When super must be paid¶

Paying super on time is one of an employer's most important jobs. The rules on when super is due have changed. From 1 July 2026, Australia moved to Payday Super, which means you pay super at the same time as wages instead of only once a quarter.

This lesson explains the current rule, gives you the old quarterly dates as background, and — most importantly — explains what "paid on time" really means.

In one line

From 1 July 2026 super is due each payday, and it only counts as paid when the employee's super fund receives it — not when the money leaves you.

Why this matters¶

If super is late, the cost is not just the super itself. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) can charge extra on top. Knowing exactly when super is due, and when it counts as paid, is how you avoid falling behind and keep your employees' super on track.

What you will learn¶

When super must be paid under the current rules
Why super counts as paid only when the fund receives it
How the old quarterly due dates fit in as background

Understanding the concept¶

The current rule (from 1 July 2026): Payday Super. The ATO explains that from 1 July 2026 you must pay your employees' super guarantee for each payday, rather than once a quarter. In other words, every time you pay wages, super goes out around the same time.

The ATO says a contribution is on time if the employee's super fund receives it — with all the details needed to put it into the right member's account — within a set number of business days after you pay the employee. Payday Super is a big topic, so this lesson keeps it short. See the dedicated Payday Super module for the full detail on deadlines and how it works.

The old rule (background only). Before Payday Super, super was due quarterly. The ATO's quarterly due dates were 28 days after the end of each quarter — 28 October, 28 January, 28 April and 28 July. You may still see these dates when looking back at periods before the change, but for pays from 1 July 2026 the payday rule applies.

"Paid" means received by the fund. This is the part employers most often get wrong. The ATO is clear that super counts as paid on the date the super fund receives it — not the date it leaves your bank account, and not the date a clearing house receives it from you. Money can take time to travel from you, through a clearing house, to the fund. You need to allow for that time so the fund receives it by the deadline.

For accountants & bookkeepers

The ATO's "received by the fund" test is what makes clearing-house timing matter. With a commercial clearing house, the contribution is treated as paid on the date the fund receives it, not the date the clearing house receives it from the employer — so processing time must be built into the deadline. The ATO notes a limited exception for its own Small Business Superannuation Clearing House, where payments may be treated as paid on the date that service receives them. Under Payday Super, super is worked out on qualifying earnings for the pay period; the transitional final June 2026 quarter kept the old 28 July quarterly due date.

Example¶

Priya runs a small cafe and pays her staff fortnightly. On payday she runs the pay and sends the super out at the same time. She knows the clock is not about when the money leaves her account — it is about when each employee's fund actually receives it. Because a clearing house sits in the middle and takes a few days, Priya sends the super promptly on payday so it lands with the funds well inside the deadline. That way her super is always counted as paid on time.

Common mistakes¶

Thinking super is "paid" the moment it leaves your bank account — it counts as paid when the fund receives it.
Forgetting to allow for clearing-house processing time before the deadline.
Still working to the old quarterly dates for pays from 1 July 2026 — the payday rule now applies.
Missing the small details the fund needs to allocate the money to the right member.

How this works in myaccountant¶

In the app — when you run a pay, myaccountant works out the super for each employee and shows you when it is due. You can pay it to the funds from within the app, and myaccountant tracks whether each contribution has been paid on time, so you can see at a glance if anything needs attention.

Key points¶

From 1 July 2026, super is due each payday under Payday Super.
Super counts as paid only when the employee's fund receives it.
The date the money leaves you, or reaches a clearing house, does not count.
Allow time for the money to travel so the fund receives it by the deadline.
The old quarterly due dates (28 days after each quarter) are background only.
See the Payday Super module for the full detail on deadlines.

Learn next¶

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

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