Understanding Payday Super

Hello everyone, and welcome to today's AustralianSuper employer webinar, Payday Super: Early insights for businesses. My name is Erin Dingle, and I'll be your host for the next 60 minutes.

With Payday Super now in effect. We know employers are navigating new processes, systems and ways of working. Over the next hour, we're going to share what we're seeing from the front line.

And importantly, we're joined by a guest speaker from the ATO who will share their insights and observations. I'd like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands we're each joining from today and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders peoples.

Today I'm coming to you from Brisbane on the lands of the Turrbal people from the north side of the river and the Yuggera/Jagera people from the south side of the river, and we're joined by other presenters from right across the country.

Before we begin, it's important to be aware that today's presentation may include some general financial advice which does not take into account your personal situation, financial needs or objectives. We would recommend that before making a decision that you do read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determination documents which are available either on the AustralianSuper website or by calling the Fund.

Now a few quick housekeeping items before we dive in. You can submit questions at any time using the Q&A panel. We have subject matter experts online in the background who will be answering as many questions as they can directly throughout the session. There'll also be time at the end for our panellists to answer some pre-submitted questions. We'll be sharing a copy of the recording with all of those who have registered for today's session after it's finished.

Now let's meet our panel. It’s a real privilege to be joined by Shane Moore, Acting Assistant Commissioner for Payday Super Implementation, Superannuation and Employer Obligations at the Australian Taxation Office. Also joining us is Luke Fraser, Head of Workplace Partnerships at AustralianSuper. Luke’s team supports over half a million businesses right across the country that contribute to super for their employees to AustralianSuper.

Then we'll hear from Katie Pittman, Senior Business Services Manager. Over the years, Katie has held roles across employer servicing, business solutions, transitions and operations, giving her a deep understanding of what matters to both businesses and their employees. We’ve built today's session around two perspectives, The ATO's view of how Payday Super is tracking and what AustralianSuper is seeing on the front line.

Luke Fraser will open with where we are seven weeks in. A quick recap of Payday Super and a walk through the contribution life cycle. So, we're all working from the same map of how super moves from payroll to the fund. Shane Moore from the ATO will then place Payday Super in the context of the broader superannuation system. Early implementation insights since 1 July, the year-one compliance approach and the key reminders and resources available to you.

And Katie Pittman will then get practical. She'll cover the five challenge areas we see most often and how to avoid them, what the response messages mean, the four most common errors, and how to fix them.

And then finish with ten tips to streamline your contributions. As I mentioned, there'll be time at the end for questions, so keep dropping them in the Q&A as we go. Our experts will be answering them throughout. Now, Luke, over to you.

Thanks very much, Erin, and welcome everyone. Great to be here with you today. For those that I haven't met, I lead the Workplace Partnerships team here at AustralianSuper. The national team support businesses across the country from single employee operations right through to some of Australia's largest employers. So, we've got a pretty broad view of how Payday Super is landing in practice. Our insights are based on what we're seeing every day through our contribution channels, but also through our frontline support teams.

The reason this matters is most of the issues that we're seeing can be prevented with a few simple checks and process adjustments. It's largely about data, it's largely about timing, and it's largely about process. Once you understand where the friction points are, there are usually pretty simple ways to address them within your payroll cycle.

Now before we get into what we're seeing, let's recap on the five key changes that we see payday having on employers. First, and certainly the most obvious is timing. Super is now paid at the same time as salary and wages rather than a minimum of quarterly.

Second, qualifying earnings or you may hear QE, it's a newly defined term and Super Guarantee is 12% of qualifying earnings. So, it's worth checking with your payroll system and that it's calculating on the right base. Third, reporting. You now report both qualifying earnings and the super liability through Single Touch Payroll, replacing previous reporting of Ordinary Time Earnings or the super liability.

Fourth, the compliance approach. So the Superannuation Guarantee Charge or SGC applies if the contribution isn't received by the fund in what we call an allocable format within seven business days.

