Payday Super: planning your cash flow for every pay run and the Christmas period
Super now leaves your bank with every pay run instead of every quarter, so set it aside on payday, send it early enough for the fund to receive it on time, and know which payday a December bonus counts from.
Under the old quarterly rule, super on wages paid on the first day of a quarter could sit in your account for nearly four months before it was due. Under Payday Super, it gets 11 days in the ATO's own December example.
The working is ours. Super used to be due within 28 days of quarter end (28 Oct, 28 Jan, 28 Apr, 28 Jul), so wages paid on 1 July 2025 weren't due until 28 October 2025, 119 days later. Now contributions must be received by the employee's super fund within 7 business days after payday. Counting from a Thursday 10 December payday, the ATO's Christmas example lands on Monday 21 December. The first contribution for a new employee, new fund or rehired worker, and a bonus paid outside a regular pay run, run on different clocks, set out below.
The float is what you will feel. The ATO's worked example is a $3,000 fortnightly wage, which gives $360 super at the 12% rate (checked October 2026). Under quarterly payments, that left as one lump of about $2,340 a quarter. That figure is our estimate: a 13-week quarter averages 6.5 fortnightly pays, and 6.5 × $360 is $2,340. Now $360 leaves every fortnight, within days of the wages.
So treat super exactly like wages. It goes out with every pay run, and it belongs in the same weekly or fortnightly cash plan.
What is Payday Super, and what changed?
| What | Before 1 July 2026 | From 1 July 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| When super is due | within 28 days of quarter end (28 Oct, 28 Jan, 28 Apr, 28 Jul) | within 7 business days after payday (20 business days for the first contribution for a new employee, new fund or rehired worker; out-of-cycle payments count from the next regular payday) |
| Rate | 12% | 12%, unchanged (checked October 2026) |
| Fund time to allocate or return | 20 business days | 3 business days |
| Small Business Superannuation Clearing House | closed to new users from 1 October 2025; existing users until 30 June 2026 | no longer accessible |
| Late payment charge | not tax deductible | assessed by the ATO, tax deductible |
| Penalties on unpaid charge | up to 200% | 25% or 50% (checked October 2026) |
Source: Australian Taxation Office
From 1 July 2026, employers must pay super guarantee for each payday instead of quarterly. The rate is still 12% (checked October 2026), and contributions are calculated on "qualifying earnings".
Three other changes affect how you pay.
Super funds now have 3 business days to allocate or return a contribution. It was 20. A payment with the wrong details comes back to you fast.
The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House is no longer accessible. If you used it, you need another way to pay.
The late-payment rules were rewritten too. They are covered in the section on getting it wrong.
How does super every payday change your cash flow?
The ATO itself says moving to paying super each payday "may impact your cash flow". Our view at ARC Business Development is simple: stop treating super as a quarterly bill. It is now part of the cost of every pay run, and your cash plan should show it that way.
One habit the government's small business tax site suggests considering is to set aside small, regular amounts in separate bank accounts to cover GST, PAYG withholding or instalments, staff super and end-of-year tax. In practice, on payday you move that pay run's super into its own account, then pay the fund from there. The balance left in your main account is then closer to money you can actually spend.
Put your own pay run into the calculator to see what to move across.
Super to set aside this pay run
Super at 12% (checked October 2026)
Move this into your super account on payday
This calculator needs JavaScript. Without it: multiply this pay run's qualifying earnings by 0.12 (12%, checked October 2026) and move that amount into your super account on payday. For example, $3,000 gives $360.
Must be received by the fund within 7 business days after payday. First contribution for a new employee, new fund or rehired worker: 20 business days. Bonuses, commissions or other payments made outside your usual pay run (out-of-cycle): 7 business days after the next regular payday.
Separate accounts
Small, regular transfers
- GST
- PAYG withholding or instalments
- Staff super
- End-of-year tax
Source: the Australian Government's small business tax site
When should you send the money?
Paying on day 7 isn't safe: the 7 business days is the deadline for the money to be received by the fund, a day-7 payment that doesn't allow for clearing house processing is late, and an error or delay doesn't extend the deadline.
Super can be paid through the New Payments Platform, so contributions could arrive the same day. The ATO says it is best practice to pay super on payday. If you use a clearing house, allow time for it to process the payment.
The ATO's top tips to meet the Payday Super 7 business day timeframe add three checks before your next pay run:
- Check that your payroll provider supports Payday Super.
