Payday super shake-up to boost staff nest eggs

Employers will face new laws requiring them to pay staff their super at the same time as wages and salary.

The ‘payday super’ changes will take effect from July 2026 and require changes to the Super Guarantee Administration Act and the Super Guarantee Charge Act.

Anthony Albanese will introduce legislation requiring employers to pay their staff’s super at the same time as their salary and wages, ­allowing Australians to more ­easily keep track of their retirement savings.

The “payday super” changes will take effect from July 2026 and require changes to the Super Guarantee Administration Act and the Super Guarantee Charge Act. Treasurer Jim Chalmers ­argued the shake-up would benefit the retirement incomes of millions of Australians.

The government says that, by switching to the “payday super” arrangement, a 25-year-old ­median income earner currently receiving their super quarterly and wages fortnightly could be about $6000 or 1.5 per cent better off at retirement. The Australian Taxation Office has estimated that about $3.4bn worth of super went unpaid in 2019-20.

Under the changes, the government will provide the ATO with additional resourcing to help detect unpaid super payments and the government will set enhanced targets for the ATO for the recovery of payments.

Treasury and the ATO will consult closely with industry and stakeholders on the changes over the second half of the year.

Dr Chalmers and Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones said that more frequent super payments would make employers’ payroll management smoother with “fewer liabilities building up on their books”.