Additional penalties of 25% or 50% of the SGC amount may also apply depending on if an employer and what their compliance history looks like.

Importantly, it's the receipt by the fund that counts, not the day you hit send and fifth how to pay. So, the ATO Small Business Clearing House closed on the 30th of June 2026 and SuperStream has been upgraded. We've seen the introduction of near real time payments through the New Payments Platform. Faster and clearer error messaging, member verification capability for first time contributions, and improved fund validation with early alerts on fund changes and mergers.

So, with that recap in mind, let's walk through how the contribution actually moves from your pay run to the fund and two clocks that I encourage you to keep an eye on.

Before we get into the specifics, I just want to have the shared mental model because once you have this picture in your head, everything we talk about for the rest of the day will fall into place nice and neatly. So, what you're looking at is the journey your super contribution takes from the moment you run payroll to the moment it lands in a member's account.

So, we see it across five key stages. Stage 1, the pay run. So, you calculate super for the pay cycle. This is where accuracy matters the most, because everything downstream from here inherits whatever you produce here.

Stage 2. You submit the contribution. The data and payment go together through your chosen channel, whether that's your payroll software, clearing house, or fund portal. Stage 3, SuperStream validation. The message is checked.

If something doesn't line up, like a missing member number or a mismatched date of birth, this is where that surfaces Stage 4 fund allocation. So, we take it from there and either allocate the contribution to the member's account or return it. And we have three business days to do that Stage 5 correction if it's required.

So, you review the error message response and fix the underlying detail and then resubmit. Now the two numbers, I encourage you to pay attention to are the ones at the bottom of the slide. So, the first is the employer clock. So super must be received in an allocable format by the fund within seven business days of payday.

So not just sent but received. The second is the fund clock. We have three business days to either allocate or return the contribution once we receive it. Now that distinction between sent and receive catches some people out, so we encourage you to build a bit of a buffer into your process rather than aiming to send on day 7. And do the seven days include weekends? No, they're business days. And it's important to know that if the fund returns the payment, the clock does not reset.

So, you need to make the relevant corrections and resubmit promptly, which is why data at that stage one really matters. The key point is errors in payroll data. Stage 1 creates extra work at stage 3 and then delays in that correction loop at stage 5. So together, these things can contribute to employers missing that seven business day deadline. So, what we're encouraging is putting in that extra effort upfront to fix the issues early within the payroll data. It can reduce workload and risk along the following and later stages.

So now that we've recapped those key changes with a shared view of the contribution cycle, let's have a look at what we're seeing seven weeks in. So good news, we are seven weeks in, eight days commenced and across the industry we haven't identified any major systemic issues. So the payments are flowing, funds are allocating and the overall picture is stable.

So that's a genuinely positive result for a change of this magnitude. That said, there are some common friction points we're hearing about from employers, which I'll touch on now. By far the number one source of issues is data quality. So, things like missing member numbers, tax file number gaps and mismatches in date of birth and contact details are important to know.

These aren't new problems, but under Payday Super, they're surfacing much faster and they cost you time because a contribution that can't be matched to a member can't actually be allocated. The second area is reconciliation friction. We're seeing contribution breakdowns arriving after payments.

We're seeing duplicate or invalid Payment Reference Numbers. As a reminder, PRN or Payment Reference Number is that unique link between a super payment and its SuperStream contribution data. We're also seeing payments that don't carry enough information for us to work out where they actually came from.

Each of these things requires a manual work to unwind, so important if we can try and get them right on Member Verification Request. We saw exactly what we thought we'd see, a really sharp spike in Member Verification Requests peaking around mid-July and then volumes have settled.

So, I think the key message is to take away from this side is it comes down to three things. One, accurate data, two, paying on time and three, establishing a clear and repeatable process that you can follow. Nearly everything that we're seeing tracks back to one of those three things.

