Payday Super: What Businesses & Employers Need to Know

 

Key Insights

  • From 1 July, employers must pay employees' Superannuation Guarantee (SG) at the same time as salary and wages, with contributions reaching the nominated fund within seven business days (20 business days for a new employees' first payment), and report year-to-date qualifying earnings (QE) each payday via Single Touch Payroll.

  • This reform increases the frequency of SG payments (e.g. weekly or fortnightly in-line with pay cycles), closes the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House from 1 July 2026, and requires businesses currently using it to move to alternative superannuation payment solutions.

  • Businesses should prepare now by confirming accurate Super Fund details, updating and testing payroll systems and workflows, modelling the cash flow impact in FY27 budgets (e.g. shifting from quarterly to monthly or more frequent SG to stress-test), and automating super contributions within payroll to manage the increased administrative load and reduce compliance risk.

From 1 July 2026, employers will be required to pay their employees' Superannuation Guarantee (SG) at the same time as they pay their salary and wages. The legislation was first introduced in October 2025, and has now received Royal Assent and is legislated.

Qualifying earnings are the types of payments made to employees that are used to calculate the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) under Payday Super.

What is Payday Superannuation?

As outlined above, under the new legislation, employers will be required to pay Superannuation Guarantee Contributions at the same time as processing employee salary and wages.

Contributions will need to reach employees’ nominated Superannuation Fund within seven (7) business days of the payday in which it relates to.

One exception is a 20-business-day timeframe applies to a new employee’s first super contribution.

What Does Payday Superannuation mean for Businesses?

Businesses are currently required to pay employee Superannuation Guarantee Contributions by the 28th day following the end of the quarter – e.g. 28 October for salary and wage paid in the Quarter: 1 July to 30 September.

From 1 July 2026, the frequency of paying Superannuation will increase. If you pay employees weekly, you will be required to pay Superannuation weekly; or if you have a fortnightly pay cycle – you will be required to pay Superannuation fortnightly.

From 1 July 2026 employers will be required to report the year-to-date amount of QE for each employee through their Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting each payday.

For small business owners, this reform represents both a challenge and an opportunity. It means rethinking payroll processes, preparing for more frequent cash outflows, and ensuring compliance with new legislation. But it also offers a chance to modernise your systems and give employees greater confidence in their retirement savings.

Closure of Small Business Superannuation Clearing House

The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH) will cease to operate from 1 July 2026. Any businesses currently using the Clearing House will need to find an alternative option for Superannuation Contributions.

What can Businesses Do Now to Prepare?

Most payroll software providers should already be looking at the changes they will be required to make to satisfy the new legislation.

If you are currently using the SGSCH, you may wish to contact us to discuss your options going forward.

Check you have up-to-date super fund details for all eligible employees. Check this information is correct (such as member account numbers and unique superannuation identifiers) to prevent any errors.

As well as increased compliance issues, the payday superannuation may also have impacts on business’ cash flow. Businesses when preparing their FY27 budgets, should include the Payday super cycles into their modelling. The admin workload will increase for those businesses that pay frequently like weekly or fortnightly. Manually processing super every pay cycle is unsustainable and increase the risk of non-compliance. Look at automating contributions in the same workflow as payroll. One system covers wages, tax and super.

Businesses should look at testing their workflow processes early (now), to see if any adjustments need to be made. Even adjusting quarterly SG payments back to at least monthly SG payments to stress test cashflow requirements should be considered.

For More Information

For tailored advice on on the new Payday Super obligations for businesses, please contact the Archer Gowland Redshaw team on (07) 3002 2699 or via info@agredshaw.com.au. 
Ian Walker

Written by Ian Walker

As Executive Chairman, Ian is a trusted Professional Services practitioner with over 25 years’ experience within the Accounting industry. Working closely with his clients to form long-term partnership, Ian provides high-level strategic advice across all areas of Accounting, Business Advisory, Superannuation, and Taxation. Ian is proud to partner with many SME & Family-owned businesses to provide comprehensive and bespoke strategies to help address the challenges and complexities they encounter through day-to-day operations & management.

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