Superannuation guarantee

What does the guarantee apply to?

Ordinary time earnings: the pay for ordinary hours of work, including most loadings and allowances, commissions and shift loadings, but generally excluding overtime. It applies to most employees regardless of how little they earn, and to many contractors who are paid mainly for their labour, which is a classification trap that catches employers who assumed an ABN settled the question.

When must super be paid?

Since 1 July 2026, under the payday super rules, employers must pay super at the same time as wages, with contributions reaching the employee's fund within seven business days of payday. The old quarterly due dates no longer apply. Late payment has sharp edges: it triggers the superannuation guarantee charge, which adds interest and administration components and, unlike super paid on time, is not tax deductible.

Why super sits inside underpayment risk

Because it inherits every wage error underneath it. A misclassified employee, a missed loading or an under-award salary produces an SG shortfall automatically, and unpaid or late super now carries both ATO enforcement and, since it became an NES entitlement, Fair Work enforcement as well.