Payday super – getting ready for 1 July 2026

When does Payday super start?

The Payday super reforms will start on 1 July 2026. 

What Payday super means for employers

Contributions and timing

Under Payday Super reforms, employers must ensure contributions are sent and received by the employee’s chosen super fund within the required timeframe after payday. In most cases, this is within 7 business days.

In some cases, employers can make contributions within 20 business days. This extended deadline generally applies to:

• the first contribution for a new employee, and
• the first contribution to a new super fund for an existing employee.

This extended timeframe is optional and can be used where appropriate. However, if other legal obligations or fund rules require contributions to be paid on payday, those requirements still apply and may mean the extended timeframe cannot be used.

Specifically for employers contributing to PSSap and ADF Super, contributions are required to be paid each payday under fund rules and legislation. As a result, these employers are not able to use the extended 20 business day timeframe.

Within the employer timeline, super funds must allocate contributions to a member account within 3 business days or return the contribution to the employer if this is not possible.

Out of cycle payments

If you make a payment of qualifying earnings to an employee outside of their regular payday, your SG contribution must be received by the super fund within 7 business days of the next standard pay cycle.

To support timely allocation of contributions and reduce errors or rejected contributions, employers should review their data quality and payroll/finance processes now to identify any potential improvements.

Definition of a business day

A business day is any day other than a Saturday, Sunday, or a public holiday that applies across an entire State, the ACT or the Northern Territory.
This means if there is a state or territory-wide public holiday, it is not considered a business day for the purposes of Payday Super, even if you are not located in that state or territory.

PSSap and ADF Super contributions

The 7-business day timeframe also applies to PSSap and ADF Super contributions.

For eligible employers, the PSSap Trust Deed and the Defence Act 1903 require that contributions are paid each payday. These obligations are mandatory and take precedence over the optional extended timeframes available under Payday Super. There is nothing in the Payday Super legislation that overrides these existing requirements.

As a result, employers contributing to PSSap and ADF Super cannot rely on extended contribution timeframes in practice, including the 20-business day allowance for new employees or changes in super fund.

Employer contributions to PSSap and ADF Super must also be allocated by the fund within 3 business days or returned to the employer if this is not possible.

CSC can no longer hold contributions in the fund while working with employers to resolve errors or data issues.

To reduce the likelihood of contributions being rejected, employers should review their data quality and payroll submissions to PSSap and ADF Super and make any necessary improvements to processes and systems.

PSS/CSS contributions

The Payday Super payment timelines don’t affect PSS and CSS. The rules of these schemes require contributions to be paid every payday, so employers should already be making fortnightly payments.

Payments should continue to be made as usual using the relevant Payment Reference Numbers and Lodgement Reference Numbers, and on the same day as the pay file data is submitted.

CSC may reject contributions that cannot be allocated due to reconciliation issues and/or the data submitted.

Maximum contributions base (MCB)

The maximum contributions base sets an upper limit on the minimum SG contributions payable by an employer for an employee to meet SG responsibilities.

From 1 July the MCB will shift from a quarterly cap to an annual cap.

This cap applies to PSSap members whose contributions are calculated using the OTE methodology. However, employers may choose to contribute above this cap. Any contributions made above the MCB are treated as additional employer contributions and are permitted under the rules.

The cap does not apply to PSSap members on the default arrangements of FCS.

Qualifying earnings (QE)

The reforms introduce a new concept of “qualifying earnings” for SG calculations.

QE includes OTE, salary sacrifice contributions and other amounts currently included in an employee’s salary or wages for SG purposes.

Employers may need to review how they treat different categories of earnings in payroll systems.

QE does not apply to the calculation of contributions for CSS, PSS or PSSap.

New Payments Platform (NPP)

The New Payments Platform is a real-time payments infrastructure developed and supported by Australian banks and the Reserve Bank of Australia, enabling money to move instantly between participating bank accounts.

Payday Super reforms are designed to leverage infrastructure like the NPP to support faster movement of funds, enabling more timely contributions and helping employers meet their SG obligations.

From 1 July 2026, all super funds must be able to receive employer contributions via the NPP. However, employers and their service providers can choose whether to use this payment method.

If you are using CSC’s branded clearing house, you do not need to make any changes to payment processes. CSC’s existing direct debit payment solution already delivers similar benefits the NPP, including same-day clearance of contribution payments to funds.

If you are not already using it, you may wish to consider CSC’s branded clearing house for all your choice funds, in addition to PSSap and ADF Super.

Technology and payroll systems

Employers should work closely with their payroll and clearing house providers to ensure systems are ready for Payday Super. This includes being able to calculate SG on each payday, meet updated contribution timeframes, and align with SuperStream changes. 

Employers should also review data quality (e.g. fund details, USIs, member numbers and TFNs) and address common errors that can delay contributions reaching funds. This includes reviewing data quality of any service providers you may use.

Governance, risk, and compliance

The new rules increase the importance of strong governance around payroll and super.

Employers should consider:

• whether policies and procedures need updating to reflect Payday Super
• how to monitor on time payment of SG and handle exceptions
• what reporting is required to boards, audit and risk committees
• the impact of any repeated late payments on SG charge liabilities.

Review payroll governance and business processes. 

Check you have correct member information and fund details for employees such as member account numbers and USIs to prevent any errors.

Review and correct error messages you currently receive from super funds, any payments you currently make the generate warnings or information messages could be rejected after 1 July 2026, causing a late payment.

SuperStream messaging changes

SuperStream is the standardised process for paying employee super contributions, including SG, requiring employers to send both payments and related data electronically in a consistent format to all super funds including SMSFs.

From 1 July 2026 the SuperStream contributions messaging framework will be upgraded to version 3. This update will help employers to meet their super obligations by:

• reducing the likelihood of employees’ contributions being rejected by a super fund 
• providing clearer error messaging when a contribution is rejected by a super fund
• enabling faster payment of contributions 
• more quickly identifying when important super fund details are changing.