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1 July 2026 new employer responsibilities

Get Payday Super support

Payday Super is here

Payday Super started on 1 July 2026, making super part of every pay run. This means potentially more frequent contributions, tighter timeframes, and changes to how you set up new employees. Find out what’s changed and where to start. 

3 key things to consider with Payday Super

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Payment frequency

Super needs to be paid at the same time as salary or wages.

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Calculating super

All employers must use qualifying earnings (QE) to calculate the super guarantee (SG) amount, the new term that brings together ordinary time earnings (OTE) and other payments.

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Contribution timings

Employers have up to 7 business days to ensure contributions are received by existing employee super funds, or you could face penalties. 

Where should I start?

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Check your data

Incorrect or incomplete data is a common reason contributions fail. Prevent delays by checking employee data, such as the name, tax file number, and fund information are correct.

Download the employer contribution  data checklist

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Calculate correctly

Calculate and report your super payments in line with new Payday Super rules using qualifying earnings (QE), which includes salary and wages, paid leave, commissions, allowances and salary sacrifice amounts. 

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Manage errors

Errors happen, so it’s good to be aware of them and what the fix might be. Make sure your payment processes can meet the new 7-day timeframe and can effectively alert you to errors.  

Need help with errors?

Error Action
Member is not found with supplied information Check the submitted details are right. New details may be needed
No longer a member of specified super fund Again, new details may be needed. Employees should be encouraged to contact their fund directly and verify.
Contribution can’t be accepted as it is either a closed product, defined benefit, or pension fund If your employee’s updated details aren’t available, use the standard process for them to choose a valid super fund, or search for a stapled fund, and make sure the payment still goes through.
No account exists and you don’t have a default relationship with the fund to register the employee Alternate super fund details might be needed, then another verification. You may also use the standard process for them to choose a valid super fund, or search for a stapled fund, and make sure the payment still goes through.
The ABN of the SMSF isn’t known to the message receiver Employee needs to request provide a valid electronic service address for the SMSF.
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What's the ATO's approach to compliance with Payday Super?

The ATO says it won’t penalise employers who are genuinely trying to comply and fix issues quickly. Under its Practical Compliance Guideline, the ATO won’t take action in the first 12 months of Payday Super where employers are attempting to make superannuation contributions on payday, or when eligible contributions aren’t received by the relevant fund on time. Keep in mind there may be cases where penalties apply.  

Learn more

Payday super in action

Calculator

Calculate QE

Employer calculates super using qualifying earnings (QE).
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Submit contribution

Contribution is submitted via a clearing house platform.
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Fund processing

3 business days are needed for fund processing.
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Payment received

Payment must be received by the fund within 7 days.  
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Process complete

Process is complete but watch for errors and missed payments.

Time to start paying super on payday

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Calculator

Calculate super

  1. Firstly, calculate super on qualifying earnings (QE).
  2. Next, apply the correct Super Guarantee (SG) rate of 12%.
  3. Remember, that the maximum contribution base is now assessed annually instead of quarterly.  

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Pay on time

  1. Super contributions are now paid at the same time as wages.
  2. Make sure contributions reach the super fund within 7 business days of payday.
  3. Be sure to allow for fund processing, which can be up to 3 business days. 

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Report super

  1. Report payroll information through Single Touch Payroll (STP) to the Australian Taxation Office on or before payday.
  2. Report qualifying earnings (QE) and super liability via STP.
  3. Via your payroll provider or clearinghouse, create and submit super contribution data in the standard SuperStream format.  

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Find the correct fund

  1. Provide a Choice of Fund form to your employee.
  2. If no fund is nominated, request the stapled fund from the Australian Taxation Office.
  3. If a stapled fund is provided, you can pay contributions into that fund.
  4. Only use your default fund if:
    • No fund is nominated, and
    • No stapled fund is returned  
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Member verification or registration?

Member Verification Request (MVR)

Before the first contribution is paid to a new account provided by your employee, you must complete an MVR. This is an online request triggered through your payroll software or clearing house. It’s basically a check of an existing account. 

Member Registration Request (MRR)

By contrast, when an employee doesn’t nominate a fund and instead elects to join your business's nominated default fund, an MRR is required. Here the request goes from the clearing house to the fund to create a new account.  

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Ready to pay

From here, you can simply follow the same steps for paying existing employees:

  1. Calculate super on qualifying earnings (QE).
  2. Apply the correct Super Guarantee (SG) rate of 12%.
  3. Submit payment and super contribution data via your selected provider or clearing house.
  4. For new employees you have 20 business days to ensure contributions are received by the fund, or 7 days for existing employees. 
  5. Be sure to allow for fund processing, which can be up to 3 business days.
  6. Monitor for reporting errors and missed payments. 

