Super Guarantee Compliance: A Complete Guide for Australian Small Business Owners

Superannuation is one of the most significant ongoing financial obligations for Australian employers. The super guarantee (SG) applies to almost every worker — employees and some contractors — and getting it wrong creates compounding financial, tax, and legal exposure.

This guide explains what the super guarantee requires, what it applies to, and what's changing with payday super in 2026.

What Is the Super Guarantee?

The super guarantee is the minimum amount of superannuation that employers must contribute on behalf of eligible workers to a complying superannuation fund. The contributions are set as a percentage of ordinary time earnings (OTE).

Current SG Rate

From 1 July 2025, the SG rate is 12%. This is the legislated maximum — the rate was scheduled to reach 12% by July 2025 and no further increases are currently legislated.

Who Is Entitled to Super?

Employees

All employees who are 18 years or older are entitled to super guarantee contributions — regardless of how many hours they work or how much they earn.

Employees under 18 are entitled to super guarantee contributions if they work more than 30 hours per week.

Note: The $450 per month minimum earnings threshold that previously excluded low-income earners from SG entitlement was abolished from 1 July 2022. All employees now receive super regardless of their monthly earnings.

Contractors

Contractors can also be entitled to SG contributions, even if they operate under an ABN. The super guarantee applies to a person working under a contract that is wholly or principally for their labour — meaning the contractor provides their labour and is not delivering a result primarily through capital (machinery, a team of workers, etc.).

This catches many sole trader contractors in:

• Construction (tradespeople paid for their labour)
• Hospitality (contract kitchen staff, casual labour hire)
• Healthcare (contract allied health practitioners)
• Transport (owner-drivers paid primarily for driving, not the use of capital)

If you're engaging sole traders and paying them primarily for their personal labour, you should be paying super. The ATO's super guarantee for contractors guidance at ato.gov.au provides the test.

What Is Ordinary Time Earnings (OTE)?

Super is calculated on ordinary time earnings — not total gross earnings. This distinction matters.

OTE includes:

• Ordinary hours at the ordinary rate of pay
• Over-award payments (any pay above the award minimum for ordinary hours)
• Penalty rates for ordinary hours (Saturday, Sunday, public holiday penalty rates that apply during ordinary hours)
• Annual leave payments (when leave is taken)
• Annual leave loading (17.5%)
• Casual loadings
• Most bonuses and commissions
• Most allowances that are part of OTE

OTE does NOT include:

• Overtime payments (pay for hours worked beyond ordinary hours)
• Payments for unused annual leave on termination (in some circumstances)
• Reimbursement of expenses
• Payments from workers compensation

A common mistake for hospitality and construction businesses: Not including casual loadings, Sunday penalty rates (for ordinary hours), or public holiday penalty rates in the OTE base. These are OTE, and super must be paid on them.

Super Due Dates (Until 30 June 2026)

Under the current quarterly framework, super must be paid by:

| Quarter | Covered period | Due date | | ------------ | -------------- | -------------------------------------- | | Q3 (FY25-26) | Jan–Mar 2026 | 28 April 2026 | | Q4 (FY25-26) | Apr–Jun 2026 | 28 July 2026 (final quarterly payment) |

Payday Super (From 1 July 2026)

From 1 July 2026, the quarterly super payment framework ends. Employers must pay super at the same time as (or within three business days of) each employee's pay.

This is a fundamental change. Weekly payroll businesses will pay super weekly. Fortnightly payroll businesses will pay fortnightly. Monthly payroll businesses will pay monthly.

The transition requires:

• Payroll software that supports payday super
• A clearing house arrangement that processes more frequent contributions
• Cash flow management adjusted for more frequent super outflows

The Superannuation Guarantee Charge (SGC)

If you miss a super payment or pay less than the required amount, the Superannuation Guarantee Charge applies:

• SGC includes: The underpaid super amount, interest at 10% per annum from the start of the quarter (or from the pay date under payday super), and an administration fee
• Tax deductibility lost: Super paid on time is tax-deductible. Super caught up after the deadline via the SGC is not tax-deductible
• Reporting required: You must lodge an SGC statement with the ATO and pay the SGC

The combined effect of the interest, administration charge, and loss of deductibility makes late super significantly more expensive than on-time super. The cost of one missed quarter can easily be 20-30% more than the original contribution.

Stapled Super Funds

Since November 2021, new employees who don't choose their own super fund must be directed to their stapled super fund — their existing fund, stapled to them from previous employment. You can look up an employee's stapled fund via the ATO's online services before defaulting them to your employer fund.

If you default a new employee to your employer fund without checking for a stapled fund, you may be non-compliant.

Process for new employees:

1. Give the employee a super choice form and 28 days to nominate their fund
2. If they don't nominate: check for a stapled fund via ATO online services
3. If there's a stapled fund: direct contributions there
4. If there's no stapled fund: contribute to your default employer fund

Your Super Fund Options

Super must be paid to a complying superannuation fund — a fund that meets the government's requirements for fund operation. Most major Australian super funds are complying funds.

For employees who have nominated their own fund, you must pay to that fund. For employees without a nomination (after the stapled fund check), you can use your employer default fund.

Using the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH): The SBSCH is a free government service that allows small businesses (fewer than 20 employees or turnover under $10 million) to make super contributions for all their employees in one payment, which the SBSCH then distributes to each employee's fund. This simplifies the payment process significantly and will be updated for payday super.

Practical Super Compliance Steps

1. Check your payroll software calculates super on all OTE components — including casual loadings, Sunday and public holiday rates, and leave loading
2. Set up SBSCH or an alternative clearing house for efficient payment processing
3. Check for stapled super funds for each new employee
4. Set calendar reminders for current quarterly due dates (Q3: 28 April, Q4: 28 July)
5. Prepare for payday super by July 2026 — confirm your payroll software will support it and plan your cash flow

How Reguladar Helps

Super guarantee compliance — alongside STP Phase 2, BAS, award rate updates, WHS, and licensing — is one of many obligations Reguladar tracks for Australian small business owners. Our compliance dashboard shows you every obligation that applies to your business, when it's due, and what you need to do.

Start your free compliance check at Reguladar →