Superannuation guarantee and Payday Super
The super guarantee rate has been 12% since 1 July 2025. Payday Super started on 1 July 2026 as scheduled: employers must now pay super within 7 business days of each payday, not quarterly, on a broader qualifying earnings base up to a $270,830 annual cap.
The superannuation guarantee reached its final legislated rate, 12%, on 1 July 2025, and stays at 12% for 2026-27. Payday Super, the reform requiring super to be paid at the same cadence as wages, started on 1 July 2026 exactly as scheduled, with no extension to that legal start date. From that date, employers must pay super so it is received and able to be allocated by the employee's fund within 7 business days of each qualifying earnings day, generally each payday, replacing the old quarterly cycle. Qualifying earnings, a new single concept covering ordinary time earnings, salary-sacrificed super and eligible commissions, replaces the old ordinary time earnings and salary or wages split, and must be reported through Single Touch Payroll each payday. The annual maximum contribution base for 2026-27 is $270,830 per employee. The ATO is applying a risk-based compliance approach for the first year of operation, 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, meaning low-risk employers who pay correctly and fix occasional errors quickly generally won't be the focus of compliance action in that first year, though the underlying legal obligation and the redesigned Superannuation Guarantee Charge for genuine non-compliance both apply from day one.
What is the current super guarantee rate?
12%, the final step of the legislated increase schedule, reached on 1 July 2025 and unchanged for 2026-27. No further legislated increases are scheduled.
What does Payday Super actually require?
From 1 July 2026, employers must pay super so it is received and allocated by the employee's fund within 7 business days of each qualifying earnings day, generally each payday, instead of the old quarterly cycle. A longer 20-business-day window applies for a new employee's first contribution or a newly nominated fund.
What happens if super is paid late now?
A redesigned Superannuation Guarantee Charge applies: the shortfall itself, notional earnings that compound daily, and an administrative uplift starting at 60% of the shortfall, which can be reduced to zero for employers with a clean 2-year compliance history who make a prompt voluntary disclosure. The ATO is also applying a risk-based compliance approach in the first year, so genuinely low-risk employers who fix occasional errors quickly are unlikely to be the focus of enforcement in that first year, though the legal obligation itself is not delayed.
Who handles this if you hire through Teamed?
Payday Super timing, the qualifying earnings calculation and the redesigned Superannuation Guarantee Charge are exactly the kind of payroll-mechanics risk Teamed absorbs: as your Australian payroll provider and legal employer, we pay super correctly and on time under the new rules, so a missed 7-business-day window is never something you have to track.
Key figures
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Superannuation guarantee rate, 2026-27 | 12%. This is the final step of the legislated increase schedule, reached on 1 July 2025, and remains unchanged at 12% for the 2026-27 financial year; no further legislated increases are scheduled. (source) |
| Payday Super commencement date | 1 July 2026, confirmed. Legislated by the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Act 2025 (Royal Assent 6 November 2025), with supporting regulations registered 19 February 2026 (F2026L00133). No extension or deferral of this start date has been made; it is the ATO's first-year compliance posture that is graduated, not the legal commencement date. (source) |
| The core payday super obligation from 1 July 2026 | Employers must pay super guarantee contributions so they are received and able to be allocated by the employee's super fund within 7 business days after each qualifying earnings day (generally the day wages are paid), replacing the old quarterly payment cycle. A longer window (20 business days) applies for a new employee's first contribution or a newly nominated fund. (source) |
| Qualifying earnings (QE) | From 1 July 2026, the split between ordinary time earnings and salary or wages used for SG purposes is replaced by a single qualifying earnings concept, covering ordinary time earnings, salary sacrifice super contributions, and commissions, including commissions for work done entirely outside ordinary hours. Employers must report year-to-date qualifying earnings for each employee via Single Touch Payroll each payday. (source) |
| Maximum contribution base, 2026-27 | $270,830 per employee for the full 2026-27 financial year. This replaces the old quarterly cap with a single annual cap under Payday Super; once an employee's qualifying earnings for the year reach this figure, no further SG is compulsory on that employee for the rest of the year. (source) |
| First-year ATO compliance approach (PCG 2026/1) | The ATO's Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2026/1 (finalised 28 January 2026) sets a risk-based compliance approach for SG shortfalls relating to QE days from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. Employers assessed as low risk generally will not have their conduct reviewed during that first year. This is an enforcement grace period, not a change to the 1 July 2026 legal start date or the 7-business-day payment rule. (source) |
| Redesigned Superannuation Guarantee Charge (SGC), from 1 July 2026 | For QE days from 1 July 2026, an unpaid SG shortfall attracts the shortfall amount (calculated on qualifying earnings), notional earnings that compound daily until paid, and an administrative uplift starting at 60% of the shortfall plus notional earnings. The 60% uplift can be reduced by 20 percentage points if the employer has had no ATO-initiated SG assessment in the prior 2 years, and by a further up to 40 percentage points for a prompt voluntary disclosure, together capable of reducing the uplift to zero. (source) |
Frequently asked questions
Did Payday Super actually start on 1 July 2026?
Yes, confirmed. There has been no extension to the legal start date. The ATO's risk-based compliance approach for the first year is a leniency in how it enforces the rule, not a delay to the rule itself.
Is the super guarantee rate still rising?
No. It reached its final legislated level of 12% on 1 July 2025 and there are no further scheduled increases.
What counts toward the new qualifying earnings base?
Ordinary time earnings, salary-sacrificed super contributions, and eligible commissions, including commissions for work done entirely outside ordinary hours, up to an annual cap of $270,830 for 2026-27.
The Closing Loopholes reforms are Australia's biggest overhaul of the Fair Work Act in years. When Teamed is your legal employer, we track every change and update your contracts, policies and payroll as the law lands, so you never have to read a statute to stay compliant.
