PAYDAY SUPER
Payday Super | Date Posted 1 July 2026
PAYDAY SUPER IS HERE
As of 1 July 2026, employers must pay their employees’ super at the same time as their salary and wages. This is known as Payday Super.
Team Super has the resources to help you – including:
answers to your frequently asked questions;
factsheets on topics including Qualifying Earnings and changes to SuperStream and the Super Guarantee (SG);
a troubleshooting guide for making payments under the new rules; and
how to opt in to real-time payments using QuickSuper.
WHAT HAS CHANGED?
There are four key changes employees need to be aware of when it comes to paying super from 1 July 2026:
For Super Guarantee (SG) payments, the new term Qualifying Earnings (QE) must now be used. QE includes:
ordinary time earnings (OTE);
salary sacrifice contributions; and
other amounts that are currently included in an employee's salary or wages for the SG.
Employers must report both QE and super liability through Single Touch Payroll (STP).
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is upgrading SuperStream contributions messaging to help you meet your SG obligations and avoid charges and penalties. You can find more information about these messages on our Troubleshooting tips page.
The Small Business Super Clearing House (SBSCH) closed on 30 June 2026.
Read on for more detail.
KEY STEPS TO ENSURE PAYMENTS ARE MADE ON TIME
Check that your employees’ data in your payroll system is accurate including their:
first and last names;
date of birth;
Tax File Number (TFN); and
residential address
Please also ensure that their Unique Superannuation Identifier (USI)/fund details are correct. You can find Team Super’s details here.
Use the Member Verification Request (MVR) function in your payroll system for new employees or employees who have changed funds to verify active accounts before the first contribution is made.
Use the Member Registration Request (MRR) function in your payroll system to register the employee as a member of Team Super (if you have not already done this)
Update payroll system for Qualifying Earnings (QE) calculation. See the ATO QE Factsheet (PDF) and the Frequently Asked Questions section below to find out more about QE – this is a new concept that applies from 1 July 2026 for the calculation of the Super Guarantee (SG).
Ensure your Australian Business Number (ABN) in contribution files match Single Touch Payroll (STP)-reported ABN.
If you receive any error messages you are unsure about, please refer to our Troubleshooting tips page.
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Use a SuperStream compliant payment method — such as QuickSuper* — with real-time payments to enable the fastest possible receipt, and actively monitor for immediate acknowledgements or rejections from Team Super or the clearing house or payroll provider you are using to make your super payments. See the end of the page to find out how employers who register with Team Super can use the Team Super QuickSuper* portal at no cost.
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU START PAYING SUPER ON PAYDAY
Because you could be liable for the Super Guarantee Charge (SGC) for a late payment, it’s important that you check that your super payments go through to each employee's super account. If an employee's super fund has not received their super payment within seven business days of their pay, you could be liable for the charge even if you made the payment in time.
Therefore, please build the below steps into your super payment processes.
1. ON THE DAY YOU SUBMIT YOUR SUPER PAYMENT
Process and send super contributions same day or immediately after salary or wages.
Use a SuperStream-compliant method with real-time payment for fastest receipt.
Monitor for immediate acknowledgements/rejections from Team Super or the clearing house.
Check Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting includes Qualifying Earnings (QE) and Super Guarantee (SG) liability.
2. AFTER SUBMITTING YOUR SUPER PAYMENT
Monitor your payroll system, clearing house or fund responses for any error or rejection messages as soon as possible.
Fix and resubmit any rejected or returned payments quickly, noting that the seven business day deadline still applies.
Keep clear records of payment dates, acknowledgements, errors, corrections and resubmissions to support your Payday Super compliance.
RECEIVING ERROR MESSAGES?
The ATO has advised that employers must monitor their super contributions for errors after payments are submitted. A super fund has three business days to allocate or reject a payment. If a payment is rejected or returned by a super fund you must identify the issue and fix it quickly, because there’s no extension to the seven business day deadline if a payment is rejected by the fund. Therefore when paying super you should:
know where errors will appear (for example, in your payroll software or clearing house);
understand common error messages; and
correct issues as soon as possible so your payment can be resubmitted.
Team Super has put together a list of some of the most common error codes, with information about what they mean and what you can do to rectify them to ensure your payments go through in time to avoid the Superannuation Guarantee Charge.
AT A GLANCE: FACTSHEETS ON PAYDAY SUPER
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
From 1 July 2026, you must pay super at the same time as salary and wages – whether that’s weekly, fortnightly, or monthly.
If onboarding new staff or paying to a fund for the first time, you’ll have 20 business days for their first payment.
Also, from this date, Super Guarantee (SG) payments will be based on the new concept of ‘Qualifying Earnings’ (QE). The way the Super Guarantee Charge (SGC) is calculated for late payments will also change, as will the employer payment platform and reporting requirements.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has identified a ‘superannuation guarantee gap’ where super contributions from employers are received late or not at all. Lower-income earners, women, and casual workers are disproportionately represented in this cohort. Payday Super is designed to improve retirement savings and give workers better visibility of their super.
