How employers can avoid the super guarantee charge
June 18, 2026If you don’t pay the right amount, on time and to the correct fund, you may need to pay the super guarantee charge (SGC).
The redesigned SGC will apply when super contributions are not received by the super fund within 7 business days after payday (unless longer applies, for example for new employees).
Make sure you check your employees’ super funds will receive your payments on time.
Under Payday Super, the SGC is calculated based on qualifying earnings. The SGC is a charge on the employer for failing to pay super guarantee contributions for their employees in full, on time and to the right fund. It includes the total of any unpaid super, notional earnings, the administrative uplift amount, and the choice loading (if any). The ATO calculates the charge and sends an assessment to the employer.
The SGC is tax deductible.
The ATO has a video and factsheet available on their payday super resources webpage which explain the key changes.
They’ve also released a practical compliance guideline to outline their approach to compliance during the first year of Payday Super. Under this compliance guideline, you won’t be the focus of ATO compliance action as long as you:
- make your payments for each payday on time
- fix any errors as soon as possible.
Keep up to date
The ATO have tailored communication channels for small, medium, large and multinational businesses to keep you up to date with updates and changes you need to know.
- Read more articles in their online Business bulletins newsroom.
Subscribe to the ATO’s free:
- fortnightly Business bulletins email newsletter
- email notifications about new and updated information on our website – you can choose to receive updates relevant to your situation. Choose the ‘Business and organisations’ category to ensure your subscription includes notifications for more Business bulletins newsroom articles like this one.
Contact Indigo Financial on (08) 8212 8585 if you need help with understanding your PayDay Super obligations or any of your accounting, taxation and business development needs.
Note: The material and contents provided in this publication are informative in nature only. It is not intended to be advice and you should not act specifically on the basis of this information alone. If expert assistance is required, professional advice should be obtained.
