Payday Super: what changed for trade businesses on 1 July 2026

Payday Super started on 1 July 2026. If you employ anyone, including an apprentice or a contractor paid mainly for their labour, you now pay their super with every pay run instead of once a quarter. The ATO confirmed it was law in November 2025, and the first year of the new rules runs to 30 June 2027. This guide covers what changed, the 7 business day deadline, what replaced the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House, and what a small trade business needs to do.

Payday Super start date and what changed

From 1 July 2026, according to the ATO, you must pay each employee's super guarantee for each payday, calculated on their qualifying earnings. Here is the before and after:

What didn't change: who you pay super for, and the rate. The super guarantee is still 12%.

The 7 business day rule

The ATO's payment deadlines page says a contribution is on time if the employee's fund receives it, with enough information to allocate it to their account, within 7 business days after you pay them. A few details matter:

• The clock starts on payday. The ATO calls it the QE day: the day you pay qualifying earnings. It is the day the money goes out, not the day you enter it in your software.
• "Received", not "sent". A clearing house needs time to process your payment, so the ATO's advice is to pay super on payday.
• Business days exclude weekends and any public holiday that covers a whole state or territory, even one that isn't yours.
• New starters get longer. The first contribution for a new employee, or to a new fund for an existing one, has 20 business days.
• Out-of-cycle payments, such as a bonus or a back payment outside the normal pay run, are due with the next regular payday's super.

Paying super with wages when you have apprentices

The ATO treats apprentices and trainees as employees in every case, so they get super guarantee like anyone else. Age matters, though. For an employee aged 18 or over, you pay super whatever their hours. For an employee under 18, you pay super only for a week in which they work more than 30 hours, counted week by week rather than averaged over a fortnight. A full-time 17-year-old apprentice will usually pass that test; a school-based apprentice doing a day or two a week often won't. Check each pay run.

If you're taking someone on for the first time, the first contribution to their fund has the longer 20 business day deadline. Our guide to hiring your first apprentice covers the rest of what changes on day one.

Contractors paid mainly for their labour

Payday Super also applies to independent contractors who are paid wholly or principally for their labour. You calculate super on the labour part of their invoice, and it is due within 7 business days of paying that invoice. If you aren't sure whether a subbie falls into this group, read contractor or employee first.

What happened to the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House?

It's gone. The ATO closed it to new users on 1 October 2025, let existing users keep going until 30 June 2026, and says it is no longer accessible from 1 July 2026. If you used it, you now need another way to pay, such as a commercial clearing house, including one built into your payroll software. Whatever you use, the ATO's point stands: allow for its processing time inside the 7 business days.

What if you're late in the first year?

The ATO says that in the first year of Payday Super (1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027) its focus is on helping employers get it right. Under its first-year compliance approach, it sorts late payers into three risk zones:

• Low risk: you tried to pay on time, something went wrong, and you fixed it as soon as reasonably practicable. No further review is expected.
• Medium risk: you didn't meet that standard but had fixed every shortfall within 28 days after the end of the quarter.
• High risk: anything still unpaid after that point. These cases are the ATO's highest priority.

The charge itself has changed too. It is now assessed by the ATO, includes interest that compounds daily and an administrative amount, and is tax deductible. Penalties are 25% or 50% of the unpaid charge depending on your history. The cheapest fix is always the same: pay the missing super to the fund as soon as you find it.

A Payday Super checklist

• Make sure your payroll software is set up for Payday Super and reports qualifying earnings through Single Touch Payroll.
• If you used the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House, confirm your replacement is working.
• Pay super on payday, not at day 7.
• Get fund details from new starters before their first pay.
• Check under-18 apprentices' hours each week.
• Work out super on the labour component for contractors paid mainly for labour.
• Watch for error messages from funds, and fix them quickly.

How BizzMate fits in

BizzMate isn't payroll software and doesn't pay super. It runs the jobs, the quotes and the invoices, so the money that pays wages and super comes in sooner: a finished job drafts its invoice from the labour and materials logged on it, and payment reminders can go out automatically. Invoices and contacts sync to Xero on the Crew plan and up. Try it free for 14 days.

This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice, and not tax advice. Check the ATO's Payday Super pages or ask your registered tax or BAS agent about your own payroll.