Correcting super compliance mistakes¶

Finding out you have missed or underpaid an employee's super can feel alarming. It does not have to. Mistakes happen, and there is a clear, calm way to put them right. The sooner you act, the less it costs.

This lesson walks through what to do, step by step, so you know exactly how to respond if you spot a shortfall.

In one line

If you find you have missed or underpaid super, fix it fast — pay the fund, disclose it to the ATO, and the ATO will work out the Super Guarantee Charge and send you a notice of assessment.

Why this matters¶

Super has to reach your employee's fund on time and in full. When it does not, there is a shortfall. Left alone, a shortfall grows and can trigger extra costs. Acting early keeps the amount smaller and shows the ATO you are doing the right thing.

What you will learn¶

The correct steps when you find a super shortfall
That the ATO works out the charge and sends a notice of assessment
Why acting early reduces the cost

Understanding the concept¶

A super shortfall is any super that should have reached an employee's fund but did not — because it was missed, paid late, paid short, or paid to the wrong fund. Super counts as paid only when the fund actually receives it, not when it leaves your bank account.

When you find a shortfall, the ATO's advice is simple: fix it as soon as possible. The calm, correct sequence is:

Work out what is owed. Check which employees, which pay days, and how much super was missed or underpaid.
Pay the outstanding super to the employee's fund as soon as you can.
Tell the ATO — this is a voluntary disclosure, made before the ATO contacts you about it.
Keep a record of what went wrong and how you fixed it.

You do not work out the penalty yourself. Under the current Payday Super rules, the ATO works out the Super Guarantee Charge (SGC) and sends you a notice of assessment. Your job is to fix the shortfall, disclose it, and pay what the ATO assesses.

For accountants & bookkeepers

Under Payday Super the SGC is assessed by the ATO, not self-lodged as a quarterly statement. The ATO uses reported data to identify a shortfall, calculates the charge, and issues a notice of assessment. Making late contributions to the fund and lodging a voluntary disclosure before the Commissioner makes an assessment can reduce the charge — the ATO notes it cannot be reduced to nil, because the charge includes elements beyond the plain shortfall, but early action reduces it. Paying the outstanding amount to the fund before an assessment is issued also lowers the liability.

Example¶

Priya runs a small café and does her own payroll. While reconciling at month end, she notices one casual employee's super did not reach the fund for a recent pay day — the payment bounced back and she had missed it.

Priya does not panic. She works out exactly how much was owed, pays it straight to the employee's fund, and then lodges a voluntary disclosure with the ATO before the ATO contacts her. She saves a note of what happened and how she fixed it. Because she acted early and disclosed it herself, the charge the ATO later assesses is smaller than it would have been had she waited. The ATO sends her a notice of assessment, which she pays.

Common mistakes¶

Waiting and hoping it sorts itself out — the shortfall only grows.
Paying the employee directly instead of the super fund — super must go to the fund.
Trying to work out and lodge the penalty yourself — the ATO assesses the charge and sends a notice of assessment.
Fixing the payment but not keeping a record of what happened.

How this works in myaccountant¶

In the app — myaccountant works out the super owed on each pay and keeps a record of every contribution, so you can see what was paid and when. It flags payments that are late or at risk, which helps you spot a shortfall early, pay the fund, and disclose it before it grows.

Key points¶

A shortfall is super that did not reach the fund on time or in full.
Fix it fast — work out what is owed and pay it to the employee's fund.
Disclose it to the ATO before they contact you.
Keep a record of what happened and how you fixed it.
The ATO works out the charge and sends a notice of assessment.
Acting early makes the charge smaller.

Learn next¶

General information only — not tax, super or financial advice.

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