Payday Super
Super now leaves your account every pay run. Is your cash flow ready?
Since 1 July 2026, you have to pay super so it reaches your employees' funds within 7 business days of each payday. No more quarterly buffer. If your wages go out weekly, your super goes out weekly. Slow-paying customers and tight margins make that hurt.
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What changed
Same super. Different timing.
Before 1 July 2026
Super was quarterly. You had until 28 days after the end of the quarter to pay it. Four payments a year.
Now
Super is due with every pay run. It has to reach the fund within 7 business days of each payday. If you pay wages weekly, you pay super weekly.
The total is the same. The timing isn't. Your customers pay in 30 or 60 days. Your wages and super go out every payday. That gap is where small businesses get caught. The ATO's rules are on its Payday Super page.
Is your pay run covered? Tell us your pay cycle.
We'll tell you if there's a gap and what could fix it.
The rules in short
Three numbers to know.
7 business days
To get super into each employee's fund after payday. It has to arrive with enough information for the fund to allocate it. Limited exceptions apply, with 20 business days for a new employee's first payment or a first payment to a new fund.
12%
Super guarantee rate, worked out on qualifying earnings. Your payroll software does the sums.
25%
Late payment penalty if the super guarantee charge stays unpaid 28 days after a Notice to Pay (the ATO's formal demand). It's 50% for repeat cases within 24 months.
What being late costs
If super isn't paid on time, you can be assessed for the super guarantee charge. It includes the unpaid super, interest at the ATO's general interest charge rate compounding daily, and an administrative uplift (an extra charge the ATO adds). The ATO assesses it and you pay the ATO, not the fund.
The ATO says you can deduct the super guarantee charge you pay, for days from 1 July 2026. You can't deduct the GIC the ATO charges on the unpaid charge, or the late payment penalty. Your accountant confirms.
Year one (2026–27)
In 2026–27, the ATO says it will take a lighter-touch approach to low-risk employers, meaning employers who try to pay on time and fix mistakes quickly. It's focusing on employers who aren't trying, aren't fixing errors, or aren't paying at all.
Miss a payment? Pay the correct amount to the fund as soon as you realise, unless you've already had an assessment notice.
Your cash
What Payday Super does to your cash.
Here's one fortnightly pay run as an example. Your payroll software works out qualifying earnings exactly.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gross wages | $12,000 |
| Super at 12% | $1,440 |
| Cash out per pay run | $13,440 |
Under the old quarterly rule, that same super was about $9,360 paid four times a year. Now it's $1,440 paid 26 times a year. The annual total is about $37,440 either way.
It may help to keep at least one full pay run of wages plus super available before payday. If your customers pay slower than you pay wages, that gap is what finance can cover.
Text us your pay run numbers and we'll tell you where the gap is.
How we can help
Where finance can help.
Finance can smooth the timing so wages and super go out on time. It isn't a fix for a business that can't cover them at all.
Invoice finance
Get paid on your invoices sooner, so the cash is there when payday comes.
Can't cover wages and super right now?
Talk to your accountant first. Company directors can be personally liable for unpaid super through director penalty notices. Paying employee entitlements on time, including super, is a condition of the insolvent trading safe harbour (a protection for directors trying to turn a business around). Serious or repeated failures can lose it. We can't give insolvency advice, and finance won't fix a business that isn't viable. If it's a timing gap, call us.
Sources: About Payday Super, Paying super for your employees, What happens if you don't pay super correctly. See also our guide to Payday Super and cash flow.
How it works
Three steps.
Tell us your pay cycle
When you pay, how much, and where the gap is.
We map the options
Invoice finance, a line of credit, a capital raise or an ATO restructure. You see cost and trade-offs side by side.
We run the process
We match you to a lender, handle the paperwork and keep you updated to settlement.
Who it suits
- You pay staff weekly or fortnightly and super used to be a quarterly lump.
- Your customers pay slower than you pay wages.
- You already owe the ATO and need room to keep payroll on time.
When it's not the answer
- You can't cover wages and super at all. Talk to your accountant, and an insolvency practitioner if you're a director, before you borrow.
- You're after a loan to pay a penalty. Let's talk about fixing the cause instead.
What to bring
- Your pay cycle and wages plus super per pay run
- A debtors list: who owes you, how much and how old
- Recent BAS, financials or bank statements
- ATO account statement, if you owe the ATO
- ID for the directors
Numbers messy? Bring them anyway.
Finance costs money.
Invoice finance and short-term facilities cost more than a bank loan. They work best as a cash flow tool, not a permanent fix. We show you the total cost first.
Questions people ask
What if I pay wages weekly?
Then super is due weekly too. It has to reach the fund within 7 business days after each payday. Limited exceptions apply, like the first payment for a new employee, which has 20 business days.
Is the super guarantee charge tax deductible?
The ATO says you can deduct the charge you pay, for days from 1 July 2026. You can't deduct the GIC the ATO charges on the unpaid charge, or the late payment penalty. Your accountant confirms.
Do I pay super for contractors?
Sometimes. If you pay a contractor mainly for their labour, the ATO can treat them as an employee for super. Check with your accountant.
I'm a sole trader with no staff. Does this apply to me?
Payday Super is about employers paying super for employees. If you have no employees, it doesn't apply to your own super. That's a separate choice.
Tell us your pay cycle.
When you pay, how much, and where the gap is. We'll take it from there.