Payday Super is nearly four months old. The first quarter of the new system, July to September, closed on 30 September. On Wednesday 28 October, 28 days later, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) draws a line under it. Nothing is due to the ATO on that day. What changes is the label an employer carries if some super did not reach a fund on time.
The short answer
Since 1 July 2026 an employer’s super guarantee (SG) contribution is on time only if it is received by the employee’s fund, with enough information to be allocated, within 7 business days after payday. In the first year the ATO says it looks at behaviour, not only the mistake. An employer who tried to pay on time and fixed any problem as soon as reasonably practicable is treated as low risk. An employer who fixes unpaid super within 28 days after the end of the quarter, which is 28 October for July to September paydays, is generally medium risk. Unpaid super still outstanding after that is generally high risk. Paying late is still costly: the super guarantee charge can include an administrative uplift of up to 60%, and a voluntary disclosure lodged early reduces it.
Where 28 October comes from
The ATO’s first year guidance defines the medium risk zone as an employer who has “rectified any unpaid super guarantee within 28 days after the end of the quarter in which the qualifying earnings were paid”. The ATO explains that this matches the deadline that would have applied under the old quarterly system. For 2026-27 that gives four dates:
| Quarter in which payday fell | 28 days after the quarter ends |
|---|---|
| July to September 2026 | Wednesday 28 October 2026 |
| October to December 2026 | Thursday 28 January 2027 |
| January to March 2027 | Wednesday 28 April 2027 |
| April to June 2027 | Wednesday 28 July 2027 |
Source: ATO, Getting it right: compliance in the first year of Payday Super (QC 107584). The four dates are our arithmetic from the ATO’s rule, not dates the ATO publishes as a list.
28 October is also the date the first quarter’s business activity statement (BAS) is originally due, so many owners will be looking at the ATO portal that day anyway. Our guide to the Q1 BAS due dates covers that side, in Chinese.
The three risk zones
| Zone | Who is in it, according to the ATO | What the ATO says it will do |
|---|---|---|
| Low | The employer tried to pay the right amount for each payday on time, some contributions did not reach the fund on time or lacked the information to be allocated, and the employer corrected it as soon as reasonably practicable so that no super guarantee remains unpaid for that payday. | No compliance resources applied, even if the employer lodges a voluntary disclosure statement. |
| Medium | Does not meet the low risk test, but all unpaid super guarantee was paid, received and allocated within 28 days after the end of the quarter. | Compliance resources may be applied, at lower priority than high risk cases. |
| High | Unpaid super guarantee for one or more employees that was not corrected within those 28 days, or any case that meets neither of the tests above. | Compliance resources likely to be applied. Highest priority. |
Source: ATO, Getting it right: compliance in the first year of Payday Super (QC 107584), published 23 June 2026. The ATO also notes that an employer can move between zones during the first year, and that if it obtains definitive information of a shortfall it still applies the law.
Three of the ATO’s own scenarios are worth knowing because they are common. An employer who pays on payday and then gets an error message from the fund on day 4, fixing it so the contribution is 5 days late, is low risk. An employer who pays on day 7 without allowing for clearing house processing time has paid late, and the ATO says it will look at whether the employer took reasonable steps. An employer who has only just learned about Payday Super and missed the first 10 fortnightly payments is expected to be medium risk if the amounts are corrected within the 28 days.
What “fixed” has to mean by 28 October
The ATO’s wording is that the contributions are paid, received and allocated to the employee’s account. A payment sent on the 28th that the fund has not yet received does not meet that. If you pay through a commercial clearing house, including one inside your payroll software, the ATO tells employers to allow enough time for it to process the payment. For anything still open from July, August or September, pay it this week rather than on Wednesday.
A few timing rules help when you are checking whether a past payment was late:
- Payday is day 0. The 7 business days are counted from the day you paid qualifying earnings, even if you entered the pay run in your system on another day.
- A business day is not a weekend and not a public holiday that applies to a whole state or territory. That counts even if the holiday is in a state where you do not operate.
- A new employee, or a new fund for an existing employee, gets 20 business days for the first contribution. The next payday goes back to 7 business days.
- Qualifying earnings are not only wages. ATO guidance lists bonuses and allowances among them, so check those pay lines too.
Source: ATO, Payment deadlines for Payday Super, last updated 29 September 2026, and Getting it right (QC 107584).
What a late payment costs
If super is unpaid, late or paid to the wrong fund and the ATO assesses you, the super guarantee charge (SGC) is made up of four parts for each payday: the unpaid super, notional earnings (interest at the general interest charge rate, compounded daily from the day after the due date), an administrative uplift, and a choice loading if the choice of fund rules were not followed. For paydays from 1 July 2026 you no longer lodge a super guarantee statement. The ATO calculates the charge and sends a notice of assessment.
The administrative uplift starts at 60% of the unpaid super plus the notional earnings. It can fall to nil. The ATO’s table, for a payday on or after 1 July 2026, reads like this:
| When the voluntary disclosure statement is lodged, counted from payday | No ATO-initiated SGC assessment in the past 2 years | An ATO-initiated assessment in the past 2 years |
|---|---|---|
| Within 30 days | 0% | 20% |
| 31 to 60 days | 5% | 25% |
| 61 to 120 days | 10% | 30% |
| More than 120 days | 25% | 45% |
| Not lodged before assessment | 40% | 60% |
Source: ATO, What happens if you don’t pay super correctly, administrative uplift table. SGC assessed before Payday Super began are ignored for the two year test.
