Under Payday Super, you still contribute the same 12% super guarantee rate – what’s changed is when those payments are made. Instead of making super contributions quarterly, you make them each time you pay your employees – whether that’s weekly, fortnightly, or monthly.
You’ll now calculate super based on qualifying earnings this opens in a new window . This includes ordinary time earnings (OTE), all commissions, salary sacrifice contributions, and payments to workers under the extended definition of employee, such as independent contractors paid for their labour.
Super payments must reach employees’ super funds within 7 business days after payday. Some exceptions apply, such as for new employees. Make sure you allow enough time for processing through your payroll system or clearing house, and time to fix any errors before the due date.
We understand it may take a few pay cycles to get things right. If you:
make a mistake – you should fix it as soon as possible and keep a record of what happened and how you corrected it
have a rejected contribution from a fund – review the error message, correct details, and resubmit the contribution to the correct fund. You generally do not need to contact the fund first, as most issues can be resolved by fixing the information
miss a super payment, paid the wrong amount or paid into the wrong fund – pay any outstanding super to your employee’s correct fund as soon as possible.
If you’re making a genuine effort to pay super to employees each payday, you can have confidence knowing you won’t be the focus of the ATO’s compliance activities. You can find out more about our first year compliance approach this opens in a new window on our website.
The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House has closed
The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH) permanently closed on 1 July 2026. You can no longer access the SBSCH to view or download records. Any payments to the SBSCH received on and after 1 July 2026 will be returned to you within 7 business days.
If you haven't already, you should immediately find an alternative provider now so you can continue to meet your super obligations. To learn about other providers, visit SuperStream for employers this opens in a new window .
What super payments are due in July?
During July, you will have more than one super payment due. This may include:
your final quarterly super payment, and
super payments due for each payday.
With multiple super payments due during the month, it’s important to keep track of what you’ve paid and how those payments have been allocated. This can help you avoid missing payment deadlines and the super guarantee charge (SGC).
Meeting the final quarterly payment
For the final quarterly payment, you’ll still need to calculate super on the OTE you paid employees between 1 April and 30 June 2026 and ensure payment is received by 28 July 2026.
If you miss this deadline, you must lodge a super guarantee statement and pay the SGC this opens in a new window to us by 28 August 2026. Keep in mind that you won’t be able to claim a late payment offset.
If you’ve already started making Payday Super payments before you’ve met your outstanding quarterly super obligation, you’ll need to take this into account when lodging your SGC statement.
How are super payments allocated during July?
The date your super payment is received will determine how it's allocated.
Any super payments received between 1 July to 28 July 2026 will be allocated to outstanding quarterly amounts first, even if you intended these to be for Payday Super periods.
Any super payments received on or after 29 July 2026 will only be allocated to Payday Super amounts, even if you intended these to cover outstanding quarterly amounts. If you pay more than required, the extra amount will be carried forward to the next payday. Any late payment will be applied automatically to the earliest outstanding Payday Super amount.
From July 1, you need to include your employees’ year-to-date qualifying earnings and super liability in your Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting each payday.
Follow instructions from your digital service provider on what you need to do to report qualifying earnings accurately. This may include reconfiguring your software. In the meantime, you can continue to report the same amounts for super liability as you did previously.
If you can't report qualifying earnings and super liability from 1 July 2026, start reporting them as soon as possible. You don't need to request a deferral if you begin reporting qualifying earnings during the 2026–27 financial year.
