🇦🇺 Australia · Compliance guide
Payday Super Is Now in Effect: Is Your Payroll Ready?
The quarterly super batch is over: since 1 July 2026, super goes out with every pay run and must be received by each employee’s fund within 7 business days of payday. What that means for Australian trades businesses: cash flow, clearing houses, and what to confirm with your payroll vendor.
By WrenchStack Research · Published June 2026 · Updated 1 October 2026 · General information, not financial advice; confirm your obligations with the ATO or your adviser.
✅ The short version
Payday super passed Parliament (Treasury, November 2025) and has been in effect since 1 July 2026. Every pay run (weekly, fortnightly or monthly) must now include super, and the contribution must be received by the employee’s fund within 7 business days of payday. Late contributions bring the super guarantee charge, which Treasury’s factsheet says includes daily interest and an administrative uplift of up to 60% of the shortfall. Our entries for the job-management apps in our AU directory describe no payroll, so this sits with your payroll software: confirm its payday super support is switched on for your plan.
What changes
Before 1 July 2026, super guarantee contributions were due quarterly. Since then:
- Super goes with every pay run. Pay wages weekly, and super goes weekly too.
- Received, not just sent: the contribution must arrive in the employee’s fund within 7 business days of payday; Treasury says the window covers the time payments take to move through the payment system, including clearing houses.
- The super guarantee charge: the shortfall, daily interest and an administrative uplift of up to 60% of the shortfall, reduced for employers who voluntarily disclose (Treasury factsheet, September 2024).
- The first year: Treasury said in November 2025 that the ATO was consulting on its compliance approach for the 12 months after the start; check the ATO’s current guidance rather than planning around it.
What it means if you pay weekly
- More payments: a business that pays wages weekly now makes 52 super payments a year instead of 4 quarterly ones.
- Cash flow: super you used to hold until the quarterly due date now leaves with every pay run, so check the working-capital effect.
- New starters: wrong or missing super-fund details can hold up a contribution while the 7-business-day window runs.
- Clearing house: Treasury said the ATO’s free Small Business Superannuation Clearing House would be retired from 1 July 2026. If your quarterly routine ran through it, payroll software can pay super with each pay run.
The payroll platforms in our AU directory
Payday super is paid from the payroll layer. From our Australian trades directory, these are the payroll platforms. MYOB, Employment Hero, Xero and Reckon each describe Payday Super support on their payroll pages, and Deputy’s payroll page covers the change, so the buyer’s job is confirming it’s switched on for your plan:
| Platform | What it offers | Confirm on your plan |
|---|---|---|
| Xero Payroll (AU) | Payroll included in Xero’s Australian accounting plans (2, 5 or 10 people by plan); STP Phase 2 reporting each payday | Xero says super is calculated and paid in each pay run at no extra cost; check your plan covers your headcount |
| MYOB | Accounting and payroll for AU and NZ businesses since 1991; Single Touch Payroll reporting; standalone Payroll Only plan for up to 4 employees | MYOB has a Pay Super setting for the Payday Super changes; confirm it is switched on for your product |
| Employment Hero Payroll (formerly KeyPay) | Pay rates update automatically for modern awards (per Employment Hero); STP Phase 2; minimum of 10 Users | Confirm HeroClear super clearing is set up on your plan |
| Deputy | Rostering, timesheets and award interpretation, with Deputy Payroll as a paid add-on designed for STP Phase 2 (per Deputy) | Confirm how super is paid on each payday with the Payroll add-on on your plan |
| Reckon | Standalone payroll app, Payroll Essentials $16 a month for up to 4 employees; STP Phase 2 | Reckon says its payroll is Payday Super compliant with built-in SuperStream; confirm on your plan |
Source: WrenchStack AU directory entries, re-checked against vendor pages on 30 September 2026. Confirm the specifics for your plan with the vendor.
Your job-management app doesn’t pay super
AroFlo, Simpro (AU), ServiceM8 (AU), Tradify (AU), Fergus (AU) run quotes, scheduling and invoicing, and our entries for them describe no payroll or super payments. Super is paid from payroll software such as Xero, MYOB or Employment Hero. The job app still matters for payday super: late timesheets mean late pay runs, and late pay runs now mean late super.
Payday super checklist for trades employers
- Confirm your payroll platform’s payday super support is switched on, and that your plan includes it.
- Model the cash-flow shift. Take last quarter’s super bill, spread it across your actual pay cycles, and check the working-capital effect.
- Check employee super data: fund details, member numbers and stapled-fund checks for new hires.
- Replace the ATO clearing house if SBSCH was your route: Treasury said it would be retired from 1 July 2026, so pay super through your payroll software or another clearing service.
- Tighten the timesheet pipeline from your job-management app: late timesheets now mean late super, not only late wages.
- Watch your pay runs. Track each cycle to confirm contributions reach funds within 7 business days.
Frequently asked questions
Is payday super law, or still a proposal?
It is law. Treasury announced on 4 November 2025 that the legislation had passed Parliament, and the new rules started on 1 July 2026. Employers now pay super at the same time as salary and wages, whether staff are paid weekly, fortnightly or monthly, instead of quarterly.
What changed from the old quarterly system?
Super guarantee contributions used to be due quarterly. Since 1 July 2026 every payday triggers a contribution, and it must be received by the employee’s fund within 7 business days of payday, per Treasury. Treasury’s September 2024 factsheet had proposed 7 calendar days; the law as passed uses 7 business days.
What happens if contributions arrive late?
The employer becomes liable for the super guarantee charge. Treasury’s payday super factsheet (September 2024) describes its parts: the shortfall, notional earnings (daily interest at the general interest charge rate) and an administrative uplift of up to 60% of the shortfall, reduced for employers who voluntarily disclose. For the first year, Treasury said in November 2025 that the ATO was consulting on its compliance approach for the 12 months after the start, treating low-risk and high-risk employers differently; check the ATO’s current guidance rather than planning around it.
Does my job-management software (AroFlo, Simpro, Tradify…) handle payday super?
Our entries for AroFlo, Simpro, ServiceM8, Tradify and Fergus describe no payroll or super payments, so super is paid from your payroll software (such as Xero, MYOB or Employment Hero), which our entries say calculates or pays super with each pay run. Payday super readiness is a payroll question; the job app matters for getting timesheets to payroll on time.
I paid super through the ATO’s free clearing house (SBSCH). What now?
Treasury’s payday super factsheet said the ATO’s Small Business Superannuation Clearing House would be retired from 1 July 2026. If you used it for quarterly payments, that step now moves into your payroll software or another clearing service that pays super with each pay run; check the ATO’s site for its transition guidance.
What should a trades business check now that payday super has started?
Four things: confirm your payroll platform’s payday super support is switched on and included in your plan; work out the cash-flow change, since super now leaves your account with every pay run instead of quarterly; check employee super-fund details, including stapled-fund checks for new hires, so contributions are not delayed; and watch your pay runs to confirm contributions reach funds within 7 business days.
Compare the Australian options side by side
Independent reviews of 27 Australian entries: software, payroll, insurance, lead generation and state regulators, with no pay-to-play.