Payday Super is the rule, from 1 July 2026, that your employer must pay the super guarantee each payday, not once a quarter. The contribution is on time if your super fund receives it, with enough information to allocate it to your account, within 7 business days after you are paid. A longer period can apply in some cases, including for new employees.

The 12% rate itself did not change. Who is eligible for the super guarantee did not change either. What changed is the timing, the name of the earnings base used to calculate the 12%, and how quickly you can see whether the money has actually arrived.

This explainer is written for employees. It sits with the Never Lose Interest super calculator, salary sacrifice and pay calculator guides.

This is general information only. It is not personal advice, and it does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. If super is missing, the official path is to check your fund, ask your employer, and, if it remains unpaid, report it to the ATO.

What changed on 1 July 2026?

Until 30 June 2026, employers generally had to pay super guarantee on a quarterly cycle. Some already paid more often. From 1 July 2026, for earnings paid from that date, the employer must pay the guarantee for each payday.

The ATO's timing test is stricter than "the employer sent it on payday". The amount is on time only when the fund has received it, with the information needed to allocate it to your member account, within 7 business days after the payday. The ATO recommends that employers pay on payday, so there is time to fix a rejected payment. Submitting a payment on day 7 may be too late if it is rejected or delayed in a clearing house.

A business day, for this purpose, is any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday, or a day that is a public holiday for the whole of any Australian state or territory. A state-wide holiday counts even if you do not live in that state. A local holiday that applies only to part of a state, such as a regional show day, is still a business day for Payday Super.

Moneysmart, last updated 30 September 2026, puts the practical effect in employee terms: payments should reach your super fund within 7 business days of payday, and it should be easier to match a payslip to a contribution. After the fund receives the payment, it may still take a short further period to appear in your account. The ATO says funds must allocate contributions, or return unallocated amounts, within 3 business days. Do not treat a one- or two-day lag in the app as a missed payment without first checking the dates.

Earnings paid up to 30 June 2026 still followed the old quarterly rules, even if a contribution for a June pay arrived in early July.

How is the 12% calculated now?

The minimum super guarantee is 12% of your qualifying earnings for the pay period. Qualifying earnings is the new term, from 1 July 2026, for the payments that count when the employer works out the guarantee.

The ATO says that, for most employers, the new term does not change the amount that has to be paid. All the payments that were included in super guarantee calculations up to 30 June 2026 continue to be included as qualifying earnings. Ordinary time earnings have not been redefined. They still include payments for ordinary hours of work, and certain types of paid leave, allowances, bonuses and lump sums. Overtime paid as overtime is generally not ordinary time earnings, and therefore is generally not brought in through that part of the definition.

Qualifying earnings also include:

  • all commissions paid to an employee, including commissions for work done entirely outside ordinary hours, which is a change for some people
  • salary sacrifice amounts that would have been qualifying earnings if they had not been sacrificed to super. That is effectively the same rule as before. Salary sacrifice does not reduce the earnings base used to work out the 12% guarantee, as explained in the salary sacrifice guide
  • certain payments for people who are employees under the expanded super guarantee definition, including contractors paid mainly for their labour

Amounts that fall into more than one category are counted only once.

There is also an annual ceiling. For 2026-27, the maximum contribution base is $270,830 of qualifying earnings. Once your qualifying earnings for the year reach that amount, the employer does not have to pay the guarantee on further qualifying earnings for the rest of that financial year, unless an award or agreement requires more. The base resets in the next year. For 2025-26, the cap was still a quarterly amount of $62,500.

Contribution caps, including the $32,500 concessional cap in 2026-27, still apply. Payday Super does not increase how much can go into super at the concessional tax rate. The guarantee, salary sacrifice and deductible personal contributions are added together. See the super calculator explainer.

What should I check after each payday?

Treat your super account, not only the payslip, as the record of whether the money arrived.

After you are paid:

  • check your super fund app or online account for a new contribution
  • compare the amount with 12% of the earnings that should count, remembering that overtime may be excluded and that a packaged or sacrificed amount can change the figures on the payslip
  • confirm the fund is the one you chose, or the stapled fund the ATO has recorded for you, if you did not choose
  • allow a few business days for allocation after the fund has received the payment

If you are not sure which fund you are in, ask your employer, or sign in to ATO online services through myGov and review your super accounts. Moneysmart also suggests downloading your fund's app and checking after each pay.

A payslip can show a super accrual that has not yet been received by the fund. Under the old quarterly cycle that gap could last weeks or months. Under Payday Super the gap should be much shorter, which is the point of the reform, but the payslip is still not proof of receipt.

If you salary sacrifice, ask payroll whether those extra contributions are paid on the same cycle as the guarantee. The seven-business-day Payday Super deadline is a super guarantee rule. The timing for additional salary sacrifice contributions can depend on the arrangement.

What if my super is late or missing?

Moneysmart and the ATO describe a straightforward sequence.

First, check the fund again, and allow for processing time, public holidays and a possible out-of-cycle pay.

Second, ask your employer when they paid the contribution, which fund they paid it to, and how much they paid. Many problems are incorrect unique superannuation identifier details, a rejected payment, or a delay in a clearing house.

Third, if the issue continues, report unpaid super to the ATO. The ATO can investigate and recover unpaid super guarantee. The official report-unpaid-super tool is on the ATO website.

The employer, not you, is responsible for paying the guarantee on time. If it is late, the employer can be liable for the super guarantee charge, which the ATO describes as including interest and an administrative component. That is an employer liability. It does not require you to negotiate the charge yourself.

Keep your tax file number with the fund. Missing or unmatched details are a common reason a contribution cannot be allocated quickly.

Frequently asked questions

Does Payday Super mean I get more super?

Not by itself. The rate is still 12% of the relevant earnings, subject to the maximum contribution base and to any extra amount your award, agreement or employer already pays. The main change is that the money should reach your fund sooner, so it can start earning (or falling) sooner, and so underpayments are easier to spot.

I am paid weekly. Is super now weekly too?

Yes, in ordinary cases. The ATO says Payday Super changes when super must be paid, not how often you are paid salary. If you are paid weekly, the guarantee is worked out and paid for each weekly payday, and it needs to be received by the fund within 7 business days after that payday.

Does overtime attract super?

Ordinary overtime is generally not ordinary time earnings, so it is generally not part of the usual 12% calculation. All commissions are now included in qualifying earnings, including commissions for work outside ordinary hours. If you are a contractor paid mainly for your labour, different inclusions can apply. Check the ATO's qualifying earnings lists, or ask payroll, if a large part of your pay is overtime or commission.

I have more than one job. Does each employer pay on payday?

Each employer who is required to pay you the super guarantee must meet the Payday Super rules for the amounts they pay you. The maximum contribution base applies to each employer's payments for you, with a limited official process if you are likely to exceed the base because of multiple employers.

What about my June 2026 pay?

Earnings paid up to 30 June 2026 were still under the quarterly rules. Payday Super applies to earnings paid from 1 July 2026.

General information warning

This article is general information only. It is not personal advice, and it is not a determination that a particular contribution is late or unpaid. It does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Awards, enterprise agreements and the expanded definition of employee can change who is paid super and on what earnings. If you think super is missing, use the ATO's official process or speak with a registered tax agent or the ATO.

Sources

Last reviewed: November 2026.