E).

Some things have not changed. The SG rate is still 12%. You still pay super for the same people, including contractors paid mainly for their labour. And you still pay through SuperStream-compliant channels.

The new deadline: 7 business days after payday

For each payday, the contribution must be received by the employee's fund within 7 business days, with enough information for the fund to allocate it to the member's account. The law calls this the "usual period". It ends on the seventh business day after the QE day.

Three details catch people out:

• "Received", not "paid". The clock stops when the fund gets the money, not when it leaves your account. Clearing houses, including those built into payroll software, need processing time. The ATO's advice is simply to pay super on payday.
• Business days are national. Weekends don't count, and neither does a public holiday that applies to a whole state or territory, even if it isn't your state. A territory-wide holiday in the NT therefore pushes out a Queensland employer's due date.
• The QE day is the day you actually pay. It isn't the day the pay run was entered, and it isn't the end of the pay period.

Exceptions: when you get 20 business days

The Act also creates an "extended usual period" of 20 business days after the QE day. It applies to the first contribution for a new employee, the first contribution to a new fund (for example, when an existing employee changes funds), and recommenced contributions. This gives time for stapled-fund lookups and new fund set-up. Only that first contribution gets the extra time. Later paydays are back on the 7-day clock.

The ATO also recognises longer timeframes for out-of-cycle payments, exceptional circumstances affecting many employers, and overlapping due dates.

Qualifying earnings replace ordinary time earnings

SG is now 12% of qualifying earnings. That brings together ordinary time earnings, commissions, salary-sacrificed amounts and other amounts previously counted as salary or wages for SG. Through Single Touch Payroll (STP) you now report both qualifying earnings and the super liability for each pay event. That gives the ATO near real-time data to match against what funds receive.

The new super guarantee charge and penalties

If a contribution arrives late or not at all, the super guarantee charge (SGC) applies. The new SGC is quite different from the old one:

• The ATO assesses it. Employers no longer lodge an SG statement. A voluntary disclosure statement is available and can reduce the charge.
• It is built from several components. These are the unpaid shortfall (based on qualifying earnings), notional earnings that compound daily at the general interest charge rate, and an "administrative uplift amount" (section 19B). The uplift can be reduced if you disclose voluntarily and the ATO hasn't taken action against you before. A separate choice loading can apply if you pay the wrong fund.
• It is tax deductible. The old SGC was not.
• Penalties are fixed percentages. If the charge stays unpaid, the ATO issues a notice to pay. Not complying attracts a penalty of 25% of the unpaid charge, or 50% if you have been penalised in the previous 24 months. This replaces the old penalty of up to 200%.

The bigger risk is how quickly problems build up. Under the quarterly system, one late payment meant one shortfall. Now every payday is a separate obligation. A fortnightly business that falls behind for a quarter has six or seven separate shortfalls, each accruing daily interest.

The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House has closed

The ATO's free Small Business Superannuation Clearing House closed to new users on 1 October 2025. Existing users had access until 30 June 2026, and it is no longer available. If you were relying on it, you need another channel. That usually means the clearing house in your payroll software, or your default fund's portal.

Practical steps for small employers

• Link super to the pay run. Make sure your payroll software pays super in the same run as wages, or straight afterwards, and reports qualifying earnings through STP.
• Know your clearing house's processing time. If it takes three or four business days, you have little room for error.
• Rethink cash flow. Super no longer sits in your account for up to four months. Budget for it alongside wages each pay cycle, and keep it in mind when you plan for BAS and PAYG.
• Get onboarding right. Collect fund details (or run the stapled fund request) when the employee starts, so the 20-day window is enough.
• Fix bounced contributions quickly. A contribution that a fund rejects because of wrong member details hasn't been "received" with enough information to allocate. Check for error messages after every run.
• Act early if you miss one. Lodging a voluntary disclosure before the ATO acts can reduce the administrative uplift.

Frequently asked questions

Can I still pay super monthly or quarterly?

Not for earnings paid from 1 July 2026. Each payday has its own 7-business-day deadline. If you pay wages monthly, you will pay super monthly. If you pay fortnightly, you will pay super fortnightly.

What happened to the June 2026 quarter?

The old rules applied to it. It was due in funds by 28 July 2026, and the late payment offset was not available for that final quarter. If you missed that date, you needed to lodge an SGC statement for the quarter by 28 August 2026.

Does the 7-day rule apply to contractors?

Yes. It applies to anyone entitled to SG, including contractors paid mainly for their labour, company directors, and some sportspeople and performers.

Is the SG rate changing?

No. Payday Super changes when you pay and what earnings you calculate super on. The rate stays at 12%.

This article is general information only and does not take your personal circumstances into account. Talk to us before acting on it.

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