Why hasn't my employee received their super?¶

An employee tells you their super has not turned up in their fund. This is a common question, and most of the time there is a simple, harmless explanation. Super money does not move from your bank account to the fund in an instant - it passes through a few hands first, and that takes a little time.

The calm way to handle it is to work through a few checks in order, rather than assume something has gone wrong.

In one line

Super counts as paid only when the fund receives it - so check when you paid it, whether enough time has passed, that the details are right, and that it was not returned.

Why this matters¶

Employees watch their super, and a missing payment can feel alarming. Knowing the order to check things in lets you answer quickly and confidently, and helps you spot a real problem early - before a due date passes.

What you will learn¶

How to work through a missing-super query in a calm, logical order
Why super counts as paid only when the fund receives it
How to check timing, details and returns before you worry

Understanding the concept¶

When you pay super, the money and the matching details are sent together through the electronic system that connects employers and funds, known as SuperStream. The payment often travels via a clearing house - a service that passes your super on to each employee's fund.

The key point, which the ATO makes clearly, is that a super contribution counts as paid on the date the fund receives it - not the date you sent it, and not the date a clearing house received it. So there is always some travel time to allow for.

Work through it in this order:

Check when you paid it. Find the date the payment left your business. If it was only a day or two ago, the money may simply still be on its way.
Allow for travel time. Under the ATO's Payday Super rules (from 1 July 2026), super must be received by the fund within a short window of each payday. Clearing houses take time to pass the money on, so a very recent payment may not have landed yet.
Check the fund and member details. If the fund name, fund identifier or the employee's member number is wrong, the payment can go astray. See the sibling lesson on incorrect fund details.
Check it was not returned. A fund can reject and return a contribution if the details do not match. If that happened, the super has not been received and needs re-sending. See the sibling lesson on rejected payments.
Confirm the timing against the due date. Once you know when it was paid and whether it was received, you can see whether it is simply in transit or genuinely late.

For accountants & bookkeepers

The ATO is explicit that a contribution is only "paid" once the receiving fund has it, which is why waiting until the last allowable day is risky - a late-in-the-window payment that gets rejected leaves no time to correct and re-send before the deadline. The ATO recommends paying on payday where possible to give the most buffer.

Example¶

Sam messages his employer, Priya, to say his super for last fortnight has not shown up in his fund's app. Priya does not panic. She checks her records and sees she paid the super two business days ago. She knows the money travels through a clearing house and takes a little time to reach the fund, so a two-day gap is normal. She checks that Sam's fund and member number on file are correct, and that nothing has been returned. Everything looks right, so she reassures Sam that the super is on its way and asks him to check again in a few days. It arrives, as expected.

Common mistakes¶

Assuming super is "paid" the moment it leaves your bank - it counts only when the fund receives it.
Panicking over a payment that is only a day or two old and still in transit.
Skipping the details check - a small typo in a member number can send super astray.
Not checking for a return - a rejected payment will never arrive until it is re-sent.

How this works in myaccountant¶

In the app - myaccountant tracks each super payment and shows its status, so you can see when it was sent and follow its progress. If a contribution is returned or at risk, myaccountant flags it, so you know to act rather than wait. This gives you a clear place to start when an employee asks where their super is.

Key points¶

Super counts as paid only when the fund receives it - not when you send it.
There is always some travel time, often through a clearing house.
Work in order: when paid, allow travel time, check details, check for a return, confirm timing.
A recent payment may simply still be on its way.
A returned payment will not arrive until you fix the details and re-send.
Paying early gives the most time to fix any problem before a due date.

Learn next¶

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

Did this answer your question?