From 1 July 2026, Australia moves to payday super. Instead of paying the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) at least quarterly, employers will need to pay SG contributions at the same time as ordinary wages. It is the biggest change to super administration in a generation, and most payroll teams will need to revisit cashflow, payroll cadence and software readiness well before the start date.
What is payday super?
Today, employers are required to pay SG at least four times a year — by 28 January, 28 April, 28 July and 28 October. Payday super changes that cadence: from 1 July 2026, SG must be received by the employee’s super fund within a short window of each pay run. The contribution becomes part of the payroll cycle, not a quarterly settlement.
The rate of contribution does not change. From 1 July 2025 the SG rate is 12% of ordinary time earnings, and that 12% continues under payday super. What changes is when it is paid, not how much.
Why the change?
The Australian Taxation Office has long flagged a multi-billion-dollar unpaid super gap. Quarterly cycles make it hard for employees to notice missed contributions in time, and harder still for the ATO to chase them. Paying on payday closes that gap: employees see their super grow in step with their wages, and underpayments become visible within days, not months.
Practical impacts for employers
- Cashflow: super becomes a per-payrun outflow, not a quarterly one. Forecast accordingly.
- Payroll cadence: weekly and fortnightly cycles mean weekly or fortnightly SG settlements.
- SuperStream timing: clearing house turnaround times suddenly matter. Contributions must reach the fund within the legislated window.
- Systems: payroll, super clearing and HR records must agree on ordinary time earnings, hours and fund details every pay run.
- Errors are visible faster: a missed or late contribution shows up in the next pay cycle, not three months later.
A short prep checklist
- Confirm your payroll software has a payday-super mode and can settle SG per pay run.
- Confirm your clearing house can process and settle contributions within the required window.
- Audit employee super fund details — TFNs, USIs and member numbers — before 1 July 2026.
- Reforecast cashflow assuming weekly or fortnightly SG outflows from July 2026.
- Brief your finance and people teams: late SG remains liable for the Superannuation Guarantee Charge.
- Use the lead-up to clean up onboarding so new starters provide super choice promptly.
How Mentsh helps
Mentsh is built for Australian payroll compliance. Onboarding captures TFN declarations, super choice and fund details up front, so payroll always has clean data to send to your clearing house. Pay components and ordinary time earnings are tracked per employee, and exports are STP Phase 2-ready and structured for payday-super cadence. See Payroll & Compliance for the full feature list, or jump straight to pricing.