How Payday Super changes payroll day to day¶

For years, super was something you set aside during each pay run and paid in a batch every three months. From 1 July 2026, that changes. Under Payday Super, you pay your employees' super at the same time as their wages — every single payday.

The amount you owe has not changed. What changes is when you pay it and how that fits into your day-to-day payroll routine.

Why this matters¶

The old quarterly rhythm let you hold super for weeks before paying it. Payday Super removes that gap. If you run payroll weekly, fortnightly or monthly, you now start a super payment on that same schedule. Getting your process and your cash flow ready for this is the difference between a smooth payday and a late payment.

What you will learn¶

• How super now sits inside every pay run
• How clearing-house and fund timing become part of each pay cycle
• How Payday Super changes your cash flow and process

Understanding the concept¶

Before 1 July 2026, super worked on a quarterly cycle. You calculated super each pay, but you only had to pay it to the funds four times a year, after each quarter ended.

Under Payday Super, super is tied to each payday. Every time you pay wages, you also start the super payment for that pay. The ATO explains that super for a payday must reach the employee's fund within a set number of business days after you pay the employee (covered in the next lesson).

Three things change in practice:

• Timing. Super moves from four payments a year to one payment for every pay run. A weekly payroll now starts around 52 super payments a year.
• Cash flow. You no longer hold super in your account between quarters. The money leaves close to each payday, so your available cash is steadier but lower right after each pay.
• Process. Paying super becomes a normal step in every pay cycle, not a separate quarterly job you schedule later.

The clearing house and fund timing also become part of each cycle. A clearing house is a service that takes one super payment from you and splits it out to each employee's fund. It takes time to process. Because super only counts as paid once the fund receives it — not when it leaves you — you have to start each payment early enough to allow for that processing time.

Example¶

Jordan runs a small cafe and pays staff fortnightly. Under the old rules, Jordan calculated super each fortnight but only paid it to the funds after each quarter — so the June-quarter super was paid in July.

From 1 July 2026, Jordan pays wages on payday, and on that same payday starts the super payment through the clearing house. Jordan checks that the money is on its way to each fund and allows time for the clearing house to process it. There is no longer a quarterly super job sitting in Jordan's diary — it happens every fortnight as part of the normal pay run.

Common mistakes¶

• Still thinking of super as a quarterly task — under Payday Super it belongs to every pay run.
• Starting the super payment too late in the cycle and leaving no room for clearing-house processing time.
• Assuming super is "paid" the moment it leaves your account — it counts only when the fund receives it.
• Forgetting to set aside the cash each payday, then being short when the payment goes out.

How this works in myaccountant¶

Key points¶

• From 1 July 2026, super is paid with every pay run, not quarterly.
• The amount owed is unchanged — only the timing and process change.
• Clearing-house and fund processing time is now part of each pay cycle.
• Super counts as paid only when the fund receives it, not when it leaves you.
• Cash flow is steadier but you hold the money for less time.
• Paying super becomes a normal step in every payday.

Learn next¶

• The new payment timeframes
• How Payday Super affects employers
• What happens if super is paid late under Payday Super

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