This month, the Australian Treasury released their updated proposal on Payday Super. These updates give employers and software providers more details about the planned reform.   

As the Beam team prepares feedback for the consultation period, we’ve summarised the highlights. 

Payday Super is still planned for 1 July 2026

This update reiterates the Federal Government’s commitment to implementing Payday Super starting on 1 July 2026. Despite an upcoming federal election, the government’s expectation is that Payday Super will progress.  

This change will strengthen Australia’s superannuation system and help deliver a more dignified retirement to more Australian workers, in line with the objective of super.”

Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones

Updates to onboarding new employees’ super funds

One notable change proposed is around the stapled fund lookup process. Currently employers can only request an employee’s stapled fund information after offering them a choice of fund.  

 The new proposal allows employers to request this information before, during, or after offering a choice of fund. 

Additionally, the proposal introduces a 21-day window for employers to make their first contribution for a new employee, providing extra time to set up correct details for new starters. 

Payday Super introduces Qualifying Earnings (QE)

The proposal introduces the concept of qualifying earnings (QE), used to calculate the super guarantee charge (SGC). This change brings irregular bonus payments in line with Payday Super regulations.  

Commissions and bonuses will now require the same super contributions as regular salary payments like Ordinary Time Earnings (OTE) and salary sacrificed super contributions.  

Under Payday Super, super contributions for each of these payments must be paid within 7 calendar days of the day they’re paid, now known as Qualifying Earnings Day (QE Day). 

For more information on what’s included in QE, you can refer to the Treasury’s detailed guidelines. 

Changes to the Super Guarantee Charge (SGC)

The March 14 update provided more details on how the ATO will be calculating potential SGCs. These charges will be payable if super payments aren’t received on time. These components include: 

The role of super funds and clearing houses

 Currently, super funds have a 3-day window to both validate and allocate a contribution, however, if the super payments data is incorrect, super funds will have 20 days from the initial contribution to validate and allocate.  

Under this draft legislation:

“There’s potential that the short processing times for super funds could lead to increases in rejected payments and messy remediation of data issues,” explained Mathew Gilroy. “This is where upfront data validation will be important. We believe every bit of data we can validate upfront for an employer will help reduce delays and make Payday Super obligations easier for them.” 

What these updates mean for Beam

For the Beam team, our goal is still to provide our partners with a solution that offers employers a brilliant super payment experience. “With these proposed changes, it’s clear super fund choice and upfront validation are two major components of the future state of paying super,” said Mathew Gilroy. 

Designed as a future-ready solution, Beam already has the technology to support these needs. Going forward, our focus will be on getting the sequence right. “We want to make sure we’re providing the right tools at the right time of the super payment process,” Mathew said. “Whether it’s during onboarding or on a regular basis as employers make payments, we’re invested in making Payday Super easier for employers.” 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The opinions and comments shared by people in this article are theirs alone, and they’re not necessarily shared by Precision. We don’t take responsibility for how accurate any of this information is and we suggest getting advice tailored to your individual circumstances. 

This is general information. It’s not based on the specific objectives, financial situation or needs of your business. So think about those things and read the Product Disclosure Statement before you make any decision about our products. Contact us or your payroll provider for a Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).  Precision Administration Services Pty Ltd (Precision) (ABN 47 098 977 667, AFSL 246 604) issues Beam. Precision is wholly owned by Australian Retirement Trust Pty Ltd (the Trustee) (ABN 88 010 720 840, AFSL 228 975), trustee of Australian Retirement Trust (‘the Fund’ or ‘ART’) (ABN 60 905 115 063). 

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