what is payday super?

Hi, I’m Nicole Guest from the HESTA service team.

Payday Super is coming and it’s a big change to how AND how often you make super contributions for your employees. So we’re putting together a series of videos to help you get ready for the change.

So, what’s it all about? From 1 July 2026 you’ll need to pay your employees’ Super Guarantee contributions to their super fund within 7 business days of the date you pay your employees.

If you don’t, you could be liable for the Superannuation Guarantee Charge.

There will be some cases where employers will have longer to make the Super Guarantee payments, such as when it’s a new employee or when an existing employee has changed super funds.

We’ve been hearing from employers with lots of questions about Payday Super, so here are some answers to help you get prepared for the first of July.

What are the new timeframes for paying contributions under Payday Super?

First up, when do you need to pay super?

Well, the biggest change for employers is the frequency you’ll need to pay employees’ super to their fund. It will change from once a quarter to each time you pay your employees.

Super contributions need to be received by your employee’s super fund within 7 business days of each payday to avoid the Super Guarantee Charge.

Payday Super requires the reporting of super contributions through Single Touch Payroll to the Australian Taxation Office (or ATO).

Super funds also report the super contributions they receive to the ATO. This means the ATO will be able to identify any late payments more quickly and apply the Super Guarantee Charge.

In some circumstances, a longer period will apply. You’ll have up to 20 business days to make Super Guarantee contributions for a new employee or an existing employee who has changed their super fund.

Remember, though, that in most circumstances, contributions need to be received by the super fund within 7 business days after payday.

And it’s worth noting that if there’s a state or territory-wide public holiday, that day is not a business day for the purposes of Payday Super, even if you are not in that state or territory.

What are ‘qualifying earnings’?

The introduction of Payday Super has brought with it a new term: ‘qualifying earnings’ or QE. So, what is QE?

QE is all types of employment payments used to calculate super guarantee (or SG) payments, including:

• ordinary time earnings
• all commissions paid to an employee
• salary sacrifice amounts that would qualify as QE if they hadn’t been sacrificed to super, and
• earnings paid to workers who fall under the expanded definition of employee, including payments to independent contractors paid mainly for their labour.

For many employees, the new concept of QE won’t change the amount of super guarantee you need to pay for them.

What are the new QE reporting requirements?

From one July 2026, each payday you’ll need to report the year-to-date amount of QE and the year to date super liability for each employee through Single Touch Payroll reporting.

What is the New Payments Platform (NPP)?

You might have heard the tax office refer to a ‘New Payments Platform’ or NPP. This is the new, faster method that clearing houses will use to send contributions to super funds. It will make super contributions more efficient and secure. 

For example, the HESTA QuickSuper clearing house has introduced Osko to allow you to make super payments instantly. Payments will be matched to contribution data in real time and received by the fund on the same day. And by switching your payment method to Osko, a PayID will be automatically registered for you to use, making the whole process faster and easier. 

Can we still use HESTA QuickSuper for Payday Super payments?

When it comes to clearing houses, you can use the HESTA QuickSuper clearing house to make super payments once Payday Super rules take effect, or you can use a clearing house of your choice, as long as it’s SuperStream compliant. Note that the Small Business Clearing House will close on 1 July 2026, so if you’re using it, it’s time to choose an alternative.

Do we need to upgrade or change our existing payroll software? 

And what about payroll software? While most payroll software providers will be set up and ready to comply with the Payday Super rules from 1 July, it’s best to check with them directly to be sure.

Checklist

We know Payday Super is a big change and there’s a lot to think about, so, here’s a summary of the actions you might need to take.

1. Ensure you've listed your default super fund and its USI (that’s the Unique Superannuation Identifier) across all systems to avoid your payments being rejected or held. If you want HESTA as your default super fund, check that you've entered HESTA’s USI across all the platforms you use for onboarding, HR, and payroll, as well as your super clearing house. Just search ‘USI’ on the HESTA website.
2. Plan for more frequent super contributions and the impacts on your cash flow.
3. If you’re using the Small Business Clearing House – now is the time to choose a different clearing house because it will close on 1 July 2026.
4. Update your onboarding processes to ensure fewer delays for initial super payments for new employees – the new rules allow 20 days for you to make their SG contributions.
5. Review your payroll data now to avoid or reduce rejected payments from 1 July 2026.   

Wrap up

Don't leave it until 30 June to make changes. Adjust your super payment cycle now so it becomes BAU for your first QE day from 1 July 2026. 

We hope that’s cleared things up for you.

There’s a handy checklist like this, plus plenty more useful information on Payday Super at hesta.com.au/payday-super, or you can go to ato.gov.au and search for ‘Payday Super’.

Look out for more HESTA videos coming soon to help you get organised ahead of 1 July. Thanks for watching.

Hi. I’m Nicole Guest from the HESTA service team. Today I have three short demonstrations to show you in the HESTA QuickSuper clearing house portal, to help you get familiar with the new features prior to Payday Super rules taking effect from 1 July this year. 

SECTION 1: New Payments Platform (NPP)

I’m going to walk you through QuickSuper’s new payments platform, or NPP, Osko®. Osko enables real-time payments, helping you meet the Payday Super rules from 1 July 2026. 