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Report super

  1. Report payroll information through Single Touch Payroll (STP) to the Australian Taxation Office on or before payday.
  2. Report qualifying earnings (QE) and super liability via STP.  

What happens if you make a mistake?

If you miss a payment, pay late or incorrectly, you may be liable for Super Guarantee Charge.

From 1 July

  • Employers must pay SG contributions on each employee’s regular payday. For each regular pay period, employers must ensure that the SG payments reach the employee’s super fund within 7 business days.
  • Employers will be liable for the SGC if super isn’t received by the fund on time for each pay cycle.
  • The SGC will be calculated from payday, and interest will accrue from the employee’s payday.
  • Admin fees will be calculated as up to 60% of the payment shortfall, but submitting a voluntary SGC statement to the ATO may reduce the amount.
  • Additional late payment penalties will apply if an employer does not pay an SGC amount by the date given by the ATO in the SGC assessment.

Disclosing missed or late super payments can help reduce the potential penalties that you might receive as a result.

A voluntary statement can be made at any time, if it’s submitted before the ATO issue an assessment of SG shortfall.  

7-day deadline

Remember that even if a contribution is rejected, employers need to ensure contributions are received by the fund within 7 business days of payday.

There are special cases to the rules, such as when a payment is rejected because of a closed account or if you need to obtain new fund details from your employee.  

Meet Rest Pay

If you’re looking for a simple solution to manage more frequent payments, Rest Pay is purpose-built-for-Payday Super .

Learn more about Rest Pay
Employer team member

Keen to see if Rest for Business is right for your team?

Start with your name and email. We’ll guide you through a few short questions so one of our employer specialists can follow up with the right info.

Get in contact with us

FAQs

Why is Payday Super being introduced?

The government is seeking to improve the super system for everyday Australians. If super is paid more frequently, as it will be under Payday Super, an employee’s balance can potentially improve with more time in the market. In other words, as money comes in more regularly, super balances can benefit from compound interest.

The other goal of the new rules is to help employers stay on top of contributions, with only 7 days to make sure each payment is completed. Regular and steady super payments should ensure super is arriving on time and in the right amount. 

How do I calculate super under Payday Super?

Qualifying earnings (QE) is a new term under Payday Super that brings together ordinary time earnings (OTE) and other payments such as commissions and eligible salary sacrifice amounts. Once Payday Super starts on July 1, 2026, super payments calculated from qualifying earnings sync up with salary and wages. 

What makes up qualifying earnings?

  • Base salary and wages, ordinary hours of work 
  • Salary sacrifice, which would have been considered ordinary hours prior to sacrifice arrangements 
  • Commissions and bonuses, performance-based payments 
  • Allowances, for skills, qualifications, or specific duties (e.g., first aid) 
  • Paid leave, annual leave, personal leave, long service leave . 

How do I report qualifying earnings?

Under Payday Super, employers must report the year-to-date amount of qualifying earnings (QE) for each employee through their Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting each payday. Employers will also have to report the cumulative year-to-date payments and super liability for each employee.

Employers can't report QE prior to 1 July 2026. Until then, you must report either OTE or super liability in STP to be compliant. You should review your STP software and prepare to correctly map pay codes now. This will help you meet reporting obligations and ensure readiness when updated payroll software is available.

For more information, see visit the ATO’s page on QE in STP. 

Why are EmployerAccess and SCH Online closing?

To help your business meet the government’s Payday Super reforms and stay compliant, Rest is offering a purpose-built clearing house solution called Rest Pay.

EmployerAccess and SCH Online are therefore closing and will only be available in read-only format, you won’t be able to submit contributions via these decommissioned platforms any longer. 

To register for Rest Pay, you’ll simply need your employer ID which is in the top right-hand corner of the screen. 

EmployerAccess and SCH Online will be shut down and available to existing users in read only format. You won’t be able to submit contributions via these platforms. 

Can I switch to Rest Pay?

Yes, Rest Pay is available now and is provided at no cost for default Rest employers. It’s a tailor-made solution designed to keep your business on top of its super obligations. It’s intuitive, user-friendly, has real time contribution tracking and purpose-built features for fast onboarding and workflow efficiency.

Rest Pay helps :

  • Keep you compliant under the new Payday Super laws
  • Process contributions quickly and easily
  • Protect your data with leading security
  • Manage your super tasks with a simple interface. 

To switch to Rest Pay, learn more here.