Payday Super started on 1 July, and the first pay runs under the new rules are already through. Most employers we speak to understood the headline: super now goes out with every pay, not once a quarter. What catches them is July itself. This is the one month where the old system and the new system run side by side, and where a payment you thought was covering one obligation quietly gets applied to the other.
What actually changed on 1 July
Four things moved at once. The rest of your payroll setup stayed where it was.
- Timing. Super guarantee must be received by your employees’ super funds within 7 business days after you pay them. The old rule was 28 days after the end of the quarter.
- The base. Super is now 12 per cent of qualifying earnings, not ordinary time earnings. Qualifying earnings pull in ordinary time earnings plus all commissions and salary sacrificed amounts that would have been qualifying earnings had they not been sacrificed.
- Reporting. You now report both qualifying earnings and super liability through Single Touch Payroll each payday.
- The clearing house. The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House is gone. It closed permanently on 30 June and is no longer accessible.
The 12 per cent rate did not change, and neither did who you pay super for. Contractors paid mainly for their labour are still treated as employees for super, and their pay is still in scope.
July is the month with two super obligations
Here is the part that is unique to this month and will not repeat. You still owe super under the old quarterly rules for the April to June quarter, calculated on ordinary time earnings, and it has to be in your employees’ accounts by 28 July 2026. At the same time, every pay run from 1 July onwards is already under Payday Super, with its own 7 business day clock.
So a business paying fortnightly will have three or four super payments leaving in July, not one. The ATO’s own guidance says to review your July pay cycles and consider setting aside additional funds, which is a polite way of saying the cash flow hit in July is real and it lands once.
The ordering rule that catches people out
This is the trap. Any super contribution received on or before 28 July is applied to what you owe for the June quarter first. Only the remainder goes towards your Payday Super obligation.
Take the ATO’s worked example. An employer pays wages fortnightly on a Monday. Her first pay run under the new rules is Monday 6 July, so the super for that payday must be in her employees’ accounts by Wednesday 15 July, which is 7 business days later. She pays it on 6 July and it is received on 13 July. She then pays her June quarter contribution on 10 July, received on 15 July. Because both landed on or before 28 July, the 6 July payment is treated as going to the June quarter first. She is still fine, because she paid the correct amount for both, in full, by 15 July.
The lesson is not the sequencing itself. It is that underpaying either one leaves you short on the other. If your July payday contribution is quietly absorbed into a June quarter shortfall, you now have a late Payday Super payment you did not know about, and the charge follows automatically.
The super guarantee charge is a different animal now
Under the old system, being late meant you self-assessed, lodged a super guarantee statement, paid interest at 10 per cent a year and a flat admin fee, and could not deduct any of it. From 1 July the mechanics changed:
| Quarterly system (to 30 June 2026) | Payday Super (from 1 July 2026) | |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger | Not received within 28 days of quarter end | Not received within 7 business days after payday |
| Who assesses it | You, by lodging an SGC statement | The ATO assesses it. No statement to lodge |
| Interest | 10 per cent per annum | General interest charge, compounding daily |
| Extra amount | Flat administration fee | Administrative uplift, reducible with a voluntary disclosure |
| Penalties | Up to 200 per cent, remittable | 25 per cent or 50 per cent of the unpaid charge |
| Deductible | No | Yes |
Two things follow from this. The ATO no longer waits for you to put your hand up, because STP tells it what you owed and the fund data tells it what arrived. And the administrative uplift can be reduced if you disclose voluntarily before the ATO acts, so a mistake you find yourself is worth far less than one it finds for you.
One more piece of housekeeping for this month. The late payment offset is not available for that final June quarter payment. If you miss 28 July, you lodge an SGC statement by 28 August and the money you eventually pay to the fund does not reduce the charge the way it used to. And any super received on or after 29 July is applied under the Payday Super rules, even if you meant it for the June quarter.
What to check in your payroll this week
Today, 14 July, is also the STP finalisation deadline for the 2025 to 2026 year, so most employers have their payroll open anyway. While you are in there:
- Work backwards from receipt, not payment. The 7 business days ends when the fund has the money and enough information to allocate it, not when it leaves your account. Ask your provider how long they actually take.
- Check the earnings your system is using. If commissions or salary sacrificed amounts are not flowing into the super calculation, you are underpaying from the first pay run of the year.
- New employees get longer. The first payment to a fund for a new starter has a 20 business day window rather than 7. Useful, and easy to misapply to everyone.
- Confirm what replaced the clearing house. If you were an SBSCH user, the payment route you had is closed. Make sure the alternative is live and that you downloaded your records.
- Model the July cash. Add up every payday contribution due in July plus the June quarter amount due 28 July, and look at the total against the month.
If you want the background on how the rules were framed before they started, see our earlier note on what Payday Super asks of employers and the EOFY payroll and STP finalisation walkthrough.
Frequently asked questions
When is super due under Payday Super?
Super guarantee must be received by your employee’s super fund within 7 business days after payday. The deadline is about receipt by the fund, not the date you make the payment. Some exceptions apply, including a 20 business day window for the first contribution for a new employee.
Do I still have to pay super for the June 2026 quarter?
Yes. The April to June 2026 quarter runs under the old quarterly rules and the money must be in your employees’ super accounts by 28 July 2026. Miss it and you must lodge a super guarantee charge statement by 28 August, and the late payment offset is not available for that quarter.
What are qualifying earnings?
Qualifying earnings are the base for calculating super from 1 July 2026. They include ordinary time earnings, all commissions, salary sacrificed amounts that would have been qualifying earnings, and pay to contractors who are engaged mainly for their labour. Overtime is generally not qualifying earnings, unless an award or agreement separately requires super on it.
What happens if my super payment is late now?
The ATO assesses a super guarantee charge. It is calculated on qualifying earnings, includes general interest charge that compounds daily, and includes an administrative uplift. Penalties are 25 per cent or 50 per cent of the unpaid charge depending on prior penalties. The charge is tax deductible, and the uplift can be reduced if you make a voluntary disclosure before the ATO takes action.
What do I use now that the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House has closed?
The SBSCH closed permanently on 30 June 2026 and is no longer accessible. Employers who used it need a commercial alternative, usually a SuperStream compliant payroll platform or a clearing house offered by a super fund. Check that your records were downloaded before the shutdown.
Sources
- Australian Taxation Office (ATO), About Payday Super (7 business day deadline, qualifying earnings, 12 per cent rate unchanged, new super guarantee charge, penalties of 25 or 50 per cent, SBSCH closure), last updated 30 May 2026
- Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Payday Super: How to manage super during the changeover (June quarter due 28 July 2026, ordering of contributions received on or before 28 July, late payment offset not available, worked example), last updated 16 June 2026
- Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Explaining qualifying earnings (what is and is not qualifying earnings, STP reporting of qualifying earnings and super liability), published 27 January 2026
About the author
Lily Zhang is the founder of Wiselink Accountants, based in Camberwell, Melbourne. Since 2013 the firm has served more than 500 Australian individuals and small businesses. Lily is a CPA Australia member, Registered Tax Agent, ASIC Registered Agent and NTAA member, working in both English and Chinese with clients across Greater Melbourne and Brisbane.
Not sure whether your first Payday Super runs landed inside the 7 business days, or how much cash July is really going to take? Book a free 20-minute call and we will check your payroll settings and your July timeline with you. Serving Melbourne and Brisbane, in English and Chinese.
This article is general information only and does not constitute advice for your personal circumstances. It is current as at 14 July 2026. Rules, rates and deadlines vary by situation, so check the latest ATO guidance and seek professional advice. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.
