From 1 July 2026, employers must pay their employees’ super on payday, not quarterly. This major reform, called Payday Super, is designed to help workers grow their retirement savings faster, reduce unpaid super, and improve financial transparency.
What is Changing?
Currently, employers pay super quarterly, which can create cash flow surprises and make it harder for employees to track if their super is up to date.
Under Payday Super:
- Super must be calculated and paid each time employees are paid (weekly, fortnightly, or monthly).
- The ATO will introduce updated reporting systems through Single Touch Payroll (STP).
- Employers must keep their processes accurate and timely to avoid penalties.
What Employers Need to Do Now
Although the start date is 1 July 2026, businesses should begin preparing in 2025:
- Review payroll software to ensure it will support payday super. (Xero, QuickBooks, and MYOB will release updates closer to implementation.)
- Tighten payroll processes — especially for casuals, allowances, job-costed labour, or variable hours.
- Plan for cash flow impacts, as super will no longer be held for up to three months.
- Keep employee records accurate, particularly super fund details and employment classifications.
Why This Matters
Payday Super means:
- Faster contributions to employees’ super funds
- Stronger compliance obligations
- Less chance of unexpected super bills at quarter-end
- A shift in how businesses manage payroll timing and cash flow
Our recommendations
We recommend that employers move to the use of .aba files so they can pay wages and super together with one file to upload to their bank.
There will be extra reporting needed to nominate staff, their fund and the amount. We will update you with the most efficient way to do this. Australian Retirement Trust have a subsidiary BEAM who will be specifically addressing this issue.
How to set up an .aba file will be discussed here: https://cascadeat.com.au/save-time-with-uploading-multiple-payments-to-your-internet-banking
Cascade Accounting & Tax will continue to support clients through this transition and ensure all payroll systems are compliant well before the deadline.