- Use the new member verification request (MVR) before a first payment to a fund, when employee details change, or after a rejection. Not every super fund is ready for MVRs yet, so check with your payroll provider or clearing house first.
- Fix rejected payments and resubmit promptly.
The path one payday's super takes
Payday
Wages paid, super worked out on qualifying earnings.
You send it
ATO best practice is on payday; through the New Payments Platform it could arrive the same day.
- Optional
Clearing house
Allow processing time.
Fund receives it
With enough information to allocate.
Fund allocates or returns it
Within 3 business days.
Regular pay runs. First contribution for a new employee, new fund or rehired worker: 20 business days. Out-of-cycle payments: count from the next regular payday.
Source: Australian Taxation Office
Which deadline applies to which payment?
Most pay runs follow the 7-business-day rule. Some don't.
- Longer time (20 business days after payday) applies to the first contribution for a new employee or new fund, and to the first contribution for a rehired or recommenced worker.
- Out-of-cycle payments (bonuses, commissions, allowances, back payments, payments in advance) are due 7 business days after the next regular payday.
- Payments to contractors paid on invoice are not treated as out-of-cycle.
- Natural disasters and widespread IT or communication outages can trigger an ATO "exceptional circumstances" determination giving 20 business days. You don't apply for it, and it can't be issued for one employer's circumstances.
What you pay super on has a new name, and for most employers the amount doesn't change. Qualifying earnings include ordinary time earnings and all commissions, plus salary sacrifice amounts that would otherwise have been qualifying earnings, and certain payments to contractors paid mainly for their labour. Commissions for work done entirely outside ordinary hours are now included. Overtime is not included if ordinary hours are clearly identified. For how this applies to your own staff, ask a registered tax or BAS agent.
| Payment | Must reach the fund by |
|---|---|
| Regular payday | 7 business days after payday |
| First contribution for a new employee or new fund | 20 business days after payday |
| First contribution for a rehired or recommenced worker | 20 business days after payday |
| Out-of-cycle payment (a bonus, commission, allowance, back payment or payment in advance made outside the regular pay run) | 7 business days after the next regular payday |
| Eligible contractor (paid mainly for their labour) paid on invoice | 7 business days after you pay the invoice (not out-of-cycle) |
| Natural disaster or widespread IT or communication outage | 20 business days, only if the ATO issues an exceptional circumstances determination (no application, never for one employer's circumstances) |
Source: Australian Taxation Office
How do you count business days?
Two details catch people. A statewide public holiday in another state still doesn't count, even if you aren't in that state. And part-state holidays such as Royal Hobart Show Day do count as business days.
Over Christmas and New Year, check every state and territory's holiday list before you count. Then send early anyway: the safest count is the one you never need to rely on.
Is this day a business day?
Q1Saturday or Sunday?
Yes: not a business day.
No: go to Q2.
Q2Public holiday for the whole of any state or territory (even one you are not in)?
Yes: not a business day.
No: go to Q3.
Q3Public holiday for only part of a state, such as Royal Hobart Show Day?
Yes: still a business day.
No: business day.
Source: Australian Taxation Office
How do Christmas bonuses and December pay runs work?
A Christmas bonus paid separately from the regular pay run doesn't start its own clock: it counts from the next regular payday. A bonus paid in a regular pay run follows that payday's 7 business days. The next-payday rule holds only if the employee gets their regular pay on that next scheduled payday. If they won't (they finish up, or you skip that payday over a close-down), the bonus super is due 7 business days after you pay the bonus.
The ATO's example: a $1,000 Christmas bonus paid 7 December 2026 to a weekly-paid employee, with regular pay on 10 December, is due 21 December 2026. That gives you a few extra days. It doesn't give you an excuse to leave the bonus super until the last minute.
December 2026: the ATO's Christmas bonus example
- Mon7Mon 7 Dec$1,000 Christmas bonus paid
- Tue8
- Wed9
- Thu10Thu 10 DecNext regular weekly payday: the count starts here
- Fri11business day 1
- Sat12
- Sun13
- Mon14business day 2
- Tue15business day 3
- Wed16business day 4
- Thu17business day 5
- Fri18business day 6
- Sat19
- Sun20
- Mon21business day 7Mon 21 DecBonus super due at the fund
Source: Australian Taxation Office
Three habits make December easier:
- Decide each bonus and its super together, so the real cost of the bonus is clear before you promise it.
- Move the bonus super into your super account on the day you pay the bonus, then send it with the next regular pay run's super, or within 7 business days of the bonus if that employee has no next regular pay.
