Payday super – all you need to know

What is payday super?

In May 2023, the Australian Government announced that employers have until July 2026 to start paying employees super as part of their regular pay cycle. For businesses already operating under this system, no change is required. For those who need to make the adjustment, you can do so at any time before the 2026 cut-off. Making the change as soon as possible will help position your business as an employer of choice.

What else do you need to know?

In September 2024, further announcements were made:

The 7-day rule

There will be a new 7-day ‘due date’ for contributions to arrive in the employees’ superannuation fund when ordinary time earnings are paid. The change will allow time for the movement of funds through the payment system, including clearing houses.

There will be some limited exceptions:

• For those who are in their first 2 weeks of a new job, the date will be deferred until after the first 2 weeks.
• Any small and irregular payments outside an employee’s ordinary pay cycle are not part of payday until the next regular OTE payment or ‘payday’ occurs.

The new Super Guarantee Charge

An employer will be liable for the new Super Guarantee Charge (SGC) unless contributions are received by their employees’ superannuation fund within 7 calendar days of the payday cycle.

Where employers fail to pay contributions in full and on time, they are liable for the SGC.

The Australian Government has outlined 3 updates to the SGC¹:

1. The outstanding super guarantee shortfall will be calculated based on OTE.
2. The super guarantee shortfall will incur daily interest.
3. An additional charge will be levied to reflect the cost of enforcement.

Other changes to be aware of

The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH) will be retired from 1 July 2026. Employers using this service will need to find an alternative solution.

Under the new rules, super funds will have just 3 business days to allocate or return contributions, down from the current 20 days allowed. Also, the SuperStream data and payment standards will be revised to allow payments made via the New Payments Platform and improve error messaging to ensure employers and intermediaries can quickly address errors.

How is NGS supporting employers to transition to payday super?

The best way to prepare for this change is to start now. Our team are ready and available to work with employers to be prepared. Steven Brown, NGS’ Senior Customer Relationship Manager advises ways in which we can support you and your team. "Our clearing house, NGS QuickSuper, will be updated to accept OSKO payments real-time. This will reduce the time it takes for payments to reach your employees’ super funds. We’re also transforming our administration which will see quicker processing times to allocate funds to our members’ accounts," said Steven.

Connect with Steven.

Our national team of Customer Relationship Managers are available to work with employers to prepare for payday super.

Need help?

We know that changes can be sometimes confusing — but they don’t have to be. Our Customer Relationship Managers are here to help discuss any concerns. Reach out today.

If you found this article helpful, you may also enjoy the following:

• Employer super obligations
• Employer toolkit