Payday Super started on 1 July 2026. If you employ anyone, from a first-year apprentice to a full crew, you now pay their super guarantee every time you pay their wages, and it has to reach their super fund within 7 business days of payday. The rate is still 12 percent. What changed is the timing, and with it the cost of getting it wrong.
This guide covers what changed for trade businesses, when a subbie with an ABN still counts as an employee for super, what happens if a payment is late, and a checklist for every pay run. It's based on the ATO's About Payday Super page, last updated in August 2026.
What changed on 1 July 2026
| Before 1 July 2026 | From 1 July 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| How often | Quarterly, or more often if you chose | Every payday |
| Deadline | 28 days after the end of the quarter | Received by the fund within 7 business days of payday |
| Worked out on | 12% of ordinary time earnings | 12% of qualifying earnings |
| Reported through STP | Ordinary time earnings or super liability | Both qualifying earnings and super liability |
| If it's late | Super guarantee charge, self-assessed by you | Super guarantee charge, assessed by the ATO |
| Penalties | Up to 200% of the charge | 25% or 50% of the unpaid charge |
Qualifying earnings is a new term. It brings together ordinary time earnings and other amounts, such as commissions and salary sacrifice contributions, that were already counted for super.
Some things didn't change. The rate is still 12 percent. You still pay super for the same people. And you can still use the same systems to pay it, with one exception covered below.
A worked example
Say your apprentice earns $1,720 gross for the week and you pay wages every Friday. Super at 12 percent is $206.40.
- Payday: Friday 16 October 2026
- Deadline: the $206.40 must be received by the apprentice's super fund within 7 business days
- That means: by Tuesday 27 October 2026, assuming no public holidays in between
Under the old rules, that week fell in the October to December quarter, and its super wasn't due until 28 January. Now it leaves about a week and a half after each pay run. For a crew of four on weekly pay, that's four contributions every week instead of a lump once a quarter.
The money is the same. The timing isn't. If you used the quarterly gap as a buffer, plan for that buffer disappearing. There's more on that in cash flow for tradies.
Subbies: when a contractor with an ABN still gets super
This is the part that catches trade businesses out. According to the ATO, if you pay an independent contractor mainly for their labour, they're an employee for super guarantee purposes, and it doesn't matter if they have an ABN. The ATO's page on super for independent contractors says you need to make super contributions if you pay them:
- under a contract that's mainly for their labour, meaning more than half the dollar value of the contract is for their labour
- for their personal labour and skills, where payment doesn't depend on achieving a specified result
- to do the work themselves, where they can't delegate it to someone else
In trade terms, compare two subbies:
| Likely to need super | Less likely to need super | |
|---|---|---|
| How they're paid | By the hour or the day | A fixed price for a finished result |
| Who does the work | Must be them personally | They can send someone else |
| What they supply | Mostly their labour | Labour plus materials, equipment and their own insurance |
That table is a rough guide, not the test. If you have subbies who invoice you weekly for their hours and turn up in person, read the ATO page carefully, or ask your accountant. Under Payday Super, their super would also be due on the payday-plus-7-business-days timetable.
The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House has closed
Many small trade businesses paid super through the ATO's free Small Business Superannuation Clearing House. It closed to new users on 1 October 2025, existing users could use it until 30 June 2026, and it's no longer accessible. If you used it, you need another way to pay: most payroll software can pay super directly, and many super funds and commercial providers offer clearing houses. Pick one before your next pay run, not after.
If you miss the deadline
If a contribution doesn't reach the fund within 7 business days of payday, the super guarantee charge applies, unless a longer period applies, such as for a new employee. Under the new rules, the ATO says the charge:
- is assessed by the ATO, so you no longer lodge a super guarantee statement
- is worked out on qualifying earnings
- includes interest that compounds daily at the general interest charge rate
- includes an administrative uplift amount, which can be reduced if you disclose voluntarily and the ATO hasn't taken action against you before
- is tax deductible
On top of that, penalties are 25 or 50 percent of the unpaid charge, depending on any earlier penalties. It adds up quickly. Paying on time is far cheaper than paying late.
Timesheets are now the first step of super
Super is worked out from what you pay, and what you pay comes from the hours worked. Under quarterly super, a wrong timesheet could be fixed before the quarter's payment. Under Payday Super, the super goes out a week after the pay run, so the hours need to be right on payday.
- Get hours entered by the people who worked them, on the day, not pieced together from memory on Monday.
- Approve timesheets before the pay run, not after.
- Keep the records. The Fair Work Ombudsman says employers have to keep time and wages records for 7 years.
A checklist for every pay run
- Timesheets entered and approved for every employee
- Any subbie who meets the ATO labour test included for super
- Wages paid, and the payday date noted
- Super worked out at 12 percent of qualifying earnings
- Super sent in time to reach each fund within 7 business days of payday
- Pay run and super reported through Single Touch Payroll
- Payslips sent to every employee
- Records saved where you can find them for 7 years
The short version
From 1 July 2026, super is paid every payday and must reach the fund within 7 business days. The rate is still 12 percent, now on qualifying earnings. Subbies paid mainly for their own labour can count as employees for super, even with an ABN. The ATO's free clearing house has closed. Late super now costs daily compounding interest and an uplift, with penalties on top, so get timesheets right before every pay run.
This is general information, not advice for your business. Check your situation with your accountant, registered BAS agent or the ATO.
Questions
From 1 July 2026, employers must pay their employees' super guarantee each payday, and it must be received by the employee's super fund within 7 business days after payday. Before that, super could be paid quarterly.
If you pay an independent contractor mainly for their labour, they count as an employee for super guarantee purposes, even if they have an ABN. The ATO looks at whether more than half the contract value is for labour, whether you pay for their personal labour rather than a result, and whether they must do the work themselves.
Payday Super is about super for your employees. A sole trader with no employees has no super guarantee to pay for anyone else. If you do employ people, or pay contractors mainly for their labour, it applies to them.
The deadline runs from each payday. If you pay monthly, the super for that pay must reach each fund within 7 business days of that payday.
The super guarantee charge applies. Under the new rules it's assessed by the ATO and includes interest compounding daily and an administrative uplift amount. Penalties of 25 or 50 percent of the unpaid charge can apply on top.