Until recently, there could’ve been a significant gap between when you were paid your wages and when your superannuation reached your super fund. You might have been paid weekly or fortnightly, while your employer was only required to make compulsory superannuation contributions quarterly.
That changed on 1 July 2026.
Australia’s new Payday Super laws now require employers to pay superannuation in line with their employees’ pay cycle. The reforms are designed to ensure super reaches employees’ accounts sooner, make unpaid super easier to identify and allow retirement savings to be invested earlier.
What happened before 1 July 2026?
Previously, employers generally had until 28 days after the end of each quarter to make their compulsory superannuation guarantee contributions. This meant that even if you were paid every week or fortnight, your super could be paid only four times a year.
That delay created a number of problems.
Unpaid or incorrectly paid super could go unnoticed for months. Employees also missed the opportunity to have their super invested earlier, potentially reducing the benefit of investment earnings and compounding over their working lives. Perhaps most importantly, where an employer was experiencing financial difficulties, a substantial super liability could accumulate before an employee realised there was a problem.
What changed on 1 July 2026?
From 1 July 2026, employers must pay superannuation in connection with each payday rather than waiting until the end of the quarter. In most cases, your employer’s super contribution must be received by your super fund within seven business days of payday. So, if you are paid fortnightly, you should generally see super contributions flowing to your super fund each fortnight rather than quarterly.
There are limited circumstances in which a longer timeframe applies, including some payments relating to new employees.
How is your super calculated now?
The superannuation guarantee rate remains 12%, but the Payday Super reforms have also changed the statutory framework for calculating your entitlement.
Before 1 July 2026, superannuation guarantee contributions were generally calculated by reference to your ordinary time earnings (OTE) for the quarter.
From 1 July 2026, employers calculate their superannuation guarantee liability on qualifying earnings paid on each payday.
‘Qualifying earnings’ are a new concept under the Payday Super regime. They may include your ordinary wages or salary, commissions, shift loadings, over-award payments and certain salary-sacrificed amounts. They can also include payments to some contractors who are treated as employees for superannuation purposes.
The important point for employees is that super is now calculated and reported by reference to each payday rather than simply being dealt with as a quarterly obligation.
What happens if your employer pays late?
The seven-business-day deadline matters.
If the required contribution does not reach your super fund within the required period, your employer may become liable for the Superannuation Guarantee Charge (SGC). The SGC regime has been redesigned as part of Payday Super so that the consequences of late or unpaid contributions more closely reflect the amount owing and the length of the delay.
The new regime can include:
- the unpaid superannuation guarantee amount;
- an earnings component designed to compensate for the period your super was unpaid; and
- an administrative uplift.
The longer an employer takes to correct an unpaid super liability, the greater the potential cost.
The new system is also intended to give the Australian Taxation Office better and more timely information to identify unpaid super.
Why does Payday Super matter to employees?
For employees, the most obvious difference is frequency. If you are paid fortnightly, you should no longer have to wait until the end of a quarter for your employer to make your compulsory super contributions.
There are several potential benefits which come with more frequent super contributions, such as:
Your super is invested sooner. More frequent contributions mean your money reaches your super fund earlier and has longer to earn investment returns and benefit from compounding.
It is easier to identify unpaid super. Your wage payments and super contributions should now follow a much more closely aligned pattern. If you are receiving your wages but your super contributions are not appearing, the discrepancy should become apparent much sooner.
Employers cannot accumulate months of unpaid super before the payment deadline arrives. This is particularly important where a business is experiencing financial difficulties.
The ATO receives more timely information. Changes to payroll and Single Touch Payroll reporting are intended to make it easier for the ATO to identify potential non-compliance.
What should you do?
You do not need to do anything to become entitled to Payday Super. The legal obligation rests with your employer.
However, the new system makes it much easier for you to keep an eye on whether your super is being paid correctly.
It is worth:
- regularly checking your superannuation account;
- comparing the contributions appearing in your account with your payslips and pay cycle; and
- raising any missing or late contributions promptly.
Remember that your contribution does not necessarily have to appear in your super account on the exact day you receive your wages. In most cases, the law allows up to seven business days for the contribution to be received by the fund.
What if my super is not being paid?
If your super contributions are missing, consistently late or appear to be incorrect, you should not assume the issue will eventually correct itself.
Unpaid super is an employment entitlement as well as an important part of your retirement savings.
If you are concerned that your employer has failed to pay your superannuation, wages or other employment entitlements, our experienced employment lawyers can help you understand your rights and the options available to recover what you are owed. If you have concerns that your employer is not meeting their new obligations under superannuation law, contact JFM Law for advice tailored to your circumstances. Call us on 1300 882 386 , email us or make a booking with one of our employment law experts.