For a July payday the early bands have already gone. Take an illustrative employer who paid staff on 10 July 2026 and has never been assessed. A disclosure lodged on 28 October falls about 110 days after payday, so it sits in the 61 to 120 day band, 10%. The same disclosure lodged from early November would sit in the 25% band, and no disclosure before an assessment means 40%. The employer in this example is made up and the day count is our arithmetic.
The ATO publishes a worked example of how much the order of events matters. An employer with 100 staff paid $1,000 of qualifying earnings to each, owing $120 each. Thirty employees were not paid on time. The ATO’s maximum charge was $69.58 when the 30 late contributions were paid 25 days late and before assessment, and $5,869.44 when they were never paid. The two cases differ by a factor of more than 80, which is our arithmetic from the ATO’s two totals. The example uses 2027 dates and a 60% uplift, and it is the ATO’s illustration, not a forecast for any real business.
Two more points from the ATO matter. Paying even part of the outstanding amount to the fund reduces the charge you become liable for. And a voluntary disclosure statement can only be lodged before you receive the notice of assessment.
A check you can run this week
- Match payroll to the funds. For each July to September payday, compare the qualifying earnings in your Single Touch Payroll (STP) report with the super your payroll shows as sent. The ATO builds the same comparison from your STP reports and the fund’s reports of what it received and when.
- Look for returned or rejected payments. A rejected contribution, a closed fund, or a payment made without the ABN or member details the fund needs can leave an employee’s super unpaid even though the money left your account.
- Check the lines that are easy to miss: bonuses, allowances, back pay, and workers who count as employees for super, such as contractors paid mainly for their labour and company directors.
- Pay what is outstanding to the fund now, keep a note of what happened and when you corrected it, then decide with your accountant whether a voluntary disclosure statement makes sense.
Frequently asked questions
Is 28 October a super payment deadline?
No. For Payday Super the payment deadline is 7 business days after each payday. 28 October is the date the ATO uses in its first year risk zones, as 28 days after the end of the July to September quarter. The ATO is the source, QC 107584.
I paid super late in July. Am I now high risk?
Not if the unpaid amount was paid, received and allocated by 28 October. In that case the ATO describes you as generally medium risk, or low risk if you tried to pay on time and fixed the problem as soon as reasonably practicable. It becomes a high risk case when unpaid super is still outstanding after the 28 days.
Do I have to lodge a voluntary disclosure statement?
No. It is voluntary and it does not replace the old super guarantee statement, which is no longer required for paydays from 1 July 2026. It can reduce the charge if you are assessed, and the ATO says it will not apply compliance resources to employers who are low risk, even if they lodge one.
Does the 7 business day rule apply to a new employee?
The first contribution for a new employee, or to a new fund for an existing employee, can be received up to 20 business days after that payday. Later paydays are back to 7 business days.
My payroll software says I paid. Is that enough?
Not always. The test is whether the fund received the contribution with enough information to allocate it. A rejected or returned payment can still leave the super unpaid, so check the fund responses and your STP data.
Talk it through
Send us your July to September pay runs, the super payment report from your payroll software or clearing house, and any error messages from funds. We will compare them, tell you what is still open, and say whether a voluntary disclosure statement is worth lodging.
Book a 20 minute call, or phone us: Melbourne 03 9600 0803 | Brisbane 07 3188 8081.
Payday Super touches payroll, STP, super payments and BAS in the same week. At Wiselink those are handled in one practice, split by function, with senior review on work that carries risk, so what your payroll says you paid matches what the fund received. Our bookkeeping and payroll services page lists the rest.
Credentials: CPA, Registered Tax Agent, ASIC Registered Agent, NTAA member, Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks partner, in practice since 2013. Our registration can be checked on the TPB public register. We work in English and Mandarin.
Melbourne Camberwell (1381 Toorak Rd, Camberwell VIC 3124) · Brisbane Eight Mile Plains (3 Clunies Ross Court, Eight Mile Plains QLD 4113)
Sources
- ATO, Getting it right: compliance in the first year of Payday Super (QC 107584), published 23 June 2026.
- ATO, Payment deadlines for Payday Super, last updated 29 September 2026.
- ATO, What happens if you don’t pay super correctly, last updated 21 June 2026.
- ATO, What to do if you miss a Payday Super contribution, last updated 27 June 2026.
- ATO, How we check Payday Super compliance, last updated 21 June 2026.
- ATO, Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2026/1 Payday Super: first year ATO compliance approach.
All ATO pages retrieved 24 October 2026. The employers in the examples are illustrative and do not describe a client. The ATO’s worked example is the ATO’s own illustration with 2027 dates; the four quarterly dates, the 110 day count and the ratio of more than 80 are our arithmetic from ATO figures. This article is general information and does not take your circumstances into account. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.
Reviewed by Lily Zhang, CPA and registered tax agent, founder of Wiselink Accountants. Wiselink has worked with small businesses and individual taxpayers in Melbourne and Brisbane, in English and Chinese, since 2013.
