Superannuation guarantee changes: What employers and employees need to know
On 1 July 2025, the superannuation guarantee (SG) rate increased to 12%, the final step in the legislated increases.
Key deadlines and compliance matters
Employers are required to make superannuation guarantee (SG) contributions for their employees by 28 days after the end of each quarter (28 October, 28 January, 28 April and 28 July). There is an extra day’s allowance when these dates fall on a public holiday.
To comply with these rules the contribution must be in the employee’s superannuation fund on or before this date. The ATO has been applying considerable compliance resources in this space in recent years which can have an impact on both employees and employers.
What employers need to know
To be eligible to claim a tax deduction on SG contributions the quarterly amount must be in the employee’s super account on or before the above quarterly due dates. The only exception to this is where the employer is using the ATO SBSCH. In that case a contribution is considered made provided it has been received by the SBSCH on or before the due date.
Employers using commercial clearing houses should be mindful of turnaround times. Commercial clearing houses collect and distribute employee contributions and may be linked to accounting / payroll software or provided by some superannuation platforms. Anecdotally it seems that turnaround times for some clearing houses could be up to 14 days, so it is recommended that employers allow sufficient time before the quarterly deadlines when processing their employee SG contributions.
If these deadlines are missed, even by a day, it will trigger a superannuation guarantee charge (SGC) requirement which will result in a loss of the tax deduction and other penalties. The SGC requirements are outlined in the ATO link below:
The super guarantee charge | Australian Taxation Office
Upcoming payday super reforms
Employers do have the option to make SG payments more frequently than quarterly and this is something that employers will need to become used to if the proposed ‘payday’ superannuation reforms become law. This change is proposed to commence from 1 July 2026 and would require SG to be paid at the same frequency as salary or wages. There is some discussion on the payday super proposal at this link (noting that this is not yet law). The SBSCH will close at this time so employers using this service should start to consider transitioning to a commercial clearing house, please let us know you would like assistance with this.
Employee responsibilities and rights
It is recommended that you regularly check your superannuation fund statements and reconcile employer contributions to the amounts listed on your pay slips.
Where SG contributions are not received on time (or at all) employees are encouraged to discuss this first with their employer. Should this not result in a satisfactory conclusion, employees can consider bringing this to the attention of the ATO. The ATO actively investigates non-compliance, and employees play an important role in ensuring accountability.
There is some helpful discussion on this process at the following link.
How can we help?
If you’re unsure how these changes affect your payroll systems or cash flow, our team can help. We work closely with you to ensure you meet your SG obligations and have peace of mind with superannuation compliance.