Over the long term, it aims to help employers by further standardising super payment systems.
When paying super you must now pay Super Guarantee (SG) payments to an employee’s super fund at the same time as paying Qualifying Earnings (QE – see below), on payday, and this payment must be received by the super fund within seven business days.
The Super Guarantee Charge (SGC) may apply if contributions are not made on time, in full and to the correct fund.
Yes.
The Super Guarantee Charge (SGC)
The SGC now applies to all payment amounts not received within seven business days of payday (unless an extended timeframe applies, such as for new employees).
The SGC has also been updated so interest is charged to compensate employees for late contributions. The SGC will increase the longer an employer delays paying super.
The SGC is tax-deductible, excluding any penalties and interest after assessment of the SGC by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
The uplift penalty
Late super payments now incur an additional ‘uplift penalty’ which covers monitoring and compliance costs.
All employers must pay eligible employees their super contributions in full and on time to avoid any charges.
See the Australian Taxation Office’s Super Guarantee factsheet (PDF) to see a comparison of the old treatment of the SGC and penalties and how these now apply.
From 1 July 2026, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will upgrade the SuperStream contributions messaging. This upgrade will help employers meet their Super Guarantee (SG) obligations and avoid charges and penalties by:
Reducing the likelihood of employees’ contributions being rejected by a super fund;
Providing clearer error messaging when a contribution is rejected by a super fund;
Enabling faster payment of contributions; and
Knowing sooner when important super fund details are changing.
The upgrade will help reduce errors, provide employers with better error messages. See our Troubleshooting tips page for a list of the most common error messages, and what they mean.
There have been several changes to the Super Guarantee (SG). The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has produced a factsheet (PDF) with a table summarising the rules are before 1 July 2026 and what the rules are now. As well as laying out the changes from super being paid at least quarterly to being required to be paid when wages are paid, it also covers:
how the Super Guarantee Charge (SGC) and other penalties have changed;
data processing for employees, and more.
Importantly, SG payments must now be calculated using the concept of ‘Qualifying Earnings’ (QE). See below for more details.
Qualifying Earnings (QE) is a new concept for the calculation of the Super Guarantee (SG). QE are the types of payments made to employees that are used to calculate the SG under Payday Super.
Employers will be required to report the year-to-date amount of QE for each employee through their Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting each payday.
Qualifying Earnings include:
ordinary time earnings (OTE) i.e. payments for ordinary hours of work, including certain types of paid leave, allowances, bonuses and lump sum payments;
all commissions paid to an employee;
salary sacrifice amounts that would qualify as QE had they not been sacrificed to superannuation; and
earnings paid to workers who fall under the expanded definition of employee, including payments to independent contractors paid mainly for their labour.
This ATO factsheet (PDF) lists the payments that count as QE.
Yes. You should monitor your super contributions for errors after you submit them. A super fund has three business days to allocate or reject a payment. There’s no extension to the seven business day deadline if a payment is rejected by the fund. You should know where errors will appear, understand common error messages and correct issues as soon as possible so your payment can be resubmitted. See our Troubleshooting tips page for information on some of the common errors and how to address them.
OPT IN TO REAL-TIME PAYMENTS BY USING QUICKSUPER
QuickSuper* is SuperStream-complaint and accepts New Payment Platform (NPP) payments. Employers who have registered with Team Super can use QuickSuper* clearing house to pay super. The service is free to use, and you can make these payments to employees who are with multiple funds – not just Team Super.
Note: You’ll need to register as a Team Super employer before you can access the Team Super QuickSuper* clearing house portal.
HOW TO REGISTER AS A TEAM SUPER EMPLOYER
Fill out the last two pages after reading the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS)
Email the form to help@admin.teamsuper.com.
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When registering as a Team Super employer, You only need to email the final two pages of the document (the application form which is attached to the end of the Product Disclosure Statement).
ALREADY REGISTERED WITH TEAM SUPER?
You can register for QuickSuper*.
EMPLOYER SUPPORT FROM TEAM SUPER
We understand that for some employers the upcoming changes may mean significant adjustments to the way you pay super for your employees. Team Super is here to help.
If you require any assistance, including information sessions on how to prepare for Payday Super, please contact our Employer Relationship Managers who are here to provide support.
Sources: The Australian Taxation Office - Payday Superannuation, Australian Taxation Office - Pay your employees super, and Treasury Media Release.
* QuickSuper is issued by Westpac Banking Corporation (ABN 33 007 457 141, AFSL 233714). An offer to issue this product may be made to you by Westpac, subject to completion of the application process. The Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) for QuickSuper is available on the Westpac website. You should consider the PDS before deciding to accept any offer made by Westpac to issue the product.