What the New Super Requirements Mean for Your Business

What the New Super Requirements Mean for Your Business

If you employ staff in Australia, significant changes are coming to how you manage superannuation payments, and they'll affect your cashflow, your admin processes, and your compliance obligations.

From 1 July 2026, the government is introducing "Payday Super," which fundamentally changes when and how you pay your employees' superannuation. Instead of the current quarterly system, you'll need to pay super at the same time you pay wages, and it must reach your employees' super accounts within seven business days of payday.

For most businesses, that means paying super every fortnight or every week instead of four times a year.

Here's what you need to know, and more importantly, what you need to do about it.

The Big Change: From Quarterly to Payday

Right now, most businesses pay superannuation quarterly. You calculate the super, set aside the funds, and make the payment before the quarterly deadline. It's a system we've all gotten used to.

Under Payday Super, that's all changing. Super contributions calculated at 12% of qualifying earnings (that's payment for ordinary hours of work plus any salary sacrifice amounts) will need to reach your employees' super accounts within seven business days of each payday.

That's a tight window. If you pay your staff fortnightly, you'll be making 26 super payments a year instead of four. If you pay weekly, that jumps to 52 payments. And once the super fund receives the payment, they have just three business days to allocate it to the employee's account or return it to you if something's wrong.

What This Means for Your Cashflow

This is perhaps the biggest practical impact for most businesses. Instead of one larger quarterly payment, you'll be making smaller, more frequent payments. While the total amount you're paying remains the same, the timing changes everything.

Think about it this way: if you currently pay $50,000 in super each quarter, you've had three months to budget and accumulate that amount. Under Payday Super, you'll need to have that same amount spread across your regular pay runs – around $4,000 every fortnight if you pay fortnightly.

For businesses operating on tight margins or with seasonal cashflow variations, this could create real pressure. The time to model your cashflow is now, not when 1 July 2026 rolls around. Look at your current payroll costs, work out what super payments will look like per pay run, and identify whether you need to build in additional cashflow buffers.

Understanding the Maximum Contribution Base Changes

There's another layer to this that employers need to know about. The Maximum Contribution Base (MCB) is also changing:

• For the 2025-26 financial year, the MCB is $62,500 per quarter
• From 1 July 2026 (when Payday Super starts), it shifts to an annual limit of $250,000

This means you'll pay super on all eligible earnings up to the annual MCB, creating a maximum super liability of $30,000 per employee per financial year. Once an employee reaches that threshold, you can stop paying super for them for the rest of that year.

And just to be clear on eligibility: all employees aged 18 and over qualify for super, regardless of how much they earn. Employees under 18 qualify if they work at least 30 hours per week.

The Admin Reality

More frequent payments mean significantly more admin work. Your payroll team (or you, if you're handling this yourself) will need to process super payments up to 52 times a year instead of four. Each payment needs to be accurate, on time, and properly documented.

Each payment needs to be:

• Calculated correctly at 12% of qualifying earnings for each employee
• Processed through SuperStream
• Tracked to ensure it reaches the super fund within seven days
• Verified as allocated by the fund within three days of receipt

Here's where it gets tricky: if a contribution is rejected for any reason, you still only have that original seven-business-day window to fix the problem and resubmit the payment. There's no extension. If you miss that deadline, you'll face the super guarantee charge – which comes with strict penalties including daily interest.

SuperStream Compliance Just Got More Critical

All super payments and data must be processed through SuperStream – that's not new. What is new is the frequency and the consequences of getting it wrong.

If you're currently experiencing rejections or errors with SuperStream, even occasionally, you need to fix those issues now. When you're processing payments every week or fortnight, small problems become big ones very quickly. You won't have time to troubleshoot when you're up against a seven-day deadline.

Your payroll systems need to be updated to reflect the new payday super timing and reporting requirements, and you need to maintain accurate records of all contributions. This isn't optional – it's a compliance requirement.

The ATO Will Be Watching Closely

The ATO has made it clear they'll be monitoring all superannuation contributions closely, with a particular focus on related-party transactions. They're looking to identify and prevent non-arm's length arrangements, so if you're an employer making contributions to your own SMSF or to SMSFs of related parties, thorough documentation is essential.

With more frequent payments, mismatches between your Single Touch Payroll data and fund reporting will be identified faster, and penalties for late or missing payments will follow just as quickly. There's no grace period for "figuring it out as you go."

Special Considerations for SMSFs

If you're paying super into your own SMSF or into employees' SMSFs, there are additional requirements:

• The SMSF must have an active Electronic Service Address (ESA) and be SuperStream compliant to receive contributions from unrelated employers
• If you're a sole trader paying your own super, or the employer and SMSF are related parties, SuperStream is not required – but you still need to meet the seven-day timeframe
• The SMSF's annual return must be lodged on time. If it's overdue, the ATO may remove the fund's regulated status, making it ineligible to receive contributions or rollovers

The ATO has indicated that approximately 366,000 individuals in 244,000 SMSFs will be impacted by these changes, particularly those receiving employer contributions from unrelated employers.

What You Should Do Now

Don't wait until July 2026 to start preparing. Here's where to begin:

Review your payroll systems. Can they handle more frequent super payments? Do they integrate properly with SuperStream? Programs like Xero or MYOB can automate super lodgements and integrate with SuperStream. Update them now to reflect the new timing and reporting requirements.

Model your cashflow. Work out exactly what more frequent super payments will mean for your business. Identify potential pinch points and build in buffers where needed.

Check your data quality. Are all your employee super details current and accurate? Are you experiencing any SuperStream rejections or errors? Clean up your data now while you have time.

If you have an SMSF: Ensure it has a valid ESA and that your annual return is up to date. Don't risk losing regulated status.

Document everything. Especially if you're dealing with related-party contributions, make sure you have thorough documentation that demonstrates compliance.

Talk to your accountant. They need to be across these changes too, and they can help you identify potential issues specific to your business.

The Bottom Line

Payday Super is a significant change that will affect every Australian business with employees. While the intention is to get super into employees' accounts faster (which is good for them), it creates real practical challenges for employers around cashflow, admin burden, and compliance.

The businesses that will handle this transition smoothly are the ones that start preparing now – reviewing their systems, modelling their cashflow, and making sure their processes are robust enough to handle much more frequent super payments within tight timeframes.

You've got until 1 July 2026, but that time will go quickly. The preparation you do now will determine whether this transition is smooth or stressful.

If you're not sure where to start, or if you want to talk through what these changes mean for your specific situation, that's exactly what we're here for.

Need help preparing for Payday Super?

At Fortuna Advisory Group, we help businesses navigate exactly these kinds of changes. Whether you need help modelling the cashflow impact, reviewing your payroll systems, or ensuring your SMSF is set up correctly, we're here to help.

Get in touch with our team to discuss how we can help you prepare for Payday Super and ensure your business is ready when the changes take effect on 1 July 2026.

✉️info@fortunaadvisors.com.au

📞(08)9240 4211