Payday Super: What Perth Employers Need to Know Now the New Rules Are in Place

Payday Super is the biggest change to how Australian employers handle superannuation in more than 30 years. Several months in, many Perth businesses have adjusted their pay runs, but plenty are still working through the detail, and the Christmas and New Year period is where the new timing rules are most likely to trip people up.

This guide covers what changed, how the deadlines work in practice, what to plan for over the holiday shutdown and what happens if a payment is late.

What Changed on 1 July 2026

Under the old rules, employers could pay super quarterly, up to 28 days after the end of each quarter. That meant some employers were holding several months of super before it reached employees’ funds.

From 1 July 2026, super is tied to each payday. Whether you pay weekly, fortnightly or monthly, the superannuation guarantee for that pay run needs to be paid and received by the fund within the deadline. The superannuation guarantee rate remains 12%.

How the 7 Business Day Rule Works

The key word is received. Contributions need to arrive in the employee’s super fund within seven business days of payday. Processing time through your payroll software or clearing house counts, so paying on the seventh day is too late.

• Business days exclude weekends and public holidays, including Western Australian public holidays.
• For a new employee, you have 20 business days for the first contribution to be received, which allows time to collect or confirm fund details.
• Bonuses, back pay and other out-of-cycle payments have their own timing rules, so check how your payroll software treats them before running an extra pay.

Qualifying Earnings: What Super Is Calculated On

Super is now calculated on qualifying earnings. In broad terms, this is an employee’s ordinary time earnings plus any amounts they have salary sacrificed into super. For most employees the number will look familiar, but employers with salary sacrifice arrangements should confirm their payroll software is calculating it correctly.

Qualifying earnings and the super liability for each pay are reported to the ATO through Single Touch Payroll. That gives the ATO visibility of what should have been paid, every payday, and makes shortfalls much easier to detect.

The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House Has Closed

The ATO’s free Small Business Superannuation Clearing House closed permanently on 1 July 2026, with no government replacement. If your business relied on it, super now needs to be paid through your payroll software’s super payment feature, a commercial clearing house or directly to funds.

Most modern payroll platforms, including Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks, offer integrated super payments that run alongside the pay run. If you are still paying super manually, this is worth fixing before the end of the year.

Planning Your Christmas and New Year Pay Runs

The holiday period is where Payday Super needs the most attention this year. Christmas Day, Boxing Day, any substitute public holiday and New Year’s Day are not business days, and many super funds and clearing houses run reduced processing over the break.

• If you pay staff annual leave in advance before a shutdown, the super for that pay is due within seven business days of that payday, not when the leave is taken.
• Christmas pay runs are often larger, with leave loading, bonuses and final pays for casuals. Budget for the super on these amounts in the same week.
• Process super as soon as wages are paid rather than waiting for the deadline, particularly for the last pay runs before Christmas.
• If your bookkeeper or payroll officer is on leave over the break, confirm who will approve super payments while they are away.

What Happens If Super Is Paid Late

Under Payday Super, the superannuation guarantee charge (SGC) is assessed per payday rather than per quarter. If contributions are not received on time, the SGC is made up of the unpaid super, a notional earnings component and an administrative uplift. Additional penalties can apply where the charge is not paid.

One change is that the SGC is now generally tax deductible, although interest and penalties are not. That does not make late payment cheap. It is always far more expensive than paying on time.

The ATO’s first year approach

The ATO has published a practical compliance guideline, PCG 2026/1, covering paydays from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. Employers making genuine efforts to comply are treated as lower risk. This is not an amnesty. Super still has to be paid, and the guideline ends on 30 June 2027.

The Cash Flow Impact

For businesses that used to pay super quarterly, Payday Super removes a short-term cash buffer. Super now leaves the account in the same week as wages, which changes the shape of your cash flow, particularly around Christmas and end of financial year.

The fix is straightforward: treat super as part of the true cost of each pay run, and build your cash flow forecast around wages plus super rather than wages alone.

Payday Super Checklist for Employers

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Payday Super apply to contractors?

It applies to anyone who is an employee for superannuation guarantee purposes. That can include some contractors who are paid mainly for their labour under a contract. If you are unsure whether a contractor is covered, check before their next payment.

Do I still need to lodge anything quarterly for super?

Super is now paid and reported each payday through Single Touch Payroll rather than in quarterly lumps. Your BAS obligations are separate and have not changed.

What if a new employee has not given me their super fund details?

Request their stapled super fund details from the ATO, or pay to your default fund if no stapled fund exists. New employees have a 20 business day window for the first contribution, which allows time to sort this out.

What happened to super for the June 2026 quarter?

Super for the quarter ending 30 June 2026 was still due by 28 July 2026 under the old rules. Contributions made between 1 and 28 July 2026 were applied to that quarter first, then to paydays from 1 July 2026.

Get Payday Super Right Before the Holidays

Payday Super is now part of every pay run. Businesses that pay super at the same time as wages, use integrated payroll software and plan their Christmas pay runs early will find the new rules straightforward. Those still running super as a quarterly task are carrying risk every payday.

Disclaimer: The information in this article is general in nature and does not constitute accounting, taxation or financial advice. Superannuation guarantee rules, deadlines and ATO compliance approaches can change and depend on individual circumstances. Please seek advice from a registered tax or BAS agent about your business.