So that's the early insights from me. You'll hear more about that from Katie later. But for the ATO's view, I'm going to hand over to Shane Moore, Acting Assistant Commissioner. So, Shane, over to you.

Thank you, Luke, and good afternoon, everyone, and thank you to AustralianSuper for the opportunity to speak with you all today. It's great to join the AustralianSuper team to provide an update. While the ATO has observed in Payday Super following the last update. So, Payday Super exists to address the $6.2 billion in unpaid super each year.

Payday Super is about ensuring more of this unpaid super makes its way into employee super accounts, improving the retirement income of millions of Australians. So today I'll cover 4 areas, our early observations since implementation, our compliance approach in the first year of Payday Super, practical tips for employers, key Payday Super reminders and what's next.

So, Payday Super has brought together government software providers, intermediaries, as well as employer and phone reps to deliver one of the largest superannuation reforms since 1992. While it's still early days, there have been some valuable early insights into how the super ecosystem is adapting to Payday Super. Before I get into those insights, I'd like to consider Payday Super in the broader context of the ATO strategic direction.

A 2026/27 corporate plan identifies implementing Payday Super as one of the key activities supporting our shift towards closing a payment gap.

Alongside activities such as simplifying the tax experience and enabling a move to real time taxation, we are aspiring to create a future where tax just happens, obligations can be met with confidence, interactions are simple, and people spend less time on tax.

Payday Super represents the fundamental change in how super is paid, bringing it into normal payroll cycle and helping employers stay on track from the start. By making super a recent part of each pay run, the reform supports better outcomes for employees while simplifying the process for employers.

It's about building a system that's more reliable or transparent and easier to manage day to day. Payday Super supports closing the payment gap or enabling timely and accurate payments, strengthens protection of employee entitlements and improves confidence in a super system.

Now, while the Payday Super reform is designed to help employees in getting things right, we also recognise that implementation of a change of this scale requires a practical and balanced compliance approach, which I will talk about later.

So, we thought first of the implementation, what's happened now in just under two months since the 1st of July. Early indications, as Luke has already stated, suggest Payday Super has had a successful start so far.

While we acknowledge there have been a few technical issues reported by some external partners and digital service providers, gateways and super funds, these have not prevented employers from paying super on payday.

Our intelligence at the ATO provides confidence that many employers are moving to more frequent super payments and implementation across the broader super ecosystem has largely been successful.

And our own intelligence and our own information show calls to our call centres along with our forecasts across both our superannuation, our single touch payroll and our clearing our SKUs suggesting to us that employees are adapting effectively to the new obligations supported by our guidance and communication products and our support terms.

Our website, saw an increase hit of 23% through July. Early insights from the SuperStream network indicate that the transaction error rates have not got worse, haven't increased proportionally despite the growth in contribution volumes.

Luke's already ran through the changes the SuperStream that we deployed with a new Member Verification Request and allows employers to check that employee details are correct before they make that first contribution.

And most large funds are ready to receive and process those new Member Verification Requests and of course AustralianSuper is one of those contributions made in through July has indicated. Now the most common error that's occurring in relation to SMSF's that don't have an active ESA that's important.

SMSF providers have this ESA to allow employees to pay contributions. If an employer can't pay a contribution to an SMSF because it doesn't have an active ESA, that employer is able to pay their contribution to their default fund.

That's important and we are reminding trust SMSF trustees to maintain an active ESA to avoid those outcomes. The clearing houses have reported record volumes in the first few weeks of the Payday Super.

Those record volumes continue which supports a positive trend in the adoption of Payday Super so good funds have advised that process nearly half a million member of the case Member Verification Request, which obviously designed to reduce errors.

We are seeing an increased adoption of fast payments through the New Payments Platform and we are hearing that some clearing houses are passing payments through the funds within minutes of it being paid by an employer, noting though that that is only some clearing houses, not all.

Yeah, the ATO has also seen an extra $5.7 billion paid in Super Guarantee in the month of July compared to July 25. Media coverage has generally been mostly positive since it started July and there's been strong engagement.