- If you pay end-of-year commissions, remember they are qualifying earnings, including commissions for work done outside ordinary hours.
Then look past January. For quarterly reporters, Quarter 2 (October to December) BAS is due 28 February, because Quarter 2 has a built-in one-month extension. In 2027, 28 February falls on a Sunday, so you have until Monday 1 March. A strong December can leave you with a big GST bill in late summer. The separate GST account is what stops that from becoming a surprise.
Build a payroll calendar and a 13-week cash forecast
Payday Super rewards owners who can see the next three months on one page. That means two simple tools.
A payroll calendar. List every payday for the next 13 weeks, with each one's super deadline beside it. Add bonuses, new starters and any public holidays that move the count.
A 13-week cash forecast. Go week by week: money expected in, then wages, super, rent, suppliers, GST and PAYG out. Where a week dips below what you're comfortable holding, you'll see it weeks ahead rather than on payday.
If your BAS bills land in lumps, it's worth knowing that monthly reporters pay by the 21st of the following month, and the ATO notes monthly reporting can smooth payments. If a debt has already built up, if you owe $200,000 or less you may be able to set up a payment plan online (checked October 2026). A registered tax or BAS agent can tell you which suits your business.
For the wider picture on reading your own figures, see More profit starts with knowing your numbers.
Your 13-week payroll calendar
Cash checkpoints into 2027
Monthly BAS reporters: pay by the 21st of the following month.
Source: Australian Taxation Office
What happens if super is late or wrong?
The cost of being late has changed shape. The super guarantee charge is now assessed by the ATO, with interest compounding daily at the general interest charge rate plus an "administrative uplift amount". It is tax deductible, which it wasn't before. Penalties are 25% or 50% of the unpaid charge (checked October 2026), where before 1 July 2026 they could reach 200%.
The first year is a transition. Payday Super's first transition year runs 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, and the ATO says it is focusing on helping employers get it right. Under its year-one approach, the ATO looks at behaviour, not just the mistake. The ATO also says employers who genuinely try to do the right thing won't be the focus of compliance action in the first year. That is a focus, not a free pass: the deadline itself hasn't moved.
So if you miss one, fix it fast. Paying the fund before an assessment reduces the charge. Keep a record of what went wrong and when you put it right. If you pay too much, overpaid super is automatically applied to any unpaid super guarantee or carried forward for up to 12 months.
| Risk level | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Low | you paid in full and on time, the fund didn't get it in time, and you fixed it as soon as you could |
| Medium | generally, the shortfall was fixed within 28 days after the end of the quarter in which the earnings were paid |
| High | generally, the shortfall was not fixed within that time |
Paying the fund before an assessment reduces the charge.
Source: Australian Taxation Office
Payday Super at a glance
The figures that matter, in one place, to keep beside your payroll calendar.
Payday Super at a glance
- Super guarantee rate
12% (checked October 2026)
Source: ATO, About Payday Super
- Regular payday
received by the fund within 7 business days after payday
- First contribution for a new employee, new fund or rehired worker
within 20 business days after payday
- Out-of-cycle payments
7 business days after the next regular payday
- Fund allocation time
20 business days before, 3 business days now
Source: ATO, About Payday Super
- Penalties on unpaid charge
up to 200% before, 25% or 50% now (checked October 2026)
Source: ATO, About Payday Super
- Worked example
$3,000 fortnightly wage gives $360 super
Your next step
This week, put three things in place: a separate account for super, a payroll calendar that runs to the end of February, and a plan to send super on payday rather than on day 7. For anything specific to your staff or your BAS, talk to a registered tax or BAS agent.
If you'd like to talk through how wages, super and GST sit in your own cash plan, you can book a call with ARC Business Development.
Sources
- https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/super-for-employers/about-payday-super
- https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/super-for-employers/paying-super-on-payday/payment-deadlines-for-payday-super
- https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/super-for-employers/paying-super-on-payday/what-payments-are-qualifying-earnings
- https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/super-for-employers/missed-or-late-payday-super-payments/getting-it-right-compliance-in-the-first-year-of-payday-super
- https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/small-business-newsroom/top-tips-to-meet-the-payday-super-7-business-day-timeframe
- https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/preparing-lodging-and-paying/business-activity-statements-bas/due-dates-for-lodging-and-paying-your-bas
- https://smallbusiness.taxsuperandyou.gov.au/managing-small-business-tax-debt/separating-money-for-tax
