Payday Super - what employers need to know

Payday Super is an Australian Government reform that requires employers to pay superannuation at the same time as salary and wages, rather than quarterly. This change is designed to help employees grow their retirement savings faster and reduce the risk of unpaid or delayed super contributions.

Payday Super becomes mandatory for all employers on 1 July 2026. If you currently pay super quarterly, you can still make your usual quarterly payment in July for wages paid up to 30 June 2026. However, from 1 July 2026 onwards, super contributions must be paid at the same time as wages, following your regular pay cycle – weekly, fortnightly, monthly, etc.

The Super Guarantee (SG) rate will remain at 12%. Payday Super introduces Qualifying Earnings (QE) - a new term to describe the types of payments used to calculate SG. For most employers, this change will not affect the total SG contributions you currently make for your employees.

Qualifying Earnings include:

• Ordinary Time Earnings (OTE) – regular pay for standard hours, plus certain types of paid leave, allowances, bonuses, and lump-sum payments. (The definition of OTE itself doesn’t change under Payday Super.)
• Commissions – any commission payments made to employees.
• Salary sacrifice amounts – where the sacrificed amount would have counted as earnings if it hadn’t been redirected to super.
• Payments to certain contractors – independent contractors treated as employees because they are mainly paid for their labour.

Your payroll system or clearing house should handle this automatically, but it’s a good idea to check that all employee payments are correctly classified.

• Under Payday Super, you must pay super at the same time you pay wages, following your usual pay cycle (weekly, fortnightly, monthly, etc.).  
• Contributions must reach the employee’s super fund with all the required information to allocate to an account within 7 business days of payday.
• For a new employee or when paying into a new fund, you have up to 20 business days after payday for the first payment.
• Once received, funds have 3 business days to allocate the payment or return it if details are missing.

A payment is considered late if the employee’s super fund hasn’t received the contribution within 7 business days of payday, including all the required information to allocate it to an account. For first payments to a new employee or a new fund, you have up to 20 business days after payday to make the contribution, allowing time to confirm details and fix errors. If you pay late or don’t follow the choice of fund rules, the ATO will apply a Super Guarantee Charge (SGC) for each payday (called a Qualifying Earnings day). In the first year, the ATO’s compliance approach recognises that employers who make a genuine effort to comply and resolve issues quickly will generally be considered low risk and should not be the focus of ATO compliance action.

Please visit the ATO’s Payday Super page for more information about late contributions and the SGC.

SuperStream is the national standard for sending super contributions electronically between employers, funds and the ATO. Under SuperStream 3.0, several improvements help reduce errors and speed up processing times:

• Member Verification Request (MVR): Lets you confirm an employee’s super fund details before payment to prevent errors. 

• New Payments Platform (NPP): From 1 July 2026, all super funds must be able to accept NPP transactions, enabling near-instant transfers, often on the same day. 

• Super fund changes: Payroll and clearing house systems will get early alerts about major fund changes, like mergers, so you can redirect contributions quickly. 

Yes, Brighter Super is consolidating its clearing house services to SuperChoice to help employers comply with Payday Super requirements. 

After 30 June 2026, QuickSuper will no longer be available through Brighter Super.

Our clearing house partner, SuperChoice, is available and offered to all of our employers at no cost.

We’ve chosen SuperChoice to reduce manual work, speed up processing, and help you stay compliant with all your super requirements including Payday Super. SuperChoice will also offer: 

• A smooth and secure platform.
• Enhanced detection of fraudulent transactions.
• Clear reporting features, together with streamlined onboarding and super fund functionality selection for new employees. These updates will be rolled out gradually, and we’ll keep you informed of the timeline.

SuperChoice is a leading Australian clearing house provider used by thousands of employers. SuperChoice is a trusted, modern platform designed to make compliance simple and efficient. SuperChoice is already utilised by many of Brighter Super’s employers.  

If you’d like to use SuperChoice through Brighter Super you will need to register. To register for SuperChoice, you can sign up through our website. The system has training materials available to support you to make payments, add new employees, or tell us that employees have left your employment. 

The USI to use for Brighter Super members is QLG0001AU. 

If you are using an old Energy Super USI, this will need to be updated to reduce failed or misdirected payments when moving to pay-cycle contributions. If your employee has a corporate offer account, they may have provided you with an alternative USI – 23053121564123. Please continue to use this. 

As part of the Payday Super reform, the ATO will close the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH) from 1 July 2026. If you’re using SBSCH you’ll need to choose another option. Brighter Super partners with SuperChoice for clearing house services which is provided at no cost for our employers.

On this webpage you’ll find information and resources to help you get ready for Payday Super including recorded webinars, FAQs and other helpful links. You can also access detailed information about the new Payday Super rules on the ATO website.

Here’s how you can get started and prepare for Payday Super early: 

• Pay more frequent super payments now.
• Ensure your payroll team understand the new rules.
• Check employee data is accurate, your systems are compliant, and if you’re using QuickSuper’s clearing house via Brighter Super, consider transitioning to SuperChoice clearing house now.
• If you’re using the ATO’s Small Business Superannuation Clearing House, look for an alternative. Brighter Super partners withSuperChoice for clearing house services which is provided at no cost for our employers.
• Plan ahead for tighter payment timeframes and cashflow needs.

Preparing early will help you overcome any issues before the deadline. The Brighter Super Employer Services team is here to help you with any questions you have and support you through the transition. 

If you have any questions about Payday Super or SuperChoice contact our Employer Services team on 1800 444 396 or email employers@brightersuper.com.au.