We are also seeing large numbers of employers reporting Qualifying Earnings in the Single Touch Payroll to the effect that I have 70% of employers are now reporting QE to the ATO. That's indicating to us that most employers are now moving to a Payday Super cadence or paying superannuation.

While we're seeing QE reported in STP, we are seeing some things that aren't quite right in the QE reporting in some of those reports. These are things such as bonuses, task allowances, paid lead cash hours and adjustments of salary sacrifice not appearing in QE as the ATO would expect them to see.

The ATO does have guidance on our website letting employers know how to work with their pay code mapping and through their software to make sure those QE amounts are report are accurate. It’s important that QE amount is correct and accurate for the ATO to be undertake our compliance on Payday Super.

They're taken together, those early indicators that your stakeholders are actively engaging with the changes, and the core elements of supporting Payday Super are operating as intended now to support industry during the early transition period.

The ATO did establish the Super Stream and hyper care meeting with broader industry representatives alongside the Payday Super Contributions Implementation and Reference group.

These forums are addressing practical implementation issues and emerging observations, and they've already helped industry participants quickly identify and resolve issues, including payment and data mismatches, preventing some employers using newer providers.

One of the clearest lessons from the first month of Payday Super is that data quality matters more than ever. The ecosystem is processing significantly more transactions and doing so faster and more frequently.

Where employers, payroll providers, and funds have high-quality member and payment information straight through, processing rates are very strong. Many of the operational issues being discussed through hyper care are not technology failures. But reflections of the importance of accurate and complete data in a more real time environment.

Also, as Luke already highlighted, the ATO Small Business Clearing House closed at 11:59 PM on the 30th of June this year. Although that clearing house is now closed, we are still receiving a small number of payments to the clearing house. These payments are being refunded to employers along with an email finding that payment could not be processed.

Advising them to make to make alternative arrangements for any future super contributions. Any employees that may receive this correspondence should refer to our Payday Super resources on the ATO website and also the new and improved super product register that helps you identify alternate payroll options and super services to help employers meet their obligations.

So, moving on to our compliance approach to our next slide. So as some of you may be aware, in January of this year, we finalised our practical compliance guide 2026 slash 1. And this practical compliance guide was developed to recognise that employers may not have had sufficient time to deploy, test and embed their changes within their payoff systems and business processes prior to the law commencing on 1 July 26.

The approach for the first year of Payday Super will recognise that employers that try to comply with Payday Super by paying on a payday cycle but do not meet the legislative timeframes, for example due to errors or rejected contributions, but correct pays errors as soon as practical will not be the focus of the ATO compliance resource.

Employers that continue to pay quarterly will be considered a medium risk and employers who have unpaid SG after the quarterly due dates will be classified as high risk under the Practical Compliance Guide. The ATO will allocate our compliance resources to high-risk employers ahead of any medium risk employers in respect of any QE days in the first year of Payday Super.

This is in addition to continuing to follow up with employers who are still not meeting their obligations under the old quarterly regime. This Practical Compliance Guide is a key tool to help employers understand what they need to do and something goes wrong.

Our key message is to pay anything owed to the fund as soon as possible. In those scenarios, it helps with decisions like should I lodge a voluntary disclosure statement. This remains an important message to support employers through the first year of Payday Super implementation. Basing the assurance provided by the PCG, we would like to reiterate that there is no expectation for employers to be checking on whether super payments have reached the fund on time every time that they make a payment.

The expectation is simply that employees are checking for errors and resolving errors as soon as possible. Also, to support preparation for this change, four Payday Super companion rulings were published outlining how some of these new rules apply.

LCR 2026, one through to three, provide guidance for employers on the new payday rules regarding application and transitional provisions, eligible contributions and the calculation and assessment of a Super Guarantee charge that will all finalise on the 5th of August. There is an interim decision impact statement also published on the 5th of August in relation to the remaining law companion ruling covering qualifying earnings.

