For decades, employers only had to pay super four times a year, up to 28 days after each quarter ended. That gap meant unpaid super could go unnoticed for months, and the ATO estimated billions of dollars a year went missing. Payday Super closes that gap. From 1 July 2026, super is due on the same cycle as your wages.
What changed
| Before 1 July 2026 | From 1 July 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| When super is paid | Quarterly, within 28 days of quarter end | With every pay run |
| Deadline | 28 days after the quarter | Must reach your fund within 7 business days of payday |
| New employee’s first payment | Same quarterly deadline | Up to 20 business days, to allow fund details to be set up |
| What it’s based on | Ordinary time earnings | “Qualifying earnings”: ordinary hours plus things like commissions and some allowances |
| Earnings limit | Quarterly maximum contribution base | Annual maximum contribution base of $270,830 for 2026–27 |
| Small Business Superannuation Clearing House | Available to small employers | Closed; employers use payroll or fund channels instead |
The rate itself didn’t change: it’s still 12% of qualifying earnings. The key detail is that the 7-business-day deadline is about when the money arrives in your fund, not when your employer presses send.
How much should land each pay
| Salary (before super) | Weekly pay | Fortnightly pay | Monthly pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| $60,000 | $138.46 | $276.92 | $600.00 |
| $85,000 | $196.15 | $392.31 | $850.00 |
| $120,000 | $276.92 | $553.85 | $1,200.00 |
| $180,000 | $415.38 | $830.77 | $1,800.00 |
On a $85,000 salary paid fortnightly, you should see about $392.31 arrive in your super account within a week or so of each payday. If you earn more than $270,830, your employer can stop paying the guarantee once your year-to-date qualifying earnings pass that limit.
A 5-minute check
- Look at your payslip. It must show the super amount and the fund it’s going to.
- Log in to your fund’s app or website and look at the transaction list. You want to see a contribution roughly every pay cycle, not one lump each quarter.
- Compare the amounts. Each deposit should be about 12% of that pay’s qualifying earnings, minus nothing. Contributions tax (15%) is deducted inside the fund, so the deposit itself should show the full amount.
- Check myGov. Your ATO record shows what your fund reported, which helps if you have more than one account.
- Note the dates. A deposit landing more than about 7 business days after payday is worth asking about.
If super is late or missing
Start with your employer or payroll team: genuine mistakes, such as wrong fund details, are common in the first months of a new system. If that doesn’t fix it, you can report unpaid super to the ATO through myGov. Under Payday Super, late payments attract a super guarantee charge that includes interest calculated from payday, so the cost of paying late now falls on the employer, not you.
Why it’s good for your balance
Money that reaches your fund sooner starts earning returns sooner. The difference per year is small, but it’s not nothing, and the bigger win is visibility: missing super now shows up within a couple of weeks instead of months later, when a struggling business may already have closed. Project your own balance with our super calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Does Payday Super apply to casual and part-time workers?
Yes. Super guarantee applies to almost all employees, including casuals. Workers under 18 must work more than 30 hours in a week to be eligible.
My super still seems to arrive monthly. Is that wrong?
If you’re paid monthly, monthly super is exactly right. It should follow your pay cycle.
Does Payday Super change how much super I get?
Not the rate, which stays at 12%. But “qualifying earnings” can include some payments that weren’t counted before, and you lose less to late or missing payments.
What about earnings from before 1 July 2026?
Those fall under the old quarterly rules, so the last quarterly payment was due by 28 July 2026.
