Reporting super through STP¶

Every time you run a pay, your payroll software sends pay information to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). This happens through Single Touch Payroll (STP). Each pay you report, the STP report includes the super information for each employee — including the super liability you have worked out for that person.

Reporting the super is not the same as paying it. The report tells the ATO what super each employee is owed. Paying the super is a separate step where the money actually goes to the super fund. Both need to be right.

In one line

Each pay you report, your STP report tells the ATO the super liability for each employee — but reporting the super is separate from actually paying it to the fund.

Why this matters¶

The ATO uses your STP report to build a picture of the super each employee is owed. It then compares that with what the super funds tell it has arrived. If your report says one thing and the payment says another, the ATO can see the gap and follow it up. Getting both the report and the payment right keeps you out of trouble and keeps your employees' super correct.

What you will learn¶

What your STP report tells the ATO about super
How reporting super is separate from paying it to the fund
Why both the report and the payment must be right

Understanding the concept¶

STP is the way your payroll software reports to the ATO. Each pay you report, the software sends the ATO the pay details for each employee. This includes the super liability — the amount of super that employee has earned for that pay.

That report is a message to the ATO. It says "here is what each employee earned and here is the super they are owed". It does not move any super money. The money only moves when you make the super payment to the fund, which is a separate action.

So there are two things happening for super:

You report it — the super liability goes to the ATO in your STP report.
You pay it — the super money goes to the employee's fund.

Both must match up. If you report the super but never pay it, the ATO sees the gap. If you pay a different amount to what you reported, that shows up too.

For accountants & bookkeepers

Under Payday Super, from 1 July 2026 the ATO requires employers to report the year-to-date qualifying earnings and the year-to-date super liability for each employee through STP each payday. The ATO then matches those reported amounts against contribution data received from the super funds. Where the contributions it receives vary significantly from the liability reported, the ATO says it will contact the employer.

Example¶

Jordan runs weekly pays for a small business. Each Thursday, Jordan finalises the pay run. The payroll software works out each employee's pay and their super, then sends the STP report to the ATO. That report tells the ATO the super liability for each employee for that week.

Separately, Jordan pays the super to each employee's fund. The report and the payment are two different steps. Jordan makes sure both are done, so what the ATO was told matches what the funds receive.

Common mistakes¶

Thinking the STP report pays the super — it only reports it; you still pay the fund.
Reporting a super amount but paying a different amount, so the two do not match.
Assuming that because the report went through, the super has been paid.

How this works in myaccountant¶

In the app — when you finalise a pay run, myaccountant reports the pay and super information to the ATO through STP, including each employee's super liability. It then pays the super to the funds via SuperStream. The reporting and the payment are kept in step, so what you tell the ATO and what you pay the funds line up.

Key points¶

Each pay you report, your STP report tells the ATO the super liability per employee.
Reporting super is separate from paying it to the fund.
The STP report does not move any super money.
The ATO matches what you reported against what the funds receive.
Both the report and the payment must be right and must match.

Learn next¶

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

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