The pay run is finished, the wages have left the bank and everyone has their payslip. Under Payday Super, there is another outcome to confirm: the super contribution has reached the employee’s fund on time.
Payday Super took effect on 1 July 2026. Employers generally need contributions to be received by employees’ super funds within seven business days after paying their qualifying earnings. It is no longer enough to keep a running liability and settle the current period at the end of a quarter. The ATO’s Payday Super overview sets out the current framework.
Check the earnings settings, then the payment settings
The general super guarantee rate is 12% of qualifying earnings, subject to the applicable rules and limits. Qualifying earnings is the new earnings base under Payday Super. Review the treatment of the pay items you actually use, including commissions, allowances and salary sacrifice arrangements. Copying an old payroll configuration without checking it can carry an old error into every new pay run.
Separate employer super from employee deductions in your review. Check employee eligibility, fund details, the handling of new starters and the treatment of any contractors for whom super is required. A software calculation is useful evidence of what was processed; it does not establish that the underlying classification was right.
Ask the person who runs payroll to show where super is authorised and released. Some systems calculate the liability automatically while still requiring a separate approval before money moves. Identify that step explicitly, including who provides cover when the usual approver is away.
Payment is a journey, with room for errors
A clearing house receipt is a step in the process. The key deadline concerns receipt by the employee’s super fund. Allow for processing time and watch for rejected contributions. The ATO says a fund rejection does not give an extension to the general seven-business-day deadline. Its guidance on paying super for employees explains why follow-up matters.
Give one person responsibility for the exception queue. They need to know where error messages appear, how quickly they are reviewed, how employee details are corrected and how a replacement payment is tracked to completion. An unread email about a rejected contribution can undo an otherwise orderly pay run.
There are special timing rules for particular circumstances, so check the applicable ATO guidance when setting up a new employee or dealing with unusual payments. Do not build a general payroll process around an exception that may not apply.
The cash forecast needs the full pay-cycle cost
Suppose a weekly pay run has $20,000 of qualifying earnings and the full amount attracts the 12% rate. Employer super is $2,400. That is an illustrative calculation, excluding any other on-costs and special rules.
The cash plan needs to accommodate that contribution alongside wages and other amounts due. If the business previously used the gap before quarterly super payment to fund operations, the forecast should show how that funding has been replaced. Delaying supplier payments without understanding their due dates can simply move the problem.
For a growing team, model the extra super at the same time as the extra wages. A new employee’s cost should be visible from the first relevant pay cycle, rather than appearing as a surprise in a later quarterly review.
Clear any unfinished changeover work
The final quarterly super payment for the April to June 2026 period was due by 28 July 2026. It coexisted with the new obligations for earnings paid from 1 July. The ATO also closed its Small Business Superannuation Clearing House for payments from 1 July 2026. These are past changeover dates, not upcoming deadlines. See the ATO’s changeover guidance.
If the June quarter remains unresolved, identify the affected employees and periods and obtain advice on the required correction and reporting. Avoid assuming that sending a larger current payment will automatically fix every earlier obligation.
The ATO has published a first-year compliance approach. It does not remove the obligation to pay super correctly. Keep evidence of problems, action taken and the date a correction was completed.
Make the routine easy to hand over
A short pay-run record should show the approved payroll, super calculated, payment authorised, fund receipt or processing status, and any open exceptions. Keep supporting employee and pay records secure. Fair Work requires time and wages records to be kept for seven years; its record-keeping guidance details the requirements.
The practical test is whether another authorised person could complete the next pay cycle without relying on someone’s memory. Target Advisory can review the accounting and payroll process with you, including the reconciliation between wages, super liabilities and payments. A dependable routine makes each payday easier to close.
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