As a reminder, from 1 July, under Payday Super, employers will be required to pay employees’ superannuation guarantee (or SG) entitlements at the same time as their salary and wages. And, the contributions must be received by super funds within seven business days – and within 20 days for new employees. 

So how can Osko help? 

You might be familiar with Osko from your personal banking. Similarly, when you make a super contribution from the HESTA QuickSuper clearing house, Osko payments are processed in real time to the super fund — so there’s no waiting one to three business days for funds to clear. 

And, there's no cut-off time. Even payments made after 5pm are processed the same day. 

You’ll also get instant confirmation that your payment has matched your contribution file. There’s no need to log back in the next day to check. 

So let’s dive in. 

Once you’ve logged in to HESTA QuickSuper, the first thing to set up is your payment method. Navigate to the Payment Method section under Administration, and switch from EFT or Direct Debit to Osko. 

When you select Osko, you'll see a unique Pay ID assigned to you. This Pay ID is yours alone — it's how QuickSuper matches your payment to your contribution data. 

To make a contribution, go to Create a New Contribution, select your pay period, enter your contribution amounts, then hit Save and Submit. 

You'll see the contribution is now waiting for payment. Simply go to your online banking and pay the amount shown into your QuickSuper Pay ID. 

(On screen: Contribution file showing no outstanding payments) 

Once the payment is made, refresh the page and you'll see there are no outstanding payments for that file. Done. 

What if you pay by mistake? 

If you accidentally transfer money to a member account without a matching contribution file, simply go to View Unmatched Payments, select Return Payment, and the funds will be returned to your account instantly. No need to wait days to get your money back. 

And that’s all there is to it.  

SECTION 2: EMPLOYEE ONBOARDING  

Now, I have an exciting new HESTA QuickSuper feature to show you that will make life easier when it comes to onboarding new employees AND help you meet the new Payday Super rules.  

HESTA QuickSuper now lets your employees choose their super fund themselves — no paper forms required.  

Let’s have a look. 

Under the Employees tab, select Employee Onboarding. To invite a new employee, you only need their name and email address. HESTA QuickSuper will send them a link to complete their own choice of super fund form. 

Your new employee will receive an email with an invitation code to verify their identity via SMS, confirm their personal details, and then nominate their super fund. If they don't have a fund, they can simply select your organisation’s default fund. If they have their own fund, they can enter those details instead. 

Once submitted, the employee receives a confirmation email, and you'll see their status update in your portal. 

You can track all onboarding statuses at a glance: 

• Applied – you've accepted their nomination 
• Submitted – they've completed the form, awaiting your review 
• Incomplete – they haven't returned the form yet 
• Cancelled – the request has been withdrawn 

You can also resend the invitation to employees who haven't completed their form yet. 

Just remember: Before sending onboarding forms, check that you’ve selected your organisation’s default fund in your preferences. We recommend you complete this before you make any contributions for new employees to ensure the super fund can apply the contributions you make to your employees. 

SECTION 3: NEW MESSAGE TYPES 

Now let’s look at how SuperStream messaging standards are changing. 

SuperStream is the way employers provide super contribution payments and related data to super funds, electronically in a standard format.  

To align with the introduction of Payday Super, the Australian Taxation Office (or ATO) is upgrading SuperStream contributions messaging standards. The aim is to help you meet your obligations and avoid charges and penalties. 

Let’s take a look at how this will work in the QuickSuper portal. 

(On screen: Preferences > Member ID settings) 

1. Member verification for HESTA members: When an employee nominates HESTA, QuickSuper will send a request to HESTA to confirm and return the correct Member ID. You can choose to have this automatically applied to the employee's record, or download the Member ID Actions Report to review updates manually.

2. Member Verification for Choice Funds: For employees with a fund other than HESTA, QuickSuper will send a verification request to confirm the member exists at that fund. You'll be able to view these responses under SuperStream then View Message Responses. 

3. Error Messages: Super funds will send back standardised and simplified error messages quickly when a contribution can’t be accepted — for example, if a Member ID is incorrect. You'll find these under View Received Message Responses and you’ll also receive email notifications. 

Here’s a tip: The best way to avoid errors and delays to payments is to make sure all employee information in HESTA QuickSuper, including fund details and Member IDs, is correct before Payday Super begins on 1 July . 

The Fund Validation Service (FVS) is also being updated. This means you’ll have access through HESTA QuickSuper to new information from the ATO about changes to large super funds' details that affect where contributions can be paid for your employees. 

That’s it for today. We hope that’s been helpful. There are more videos and a handy checklist on our website to help you get prepared for Payday Super on 1 July. Visit hesta.com.au/payday-super.

Thanks for watching. 

^{Issued by H.E.S.T. Australia Ltd ABN 66 006 818 695 AFSL 235249, the Trustee of HESTA ABN 64 971 749 321.}  

^{QuickSuper is a facility offered by Westpac Banking Corporation, ABN 33 007 457 141 Australian Financial Services Licence Number 233714.} 

^{Osko® is a registered trademark of BPAY® Pty Ltd ABN 69 079 137 518.} 

^{This video contains general information only and does not constitute legal advice. It does not cover all your obligations under Payday Super requirements. For further information, please visit ato.gov.au. H.E.S.T. Australia Ltd is not liable for any non-compliance or related consequences.}