Since 1 July 2026, Australia has officially moved to real-time Payday Super. The old practice of holding superannuation contributions for a quarterly payout is no longer permitted—Superannuation Guarantee (SG) must be calculated and remitted alongside every single pay run.

Here is an updated guide on how the current framework operates and what your business needs to do to remain fully compliant.

Why Did This Change Happen?

The Australian Government introduced the Payday Super legislation with several key goals:

• Meeting Obligations: Ensuring all employers meet their SG obligations consistently with every pay cycle.
• Protecting Rights: Safeguarding employees’ workplace rights by aligning super contributions directly with wage payments.
• Faster Growth: Allowing employee retirement savings to grow faster through more frequent contributions and compounding interest.
• Timely Payments: Ensuring superannuation is treated with the exact same priority as wages, reaching accounts when employees are paid.

The Current Landscape (Under Live Payday Super)

The previous "Quarterly Due Date" system is officially retired. Under the active laws:

• Payment Frequency: Superannuation must be processed on the same day you pay salary and wages (weekly, fortnightly, or monthly).
• Reporting Requirements: You must report superannuation liabilities at the same time you process your payroll via Single Touch Payroll (STP).
• The 7-Day Rule: The ATO requires that the super fund receive and allocate the payment within 7 business days of the payday (Note: An extended 20-business-day window applies only for an employee's first payment or when an employee switches funds).
• Qualifying Earnings Base: Super is calculated on Qualifying Earnings (QE) at the 12% rate, which includes standard Ordinary Time Earnings (OTE) as well as salary sacrifice amounts.

Clearing House Requirements

The rollout of Payday Super also permanently reshaped how payments are processed:

• ATO Clearing House Closure: The ATO Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH) has been permanently retired. It no longer accepts or processes payments.
• Software Solutions: To stay compliant, all businesses must process super using an integrated commercial clearing house within their payroll software:
  • Xero Users: Utilise the built-in Xero Auto Super facility.
  • MYOB Users: Utilise the integrated MYOB PaySuper system.
  • Payroller Users: Utilise the automated Payroller clearing workflow.

Penalties for Late Payments

Because Single Touch Payroll (STP) provides the ATO with real-time visibility matching pay runs to fund deposits, non-compliance is flagged automatically. If a contribution misses the 7-business-day window:

• SGC Liability: You become automatically liable for the updated Superannuation Guarantee Charge (SGC), which includes unpaid super plus daily compounding interest.
• Administrative Uplift: Administrative penalties of 25% to 50% apply on top of the unpaid amounts for non-compliance.
• Director Liability: The ATO actively enforces Director Penalty Notices (DPNs), which hold company directors personally liable for unpaid super liabilities.

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