Payday super means you now pay your employees' super at the same time as their wages, not quarterly. It started on 1 July 2026, and each contribution must reach the employee's super fund within 7 business days of payday (20 business days for a new employee's first contribution), or you may owe the new super guarantee charge.
This guide covers the start date and legislation, the key rules, a timeline, what changes for employers step by step, what to set up in Xero and MYOB, the mistakes that cause late payments, and how stapled super and choice forms fit in. It's current as at October 2026.
This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. The ATO's Payday Super pages are the primary source, and the rules may be refined over the first year.
What is payday super?
Payday super is the change to the super guarantee (SG) that requires employers to pay super each time they pay wages, instead of quarterly. Before 1 July 2026, you could pay SG once a quarter, with 28 days after the quarter to get it into funds, which meant up to four months between an employee earning super and it landing in their account. Now every payday (the ATO calls it a "qualifying earnings day", or QE day) triggers SG for that pay. Pay weekly and you pay super weekly. Pay fortnightly and you pay super fortnightly. The rate is still 12%, but it's now calculated on qualifying earnings.
Payday super legislation and start date
Payday super is law. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Act 2025 and the Superannuation Guarantee Charge Amendment Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 6 November 2025, and the supporting regulations were made in February 2026. The start date was 1 July 2026, as planned.
Super guarantee for the April to June 2026 quarter was the last quarterly payment, due by 28 July 2026. Super for wages paid on or after 1 July 2026 falls under the new rules.
Payday super timeline
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1 October 2025 | The ATO's Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH) closed to new registrations |
| 6 November 2025 | The Payday Super Acts received Royal Assent |
| February 2026 | The Payday Super regulations were made |
| 30 June 2026 | Last day to make payments through, or access records in, the SBSCH |
| 1 July 2026 | Payday super started. The SBSCH closed permanently. Funds must allocate or return contributions within 3 business days |
| 28 July 2026 | Due date for the last quarterly SG payment (April to June 2026 quarter) |
| 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 | First year of payday super. The ATO's compliance approach is set out in PCG 2026/1 |
| 1 July 2027 | The ATO says STP reports missing qualifying earnings and super liability amounts will be rejected, and penalties may apply |
The payday super changes at a glance
| Before 1 July 2026 | From 1 July 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| When super is paid | Quarterly | Every payday |
| Deadline | 28 days after the quarter ends | Received by the fund within 7 business days of payday |
| New employees | Same quarterly deadline | 20 business days for the first contribution |
| What super is calculated on | Ordinary time earnings (OTE) | Qualifying earnings (QE) |
| SG rate | 12% (from 1 July 2025) | 12% of qualifying earnings |
| Late payment | SG charge with 10% flat interest and a $20 admin fee per employee | SG charge with daily-compounding interest and an administrative uplift |
| Is the SG charge deductible? | No | Yes |
| Small Business Superannuation Clearing House | Available | Closed |
The deadlines: 7 business days, and 20 for new starters
A contribution is on time if it's received by the employee's fund within 7 business days after payday, with enough information for the fund to allocate it to the right member account. Sending it isn't enough: it has to arrive and be allocatable.
There's one important exception. The first contribution for a new employee, or the first contribution to a new fund for an existing employee, has 20 business days. In the ATO's example, a new employee first paid on 9 July 2026 must have their first contribution received by 7 August 2026. Their second pay, on 30 July 2026, is back on the 7 business day rule.
A few more details that catch people out:
- Business days exclude public holidays in any state or territory, not just yours.
- Funds have their own deadline. They must allocate or return a contribution within 3 business days. If the fund can't match it to a member, the money comes back to you, and your clock is still running.
- Member verification. Before you make the first contribution to a fund for an employee, the ATO expects a member verification request to be sent where your payroll software supports it, so the fund confirms the member details first.
That's why super details collected at onboarding matter so much more now. A typo in a member number, a closed account or a wrong USI used to give you months to fix. Now it can mean a returned payment and a missed deadline in the same fortnight. The ATO's payment deadlines page has the full rules.
What are qualifying earnings?
