Payday Super obligations

In most cases, you need to pay super at the same time as payroll, whether that’s weekly, fortnightly, or monthly.

Qualifying Earnings (QE) is a new term for the types of payment that qualify for super. Qualifying Earnings include things like payments for ordinary hours of work (Ordinary Time Earnings), and certain types of paid lead, bonuses and lump sum payments.  From 1 July, all employers will use QE to calculate both the SG amount and the Super Guarantee Charge amount. Plus, the day you run payroll becomes QE day.

You may incur the Super Guarantee Charge and additional penalties. The rules around what to do if you miss a payment are also changing.  

View Rest’s late or missed super payments information page for more details.

The ATO’s Small Business Clearing House will close at 11:59pm AEST on 30 June 2026.  After that, it won’t be available for payments or records. If your business uses it, now is the time to look for an alternative solution.  

Consider Rest Pay.

For most contributions:

• Super must reach the employee’s fund within 7 business days of payday.  

The exception is when you are paying an employee Super Guarantee for the first time (for example, a new starter or a new fund), or first-time payments to a new fund, then you have up to 20 business days for that initial contribution only.  

After the first successful contribution, the 7 business day rule applies to all future payments. 

There are some other exemptions, employers can check the ATO for full details. 

If contribution data is incorrect or incomplete: 

• The contribution will be automatically rejected 
• You will need to ensure the corrected contribution is still received within the original 7 business days 

There is no extension to the due date because of a data issue or rejection, and under Payday Super, super funds will only have 3 days, reduced from 20 days, to process the contribution. 

If you receive an error, the rejection message will give you more details on how to correct the issue.  

A Member Verification Request (MVR) is a digital check sent through SuperStream, either through your payroll, business software or clearing house solution, which allows you to confirm: 

1. An employee is a member of a particular super fund; and 
2. The fund is able to accept Super Guarantee (SG) contributions for that employee. 

An MVR helps prevent contributions from being sent to the wrong fund or rejected due to incorrect details. 

An MVR is mandatory when you are contributing to a super fund for the first time for that employee.

During the month of July, you may have multiple super payment dates.   

For example: 

• For the period ending 30 June 2026, Quarterly SG will be due 28 July 2026 
• Any paydays on or after 1 July 2026 will require super to be paid within 7 business days of each payday 

Depending on payroll frequency, this could mean one, two, or multiple super payment dates in July.  

The NPP is Australia’s fast, secure, and efficient payments system. It enables near-instant transfer of funds 24/7, including on weekends and public holidays.  The NPP validates payment details upfront and moves money in real time through services such as Osko, PayID, and PayTo.  

To help employers meet their superannuation obligations, from 1 July 2026 all super funds must be able to receive contributions in using the NPP. This ensures super payments are delivered quickly and securely, without delays caused by traditional banking hours.