1 July 2026 is the single most important date on the small business compliance calendar. From that day, every Australian employer must pay superannuation on the same day as wages — not quarterly, as has been allowed for decades. This is Payday Super, and it changes how you run payroll, choose a clearing house, and manage cash flow.
Add two more facts: the super guarantee rate has been 12 per cent since 1 July 2025 (ATO key super rates and thresholds), and the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House closed to new users on 1 October 2025 and shuts entirely on 30 June 2026. If you are a small business owner who has been “doing super quarterly and it’s fine”, your compliance setup has a shelf life of a few months.
This guide walks through everything you need to get right.
The current SG rate
The super guarantee rate is 12 per cent from 1 July 2025 and will remain at that rate unless further legislation changes it. You pay 12 per cent of each eligible employee’s ordinary time earnings. Check the current rate on the ATO’s key super rates and thresholds page.
Who you have to pay super for
Most employees in Australia are entitled to super. Some of the old thresholds and exclusions have been removed, so the default assumption for 2026 should be: if someone is an employee, they are likely eligible. Check the specifics on the ATO super for employers hub and the how much super to pay page.
Contractors can also be treated as employees for super purposes if they are paid wholly or principally for their labour. Getting contractor-versus-employee status wrong is one of the most expensive super mistakes small businesses make.
Ordinary time earnings (OTE)
You pay super on ordinary time earnings — broadly, what an employee earns for their ordinary hours of work. That includes base pay, shift loadings, and most allowances. It generally does not include overtime worked outside ordinary hours.
Under Payday Super from 1 July 2026, the concept shifts to “qualifying earnings” for super purposes. The ATO has a dedicated explainer: What payments are qualifying earnings.
The quarterly regime (current, until 30 June 2026)
Until 30 June 2026, super contributions must be paid by the 28th of the month after each quarter:
- Quarter 1 (July–September): due 28 October
- Quarter 2 (October–December): due 28 January
- Quarter 3 (January–March): due 28 April
- Quarter 4 (April–June): due 28 July
See the ATO super payment due dates page.
The payment must be received by the employee’s fund by the due date, not merely sent from your bank account. Clearing house processing time matters.
Payday Super from 1 July 2026
From 1 July 2026, super is paid with wages. Specifically, contributions must be received by the employee’s super fund within seven business days after each payday.
If you pay weekly, you run super weekly. If you pay fortnightly, you run super fortnightly. The old 28-days-after-quarter-end buffer is gone.
Start with these three ATO resources:
The Super Guarantee Charge — current regime
Miss a quarterly super payment now and you trigger the Super Guarantee Charge (SGC). The SGC is more than just paying the super you missed — it adds an interest component, an administration fee, and (unlike ordinary super contributions) it is not tax-deductible. You also have to lodge a separate SGC statement with the ATO.
See the ATO missed and late SG payments page and the Super Guarantee Charge page.
The new SGC regime under Payday Super
Under Payday Super, the SGC is being restructured. Late payments will be detected faster — the ATO gets near-real-time visibility once super starts flowing every payday — and the new SGC is designed to scale with the size and duration of the shortfall.
The full legislative detail and the current design of the new SGC are on the ATO’s page: The new Super Guarantee Charge. The Payday Super legislation is tracked at Payday Superannuation legislation.
The practical takeaway: under Payday Super, a missed weekly payment is detected within days, not quarters. Small errors compound faster. Your systems need to be right before 1 July 2026, not after.
The SBSCH is closing — choose a clearing house now
The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH) is a free ATO-run clearing house that has been used by many small employers for years. It has two key dates:
- 1 October 2025: closed to new users.
- 30 June 2026: closes entirely for existing users.
If you currently use the SBSCH, you need to choose a replacement clearing house in time to complete your last quarterly run and then switch over to Payday Super. Options include clearing houses run by major super funds and commercial clearing houses (often built into payroll software).
Before you choose, confirm that the provider:
- Supports every super fund your employees currently use (and can onboard new funds promptly).
- Clears contributions fast enough to satisfy the seven-business-day rule.
- Integrates with your payroll software with minimal manual steps.
A 2026 super compliance plan
- Now – 30 June 2026: continue quarterly super runs. Pay the current SG rate of 12 per cent on OTE. Make sure contributions are received by the fund by the due date.
- By 30 June 2026: choose and set up a clearing house. Confirm payroll software compatibility. Complete your final quarterly run.
- From 1 July 2026: run super every payday. Aim for contributions to reach funds well inside the seven-business-day window.
- Ongoing: monitor the ATO key rates page annually and keep records of every payment.
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Disclaimer: This is general compliance guidance, not legal advice.
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