Qualifying earnings (QE) replace ordinary time earnings as the base for super guarantee. They bring together:
- ordinary time earnings
- commissions
- salary sacrificed super contributions
- other amounts that were previously included in salary or wages for super guarantee
Super guarantee is 12% of qualifying earnings for each payday. Your payroll software now reports QE and the super liability through Single Touch Payroll (STP), so check that your pay items are mapped correctly. The ATO's page explaining qualifying earnings has examples.
What happens if super is late: the new SG charge
If a contribution doesn't arrive within the deadline, you're liable for the super guarantee charge (SGC), which has been rebuilt. As at October 2026, it's made up of:
- the shortfall: the unpaid super, calculated on qualifying earnings
- notional earnings: interest that compounds daily at the general interest charge rate, replacing the old flat 10%
- an administrative uplift: initially 60% of the shortfall and notional earnings
- choice loading: an extra amount if you didn't follow the choice of fund rules
The uplift can come down. The ATO reduces it by 20 percentage points if you haven't had an ATO-initiated SGC assessment in the 2 years before the payday, and by up to 40 percentage points if you lodge a voluntary disclosure quickly (the biggest reduction is for disclosures lodged less than 30 days after the payday, before the ATO assesses you). Together, those can take the uplift from 60% to 0%. Paying late is still better than not paying: late contributions reduce the shortfall the uplift is calculated on.
The SGC is now tax deductible, although interest and penalties that apply after an ATO assessment are not. Separate penalties can apply if the charge itself isn't paid. See what happens if you don't pay super correctly and making a voluntary disclosure for Payday Super.
The first-year compliance approach
For the first year (paydays from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027), the ATO has said employers who try to do the right thing and fix issues quickly should not be the focus of compliance action. Under Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2026/1, the ATO rates employers as low, medium or high risk based on behaviour: are you trying to pay each payday, and do you correct errors as soon as reasonably practicable? It's not an amnesty. The ATO can't ignore a shortfall that exists, so the SGC still applies to super that isn't paid.
In other words: a genuine mistake you fix fast is treated very differently from super you don't pay.
The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House has closed
The ATO's Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH) closed permanently on 1 July 2026. It stopped taking new registrations from 1 October 2025, and 30 June 2026 was the last day to make payments or access records. If you relied on it, you now need another way to pay, usually your payroll software's built-in super payments, your default fund's employer service, or a commercial clearing house.
What changes for employers, step by step
- Pick how you'll pay super each payday. Most small businesses use the super payment service built into their payroll software. Choose one that can get money to funds well inside 7 business days.
- Check your pay items. Make sure each one is correctly treated as qualifying earnings or not, so SG and STP reporting are right.
- Line up super with your pay cycle. Approve super payments straight after each pay run, and keep enough cash on hand to pay super every payday instead of once a quarter.
- Fix fund details before the first pay. Every employee needs a valid fund, USI (or SMSF details) and member number. For new starters, get this at onboarding, not after the first returned payment.
- Watch for returned contributions. If a fund returns money, correct the details and resend straight away. The deadline doesn't pause.
- Keep proof. Keep records of when each contribution was paid and when it reached the fund, so you can show it was on time.
- Know what to do when you miss one. Pay it as soon as you can and consider a voluntary disclosure early to reduce the administrative uplift.
Payday super in Xero
Xero has updated Xero Payroll for payday super, including reporting qualifying earnings through STP. If you use Xero:
- Register for Auto Super. Go to Payroll, then Payroll settings, choose Superannuation and select Register for Auto Super, so super is paid with each pay run. Xero says Auto Super is included in every Xero plan at no extra cost and contributions typically reach funds within four business days.
- Check every employee's super membership (fund, USI or SMSF details, member number) before their next pay run. A returned contribution costs you days.
- Check your pay items count toward qualifying earnings correctly.
- Authorise super payments promptly after each pay run, so processing time doesn't eat into your 7 business days.
- Use the Superannuation Payments report to see when each payment was credited to the fund.
Xero's Payday Super resource hub and Payday Super FAQs have its setup guides. Canyou also integrates with Xero, so validated super details flow straight into Xero Payroll.
Payday super in MYOB
MYOB has also updated its payroll products. In MYOB Business:
- Sign up to Pay Super. Go to Payroll, then Super payments, and click Sign up to Pay Super. MYOB says Pay Super is included in subscriptions that include payroll.
- Reconcile the old SBSCH payments first, so you don't submit contributions for periods you've already paid.
