Get Payday Super ready

Payday Super is a new legislated requirement that means employers will need to pay super contributions in line with their employees’ regular pay cycle, so super is paid at the same time as wages, rather than quarterly.

The Australian Government introduced Payday Super to:

• improve transparency for employees,
• reduce the amount of unpaid super, and help contributions grow sooner for better retirement outcomes.

The legislation will commence on 1 July 2026. From this date, employers must ensure their payroll and super payment processes support paying super on payday.

Yes, Payday Super applies to all employers, regardless of business size, industry, or workforce composition. There is no phased rollout. All employers must comply with the new Payday Super rules from 1 July 2026, including paying super on each payday and meeting the updated timing and reporting requirements.

If your employees are members of a defined benefit scheme, Payday Super generally continues to apply, but the way compliance is assessed is different. For defined benefit members, notional employer contributions are taken to have been made on the Qualifying Earnings (QE) day. If the notional employer contribution rate shown in the benefit certificate is at least 12%, your Super Guarantee (SG) obligation is taken to be met and your SG shortfall for the quarter will be nil.

However:

• If the notional contribution rate is less than 12%, or
• If you have employees who are not members of the defined benefit scheme, you will be required to make SG contributions in line with Payday Super requirements, including paying super on payday for those employees.

To clarify your situation, you can contact the ATO for tailored technical assistance: Tailored technical assistance | Australian Taxation Office

Quarterly payments will no longer apply. From 1 July 2026, super must be paid on Payday to remain compliant.

Payday Super is similar to Single Touch Payroll in that it relies on payroll systems for reporting, but it requires super payments to be made on each payday, not quarterly. Employers must ensure their payroll and clearing house can support both reporting and timely payment.

If you use the AMP eSuper Clearing House, you can continue to use it for contribution payments, there is no change to file formats or submission methods.

No separate registration is required. To prepare for Payday Super, employers should:

• Check with your digital service provider (payroll or clearing house) on when your software will be ready to support:
  • improved error messaging, and
  • the new Member Verification Request (MVR) functionality,
  • and whether any changes are required on your side.
• Review error messages you currently receive from super funds. Contribution or registration messages that today return warnings or information responses may be rejected after 1 July 2026.
• Review how you pay super contributions, including:
  • when your payroll, clearing house or super fund will support New Payments Platform (NPP) payments,
  • whether any system updates are required, and
  • how long payments take to reach a super fund.
• Confirm your default super fund registration details are current and correct.
• Stay up to date by monitoring updates from:
  • the ATO,
  • your digital service provider, and
  • your super funds.

Most major payroll providers are updating their systems to support Payday Super. Employers should check directly with their provider for readiness timelines and updates.

The ATO does not charge any fees for Payday Super. However, payroll software providers, clearing houses and banks may update their pricing, so employers should check directly with their chosen provider.

The ATO doesn’t define a single, fixed definition of a ‘payroll provider,’ instead it provides employers with a list of software developers and products that support payroll, STP and SuperStream reporting.

Employers can refer to the ATO SuperStream Product Register and ATO Software Developers list to identify payroll and accounting solutions that are recognised as supporting ATO reporting requirements.

Yes, the ATO is working closely with digital service providers (DSPs), including payroll software and clearing house providers, to support implementation of Payday Super and updated SuperStream standards. This includes system builds, testing, and changes to data and payment messaging ahead of 1 July 2026.
 

Employers should check directly with their payroll software provider to confirm readiness, understand required updates, and ensure their systems are configured correctly before the commencement date.