This finalisation of this law companion ruling has been delayed due to a Federal Court decision of the Victorian Department of Education and the Commissioner of Taxation that has an impact on OTE Ordinary Times earnings. That therefore has an impact potentially on to Qualifying Earnings. So that law companion ruling will be published in the outcome of the appeal to that case.

On the next slide, we have some tips, some key reminders. The Payday Super is about more than simply paying super more frequently. It's helping to create and maintain a system that makes it easier for employers who are trying to do the right thing to make their obligations.

And for those who are deliberately not complying, it's much harder to hide based on early intel issues and questions we're seeing emerge. These are the key messages I encourage you as employers to reinforce. Our first key message for employers is for them to review what they're doing now and ensure they're paying super on payday.

We encourage you not to ignore rejected payments or reporting errors as issues are generally easier to resolve when they are identified and addressed early. This aligns with our first-year compliance messaging. The employers who are trying to comply and quickly fix errors will not be the focus of ATO compliance action.

The second reminder is to check your payroll software and underlying configurations. Employers now need a report announcement both qualifying earnings and super liability via their single attached payroll software.

The third reminder is to look beyond payroll and consider the end-to-end process. Payday Super can affect payroll teams, finance teams, payment processes, clearing house arrangements, governance and internal controls.

Employers may need to consider whether they have business processes or procedures that need to change to pay more frequently, including the super was previously paid quarterly by an accounts payable team separately from the payroll team, such as in the payment of contractors.

The fourth reminder is to ensure employers understand the transition period. July represented a unique period. Where some employers may have been managing previously quarterly obligations as well as new Payday Super requirements, it's important for employers to understand how the contributions made during July were allocated.

The key message is that now in August, all contributions are applied under the Payday Super frame. In July, the first contributions were allocated to the final quarterly regime payment.

The fifth reminder is to be proactive, encourage you as employers to review the processes, investigate exceptions and resolve issues before they accumulate. Also ensure you review your onboarding processes for new employees and contractors, particularly where employee fund details need to be captured and validated.

Particularly for anyone using clearing houses or interacting with new providers, we encourage you to check that the data has been sent correctly and that any payment or data mismatches are followed up quickly.

Alongside these practical reminders, there are a few important points about monitoring, reporting and what comes next for employers. The key theme across all these messages is that successful Payday Super implementation depends on good systems, quality data and effective business processes, not simply meeting a new payment deadline.

The ATO has released fact sheets, checklists and videos to support employers with the transition to Payday Super. These resources are available on the ATO website under Payday Super Resources.

These resources will help employers understand the changes, how we're approaching compliance in the first year of Payday Super. Collectively, our focus should be on supporting you as employers as Payday Super becomes embedded into your natural business operations.

Remember, at its core of this reform is helping Australians receive their super entitlement sooner, identifying issues earlier and better protecting retirement savings. Thank you, Luke and Katie, and I'm really looking forward to exploring some of these themes further during today's discussion. Now I'm handing over to Katie.

Really appreciate that, Shane, Thanks so much for sharing with us. So hello, I'm Katie Pittman and I'm the Senior Business Services Manager here at AustralianSuper. So, my team speaks with employers every day and over the past few months we've been helping businesses navigate the real-world challenges that have emerged with Payday Super.

So, we're seeing employees encounter a range of issues, big and small, and we've worked alongside them to find solutions as well. And those conversations have really given us some valuable insights into what's working well and where organisations are still experiencing some challenges. And today I'd like to share some of those most common issues we're seeing and along with some practical learnings as well to really help you stay ahead of them as well.

So, let's start with the five common challenge areas. So, I want to walk through these specific challenge areas we're seeing most often on that frontline. So, all five are quite manageable and most are also preventable if you know where to look. So, this first one we've heard is a few times already, data quality.

So small data errors can actually have quite a big impact. So, it could be things like a placeholder date of birth, it could be a typo, possibly a surname, an incorrect address can also be enough to prevent contributions from being matched correctly.