- Check fund details and pay items for every employee, as above.
- Track each payment under Payroll > Super payments. MYOB asks you to contact them if a payment is still processing after 7 business days.
See MYOB's Payday Super support hub and Set up Pay Super for the details for your product.
Common payday super mistakes
- Treating payday as the deadline for sending, not receiving. The fund has to receive it within 7 business days. Leave room for processing.
- Wrong or missing fund details for new starters. The 20 business day window is for sorting out the fund, but it goes fast if you're chasing a form.
- Forgetting the stapled fund. If a new employee doesn't choose a fund, you generally need to request their stapled fund from the ATO before you use your default fund. Not following the choice of fund rules can add choice loading to any SG charge.
- Pay items mapped to the old OTE rules. Qualifying earnings include amounts like salary sacrificed super that some setups didn't count before.
- Still relying on the SBSCH. It's closed. Any old payment process built around it needs replacing.
- Holding super until the end of the month. Batching several pay runs is fine only if every contribution still lands within its own 7 business day window.
- Ignoring returned contributions. A returned payment isn't a paid payment.
How stapled super and choice forms fit in
Payday super didn't change who chooses the fund. It changed how quickly you need the answer. When a new employee starts:
- Offer choice of fund with the superannuation standard choice form.
- If they don't choose, request their stapled super fund from the ATO. The ATO's stapled super funds for employers page explains the request.
- If there's no stapled fund, use your default fund.
- Validate the details before they reach payroll: USI, member number, and that the account is active.
Do all of that before day one, so the 20 business day window for the first contribution is spent paying, not chasing.
How Canyou handles this
Canyou collects and checks super details during onboarding, alongside the TFN declaration and bank details, so they're right before they reach payroll. There are two one-off settings to complete. The super stapling setup guide has the same steps.
Step 1: Set up your default super fund in Canyou
Your default fund needs to be set in Canyou, not just in payroll. It's the fund new starters see during onboarding if they don't have a fund or choose not to nominate one. Without it, Canyou can't offer a fallback or register them if they abandon the super choice form.
Go to Settings > Super and confirm your default fund.
Step 2: Connect Canyou to the ATO for super stapling
This is a one-time setup that takes about five minutes. Once it's done, Canyou retrieves each new employee's stapled fund from the ATO during onboarding, with no manual lookups.
- Log in to Canyou.
- Go to Settings and select Superannuation.
- Open the Super Stapling settings.
- Follow the guided setup to connect to the ATO, notify the ATO of a hosted software service, and verify the connection.
If you manage several businesses in Canyou, enable super stapling for each one. BAS agents and tax practitioners only need to set up the ATO hosted service connection once, and it can then be used across all their businesses. If you don't have access to the ATO's Access Manager, send these instructions to the business owner or your BAS or tax agent. If the connection fails, see troubleshooting an unsuccessful ATO connection.
Watch the video walkthrough or the recording of our payday super and super stapling webinar.
What Canyou does from there
- Retrieves the new employee's stapled fund from the ATO and shows it during onboarding, so they confirm it with one click.
- Registers their membership if they choose your default fund, before their first payday.
- Validates super details in real time, catching typos, incorrect USIs and inactive memberships before they reach payroll.
- Applies the stapled fund automatically if an employee abandons their super choice (or registers them with your default fund if there's no stapled fund).
- Syncs validated tax, super and bank details into payroll. See the Xero integration and the Xero syncing guide, or the full list on our integrations page.
The result is fewer returned contributions and a clear record of how each fund was chosen. For everything else a new starter needs, see the new employee onboarding checklist or how employee onboarding in Canyou gets people cleared to work before day one.
Try for free (no credit card required), or Book a demo and we'll set up payday super with you.
Sources (accessed October 2026): ATO, About Payday Super; ATO, Payment deadlines for Payday Super; ATO, Paying super for a new employee or fund; ATO, Explaining qualifying earnings; ATO, What happens if you don't pay super correctly; ATO, Making a voluntary disclosure for Payday Super; ATO, Getting it right: compliance in the first year of Payday Super; ATO, Stapled super funds for employers; ATO, Small Business Superannuation Clearing House; Parliament of Australia, Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025; Xero, Payday Super resource hub; MYOB, Payday Super support hub.
