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1 July 2026 new employer responsibilities

Get Payday Super support

Get ready for payday super

The new rules start from 1 July 2026, moving super to become part of every pay run. This means potentially more frequent contributions, tighter timeframes, and changes to how you need to set-up new employees once the new rules come into play. Find out what’s changing and where to start.

3 key things to consider for Payday Super

Transfer money

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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Set up for the new pay cycle

Check that your set-up can keep up with the demands of more frequent payments.

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Review your data

Incorrect or incomplete data is one of the most common reasons contributions fail, and if a payment is rejected, you still have to make the 7 day deadline. You can prevent delays by checking essential employee data, like name, tax file number, and fund information are correct and complete.

Download the employer data checklist

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Know your cashflow position

Understand the impacts of paying super more often, especially around cashflow. You may need to adjust your approach.

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Calculate correctly

Calculate and report your super payments in line with new Payday Super rules, using qualifying earnings (QE).   

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Test pay cycles

Make sure your payment processes can meet the new 7-day timeframe and can effectively alert you to errors.

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

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. Time to pay super contributions 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. 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 Request

Before the first contribution, complete a Member Validation Request (MVR). 

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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 will need to 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 of 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.  

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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.