Missed the 28 July 2026 super deadline? Here’s what employers need to do now

The super guarantee payment due on 28 July 2026 related to employee super for the period from 1 April to 30 June 2026.

This was also the final quarterly super guarantee payment under the previous system.

For a contribution to have been paid on time, it generally needed to reach the employee’s super fund by the due date.

That distinction matters.

Authorising the payment through payroll or a clearing house on 28 July does not necessarily mean it was received by the fund on time.

If the required super did not reach the appropriate fund by the deadline, the employer may become liable for the Superannuation Guarantee Charge.

This is where a missed super payment becomes more complicated than simply transferring the original amount a few days later.

If an employer does not pay the required super in full, on time, and to the correct fund, the employer may need to:

• calculate the Superannuation Guarantee Charge
• lodge an SGC statement with the ATO
• pay the resulting liability

The SGC is generally more than the super that would otherwise have been paid correctly and on time.

For quarterly obligations arising before Payday Super, it can include:

• the super guarantee shortfall
• nominal interest
• an administration fee for affected employees
• a choice liability where relevant

The ATO states that quarterly SGC is not tax deductible.

That is one reason a missed super deadline can cost a business considerably more than the original contribution.

The Superannuation Guarantee Charge is usually referred to as SGC.

For the quarterly system, the SGC can include the following.

This is the amount of SG the employer failed to pay correctly.

Importantly, the SGC calculation can differ from the ordinary super calculation because the shortfall can be calculated using salary and wages, including some amounts that may not ordinarily form part of ordinary time earnings.

Nominal interest applies at 10% per annum.

For the quarterly regime, it can accrue from the beginning of the relevant quarter until the applicable date under the SGC rules.

The quarterly SGC includes an administration fee of $20 per affected employee, per quarter.

A choice liability may also arise in relevant circumstances and is capped under the applicable rules.

The important point for business owners is that SGC is not simply another name for the original super contribution.

It is a separate statutory charge arising because the original obligation was not met correctly and on time.

Not necessarily.

This is one of the most important points for employers to understand.

Imagine your business needed to pay $20,000 of super by 28 July. You realise on 31 July that it was missed and immediately transfer the $20,000.

It would be natural to think the employees have now received their super, so the problem has been fixed.

But once the statutory deadline has been missed, simply making the original payment may not remove the employer’s SGC obligations.

The June 2026 quarter is particularly important because it sits across the transition from quarterly super to Payday Super.

Employers should establish exactly:

• what should have been paid
• what reached each fund before 28 July
• what was paid afterwards
• how later contributions have been applied
• what SGC remains payable

Do not assume the bank payment is the end of the matter.

For the April to June 2026 quarter, the quarterly SG was due on 28 July 2026, and the SGC statement and payment are due by 28 August 2026.

If your business knows that the 28 July deadline was missed, do not wait for the ATO to contact you.

The earlier the position is reviewed, the easier it is to determine:

• what went wrong
• which employees were affected
• the amount of the shortfall
• what needs to be lodged
• what the business needs to pay
• whether cash-flow assistance needs to be considered

Failing to deal with the SGC statement can create additional penalties and interest.

Being unable to pay the entire amount does not mean the lodgement should be ignored.

If the business cannot pay in full, the first step is still to understand and correctly document the liability.

The ATO states that employers who cannot pay the SGC in full should still lodge the required statement on time. Depending on the circumstances, payment arrangements may then be available.

If cash is tight, we recommend looking at the broader position rather than treating the SGC as an isolated payment.

That may include reviewing:

• current bank cash
• expected receipts
• wages
• PAYG withholding
• BAS liabilities
• income tax
• existing ATO debt
• loan repayments
• other super obligations
• upcoming Payday Super payments

If the business is struggling to meet several of these commitments at once, the issue may be broader than one missed deadline. Our note on managing business cash flow covers what usually sits underneath it.

From 1 July 2026, Australia moved from quarterly SG payments to Payday Super for new qualifying earnings.

Under Payday Super, employers generally need to pay employee super in connection with payday, with contributions required to reach the employee’s super fund within the applicable timeframe.

This creates an unusual crossover for the final June quarter.

The ATO has explained that contributions made during July 2026 can be allocated differently depending on when they are received.

Contributions received from 1 July to 28 July are applied against outstanding quarterly amounts first.

Contributions received from 29 July onwards are applied to Payday Super amounts first, even where the employer intended the payment to cover the old June-quarter obligation.

For the final quarterly obligation, the ordinary late-payment offset is also not available.

This means a business should not simply look at the total amount of super paid during July and assume everything has been covered. The allocation needs to be reviewed properly.

The 28 July deadline was the final quarterly SG payment deadline. From 1 July 2026, employers need to operate under Payday Super.

Under the new system, businesses need to pay far closer attention to super as part of each payroll cycle.

That means reviewing:

• payroll configuration
• qualifying earnings
• employee super details
• clearing-house processing times
• rejected contributions
• failed payments
• payroll reconciliations
• cash available for each pay run

Super is no longer something that should sit separately from payroll until the end of the quarter. It is now part of the regular payroll process.

The ATO’s Small Business Superannuation Clearing House permanently closed from 1 July 2026.

Businesses that previously relied on it should now have another SuperStream-compatible method for making contributions.

That may include:

• functionality within payroll software
• a commercial clearing house
• a payment service provided by a super fund
• another compliant super-payment service

If your business has not successfully moved to a replacement system, address that immediately. Do not wait until the next payroll run fails.

If you employ staff, we recommend actively checking the April to June quarter rather than assuming everything was processed correctly.

Review each employee and the SG amount required for the quarter. Look for:

• new employees
• terminated employees
• payroll adjustments
• unusual payments
• incorrect settings
• omitted workers

Do not rely only on the date the payment was authorised. Check when it was actually received.

A payment may have been initiated but subsequently rejected because of:

• incorrect member details
• incorrect fund information
• closed accounts
• payment errors

Determine which employees were affected and by how much.

Because of the transition to Payday Super, confirm how contributions made during July have been allocated.

Do not assume a late contribution has removed the requirement.

Where an SGC statement is required, deal with it before the deadline. If payment will be difficult, address that at the same time.

Super is not simply another creditor account that can be pushed back when cash becomes tight.

Unpaid super can lead to:

• additional charges
• interest
• penalties
• ATO recovery action
• increased scrutiny of the business

Company directors should also understand that unpaid super can have consequences under the director penalty regime in relevant circumstances.

If the business is struggling to meet super, PAYG withholding, BAS, wages, tax or finance repayments, that should trigger a broader discussion about cash flow and the financial position of the business.

Do not wait for individual debts to become enforcement matters before looking at the overall problem. This is part of how we work with business owners throughout the year.

If you are a Wakefield Pacific client and are not certain whether your April to June super reached employees’ funds by 28 July, please contact us now.

We can help review:

• what should have been paid
• what was actually received
• any rejected or late contributions
• the employees affected
• whether an SGC statement is required
• the amount that may be payable
• the interaction with Payday Super
• the effect on cash flow
• the next steps with the ATO

The objective is to understand the position and deal with it properly before a missed super payment becomes a larger problem. You can speak with the Wakefield Pacific team or read more about our services.