Payday Super Is Here: What Every Employer Must Do From 1 July 2026

Payday Super has officially commenced. From 1 July 2026, employers across Australia must pay superannuation guarantee (SG) contributions every time they pay their employees, rather than quarterly. It is the most significant change to the superannuation payment system in decades, and it is now law under the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Act 2025.

If your business is still running on quarterly super processes, the compliance risk is no longer hypothetical. Every pay run from 1 July 2026 onwards falls under the new rules, and the ATO can see late payments almost in real time by matching super fund data against your Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting.

What has actually changed?

Under the old rules, employers had until 28 days after the end of each quarter to get super into employees' accounts. Under Payday Super, contributions must now be received by the employee's super fund within 7 business days of each payday. The clock starts on the day you pay wages, which the ATO calls the “QE day”.

There is a limited exception: for a new employee, or the first payment into a new fund, the deadline extends to 20 business days. But for regular pay cycles, 7 business days is the rule. If you use a commercial clearing house, you must allow enough time for it to process and deliver your payment, because the deadline is about when the fund receives the money, not when you send it.

Super is now calculated on “qualifying earnings”

The SG rate remains 12%, but the base it is calculated on has changed. Instead of ordinary time earnings (OTE), super is now calculated on qualifying earnings (QE), a new concept that includes ordinary time earnings plus commissions, salary sacrifice contributions, and other amounts previously treated as salary or wages for SG purposes. For many businesses, this means the total super paid per employee will rise slightly, and payroll software must be configured to calculate SG correctly on every pay run.

Employers must also report year-to-date qualifying earnings and super liability for each employee through STP each payday, so pay codes need to be mapped correctly in your payroll system.

The Small Business Super Clearing House is gone

The ATO's free Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH) closed permanently on 1 July 2026. If your business relied on it, you must already be using an alternative SuperStream-compliant solution, whether through your payroll software, your super fund, or a commercial clearing house. If you have not yet made the switch, this needs to happen immediately.

Tougher penalties for late super

The redesigned super guarantee charge (SGC) is assessed directly by the ATO and includes the unpaid super calculated on qualifying earnings, daily compounding interest, and an administrative uplift amount. Penalties can reach 25% or 50% of the unpaid charge depending on your compliance history, with a maximum of 200% in serious cases.

The good news is that the ATO's first-year compliance approach (PCG 2026/1) takes a risk-based view for 2026–27. Employers making genuine efforts to comply, who fix occasional errors promptly, are likely to be treated as low risk. Employers who make no attempt to pay super each payday will not receive the same leniency.

Watch the June 2026 quarter changeover

There is a transitional trap worth knowing. Your final quarterly SG payment for the June 2026 quarter is due by 28 July 2026, and the late payment offset is not available if you miss it. Contributions received on or before 28 July are applied to the June quarter first, before covering July pay runs, so employers need to plan carefully across the changeover to avoid an accidental shortfall on their first Payday Super obligations.

Your Payday Super action plan

Every employer should now confirm that payroll software calculates SG on qualifying earnings each pay cycle, that employee super fund details are complete and correct so payments are not rejected, that STP reporting includes year-to-date QE and super liability, and that cash flow forecasts reflect super leaving the business every pay run rather than quarterly. Businesses that were on the SBSCH must confirm their replacement clearing house is fully operational.

How Keypoint Tax can help

At Keypoint Tax, our CPA-qualified team provides end-to-end payroll services covering SG calculation, STP reporting, and full compliance with ATO employer obligations and Fair Work requirements. If you are unsure whether your payroll setup is Payday Super ready, or you want the entire process managed for you, contact our Bella Vista office today. Getting this right protects your business from penalties and keeps your employees' trust where it belongs.

This article is general information only and does not constitute financial or tax advice. Speak to a registered tax agent about your specific circumstances.