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Payday Super: when your super is due

Since 1 July 2026, super is due within 7 business days of each payday. How to count it, the cases that change the date, and a calculator to check your own.

19 October 2026

The short answer

Super must be received by your employee’s super fund within 7 business days after payday, counting payday as day 0. This applies to wages paid from 1 July 2026.

Work out your due date

Three things catch people out:

Check your own payday

Pick a payday and the calculator counts the 7 business days, skipping weekends and every whole-state or whole-territory public holiday. Tick the box for a first payment to a new employee or a new fund and it counts 20.

Loading the calculator.

The calculator didn't load here. Count as in the example below.

Counts business days the way the ATO defines them, using each state and territory government's holiday list. It covers paydays from 1 July 2026 and counts as far as its holiday lists reach; it says so when a date is past them.

Counting it by hand

The ATO’s own example: wages paid on Thursday 30 July 2026, super due by Tuesday 11 August 2026.

The ATO puts it this way: “within 7 business days of 30 July 2026, which is 11 August 2026”, noting the due date includes “an additional day because the Picnic Day holiday in the Northern Territory is not counted as a business day” (ATO, payment deadlines).

A week without a holiday is simpler. In another ATO example, wages paid on Friday 10 July 2026 have super due by 21 July 2026 (ATO, how to work out and pay super).

The ATO's example: wages paid Friday 10 July 2026, super due by 21 July 2026. Each weekend folds out of the count.

The cases that change the date

A new employee, or a new fund. The first contribution for a new employee, or to a new fund for an existing employee after you stop paying another fund, has longer: “within 20 business days after the relevant QE day (payday)”. QE day is the ATO’s term for the day you pay qualifying earnings, which is payday. In the ATO’s example, first wages paid on 9 July 2026 give a due date of 7 August 2026 (ATO, payment deadlines).

The payday after that. If the next payday’s normal 7-day date falls before the first payment’s 20-day date, it takes the later date: “the due date for the second QE day is the same as the later due date for the first QE day”. After that, the normal 7 business days apply (same page).

Bonuses and other out-of-cycle payments. For someone on a regular pay cycle, super on a bonus is due “within 7 business days after the next payment of qualifying earnings to the employee that is not out of cycle”. The ATO’s example: a Christmas bonus paid on 7 December 2026 and regular wages on 10 December 2026, with super on both due on 21 December 2026 (same page).

Payday is the day the money is paid. It stays payday even if you “put the payment into your payroll or accounting system on a different day” (same page).

Clearing houses. If you pay through a clearing house, including one inside your payroll software, “you need to allow enough time for them to process your payment to meet the 7 business day timeframe. That’s why it’s important to pay super on payday” (same page).

What happened to the quarterly dates

The old due dates were 28 October, 28 January, 28 April and 28 July (ATO, about Payday Super). They now apply only to wages paid up to 30 June 2026: “For employee earnings paid up to 30 June 2026, the quarterly super guarantee rules apply” (ATO, payment deadlines). The last one has passed: “The final quarterly payment (June quarter) is due in employees’ super accounts by 28 July” (ATO, changeover).

The amount hasn’t changed: “The super guarantee amount is calculated as 12% of qualifying earnings” (ATO, about Payday Super).

If it arrives late

“The super guarantee charge applies when amounts aren’t received by a super fund within 7 business days after payday (unless longer applies, such as for new employees)” (ATO, about Payday Super).

For this first year, the ATO says: “In the first year of Payday Super we will take a supportive approach.” It will “not review employers who are paying their employees’ super for each payday and fixing errors quickly” (ATO, if you don’t pay super correctly). That describes who it will chase. The due date itself doesn’t move.

What to do this week

This is general information, not advice for your business. For your own situation, read the ATO pages below or ask your accountant or bookkeeper.

How we worked this out

We read each ATO page in full and checked every quote against it on 19 October 2026. The dates below are each page’s own “last updated” or “published” date. The calculator’s holiday lists come from each state and territory government’s public holiday page, checked on 3 October 2026.