Payday Super: What’s Changing for Employers from 1 July 2026
If you’re an employer, the big superannuation change this year isn’t a rate rise – the super guarantee rate stays at 12%. The real change is Payday Super, which starts from 1 July 2026 and changes how and when you need to pay your employees’ super.
What Is Payday Super?
Until now, you’ve been able to pay super guarantee quarterly, as long as it reached your employees’ funds within 28 days of the end of each quarter. From 1 July 2026, that changes: super guarantee must be paid at the same time as wages, and must be received by your employees’ super funds within 7 business days of payday. There are some exceptions to this deadline, such as for new employees.
How Super Guarantee Is Calculated
Super guarantee has always been calculated on ordinary time earnings. From 1 July 2026, it’s calculated on a broader measure called qualifying earnings, which brings in ordinary time earnings plus commissions, salary sacrifice amounts, and other payments that previously sat outside the calculation. This is reported through Single Touch Payroll alongside your super liability.
What Happens If Super Is Paid Late
The rules around late payments are changing too. From 1 July 2026, the ATO assesses the super guarantee charge directly, rather than employers self-assessing and lodging a statement. Interest now compounds daily at the general interest charge rate, and an added administrative uplift amount applies – though this can be reduced if you make a voluntary disclosure. On the plus side, the super guarantee charge becomes tax deductible, and penalties are capped at 25% or 50% of the unpaid charge, down from the previous maximum of 200%.
What Employers Should Do Now
If you were using the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House, it’s now closed – you’ll need an alternative way to pay employee super. It’s also worth checking your payroll software and processes can handle paying and reporting super every payday rather than quarterly, well before the change takes effect.
If you’d like a hand making sure your payroll and super processes are ready for Payday Super, get in touch for a chat about what it means for your business.