One in four Australian workers is underpaid super every year — almost $6 billion annually, and $24.4 billion over the five years to 2023, according to the Super Members Council's May 2026 analysis. Missing just $1,700 in a single year can compound to roughly $30,000 less at retirement. Until last week, spotting it took months. From 1 July 2026, Payday Super is in force: your employer must get your super into your fund within 7 business days of every payday — and the first pay runs under the new law are landing right now. Here's exactly what to check, and what to do if the money isn't there.
What changed on 1 July 2026
Payday Super ties your super to your payslip cycle. Under the old quarterly model, an employer could legally hold your super for up to three months (plus 28 days) before remitting it. Under the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Act 2025, every payday — the law calls it your qualifying earnings day — starts a 7-business-day clock for the contribution to be received by your fund.
| Situation | Deadline for super to reach your fund |
|---|---|
| Standard pay run | 7 business days from payday |
| New employee, or you nominated a new fund | 20 business days |
| Exceptional circumstances (e.g. natural disaster, major system outage) | Extension available on application |
Source: ATO — payment deadlines for Payday Super, verified July 2026. The Super Guarantee rate is unchanged at 12% of qualifying earnings.
Nothing changes about how much super you're owed — 12% is the final legislated rate. What changes is visibility: a missing payment now shows up in days, not months. We covered the employer side — penalties, payroll systems, director liability — in our Payday Super employer compliance guide; this article is the employee's playbook.
Enter your salary into the Velofy Tax Calculator — it shows your exact 12% super amount alongside your tax position, so you know precisely what figure to look for at your fund each pay cycle.
Free · No account needed · 100% in your browserThe 4-step check to run on your next payslip
This takes about five minutes the first time, and under a minute once you know where to look.
- Step 1 — Note your payday and count 7 business days. Business days, not calendar days — a Friday payday means the following Monday week, later if a public holiday intervenes. Your payslip must show the super amount; at 12%, someone on $85,000 paid fortnightly should see about $392 per pay ($85,000 × 12% ÷ 26).
- Step 2 — Check your super fund's app or member portal. Look for a contribution dated within the window, matching the payslip amount. Funds now receive money every cycle, so a single missed pay stands out immediately — this is the reform's real power for employees.
- Step 3 — Cross-check at myGov. Go to myGov → ATO Online Services → Super → Employer contributions. Your employer reports super with every pay run under Single Touch Payroll, so you can compare what was reported to the ATO against what was received by your fund. Reported-but-not-received is the classic warning sign.
- Step 4 — If it's missing, escalate in order. Ask payroll for the remittance receipt first (see the next section for legitimate reasons it may be slow). If there's no receipt, or the gap spans multiple pays, use the ATO's Report unpaid super tool — you'll need your employer's ABN, the pay periods affected, and the amount. Keep your payslips and fund transaction history.
When late super isn't dodgy — the 2026–27 grace factors
Before assuming the worst, three things genuinely slow payments down this year:
- You're new, or you just switched funds. The deadline for your first contribution is 20 business days, not 7 — that's a month of calendar time. Don't report a brand-new employer at day 8.
- The small business clearing house is gone. The ATO's free Small Business Superannuation Clearing House closed on 1 July 2026. Thousands of small employers are mid-migration to commercial payroll or fund-provided systems — a plausible source of one-off July delays.
- The ATO is running a first-year approach. Under PCG 2026/1, employers who make genuine attempts to comply and fix misses promptly are not the enforcement focus through 30 June 2027. Deliberate and ongoing non-payers are.
What on-time super is actually worth to you
Getting the same 12% sooner sounds minor. Compounding says otherwise: money invested within a week of each payday earns returns for up to three extra months per contribution, every contribution, for your whole career. Treasury's modelling when the reform was announced put the benefit at about $6,000 more at retirement for a 25-year-old on the median wage; the Super Members Council's independent 2026 estimate is around $9,400.
"One in four Australian workers is affected by unpaid super each year — $24.4 billion over the five years to 2023. A $1,700 shortfall in a single year can mean around $30,000 less at retirement."— Super Members Council, May 2026
The flipside is why checking matters: unpaid super compounds against you at exactly the same rate it would have compounded for you. Five minutes after each payday is cheap insurance on a six-figure asset. To see what your contributions grow to — and what a shortfall costs — project your balance with the Velofy Super Calculator, or model topping up beyond the 12% with the Salary Sacrifice Calculator (the before-tax cap rose to $32,500 this year).