And including key identifiers such as tax file numbers and member account numbers and ensuring that any of that information provide is accurate and up to date can really help avoid delays and return contributions. Secondly, payroll and clearinghouse readiness.

So as some of these new contribution capabilities such as that Member Verification Request and faster payments that introduced across the industry, those implementation timeframes can differ between providers.

So, it's worthwhile having a conversation with your payroll provider or clearing house to understand what capabilities are available to you and how they can support your business. Third, payment and data pairing.

So, during the transition period, the industry saw some challenges matching those payments and the contribution information. And now the good news is most of these issues have now been resolved. The fourth one we're seeing was verification volumes and Luke hinted at this one earlier.

So, we're seeing those Member Verification Request volumes increase, increase across the industry. So, a big driver that we saw is that many employers are reviewing their super processes ahead of Payday Super and in some cases moving providers or implementing new systems. So that transaction activity, it creates additional verification demands.

And it's a really good reminder to remember that these MVRs or member verification requests, they're used for their intended purpose. So that would be at the stage of onboarding or if you have a staff member that comes to you with a fund change and keep that processing efficient across the network for everyone.

And fifth and it's one that July transition. So, July was a unique one-time overlap. Where we saw many of those employees managing their final April to June quarterly SG payment at the same time as that first payday super cycle.

So, while that overlap was quite unique, it did provide some really valuable insights into this payroll and contribution processes. Now I want to dig in a little bit more into that first one, that data quality for a bit more context and support.

So here are just a few simple checks that can really help improve the quality of your contributions and reduce the likelihood of any delays or exceptions. So firstly, it's checking those employee details, so making sure that the names, date of births, addresses, tax numbers as well were provided, and any payroll IDs are accurate and up to date.

Next, we'd be checking those super fund details, so the fund name, unique super identifier or USI and that member number for the employee. And if you're paying to a self-managed super fund, take extra care around those ones.

So, you should have that ABN and electronic service address for all those self-managed super funds and then check those contribution details. So that. Correct? Is a type of that everything OK with the amount there as well?

Now the fourth one it's a little bit of a true one, but it doesn't come up very often. Check your employer details as well. So that'd be around checking the information such as your business name and ABN is accurate and is also aligned across payroll clearing house and super systems as well as their fund.

So, we also recommend keeping a record of any employer IDs that are provided by the funds that you're paying into, as these can often are needed when investigating a payment or a contribution issue. And finally, ensure that your payment and contribution data as submitted together so they can be matched and processed efficiently.

So, most providers do this, but good to know where yours stands. Now, these are also just some extra simple data hygiene rules to keep in mind. So, if you see an optional field and it can't be completed accurately, it's best to leave it blank rather than using placeholder information.

And if you have an employee here who comes and updates the details with you, it's a really good chance to encourage them to check and update their super fund as well, as most funds won't accept member detail changes that come from employers.

Now they seem quite simple, these checks, but really can go a long way towards reducing errors, avoiding delays and helping those contributions.

Reach your employees accounts as smoothly as possible. Now, big one, how do you prevent errors before they happen? Now the single biggest lever you have is at onboarding. So, when it comes to those new employees or employees who have changed super fund, it's really worth taking advantage of that 20-business day window that's available for the first contribution.

So, it's a good chance to take that time to capture, validate and verify before that first payday. So, this starts by capturing and curving those key employee and super fund details as I mentioned earlier, then validating that information is complete, accurate and as we said before, consistent across all your systems.

So, where you have your payroll provider or your clearing house can support it, this is where you may be able to submit that Member Verification Request or MVR. So, this MVR is there to help you verify super fund details before that first contribution is even made. So that's really going to come back and reduce that likelihood of any avoidable errors or delays.

And if you do have any issues that pop up, you'll have time to act early and resolve it before any of those deadlines get close. Now that MVR, that verification request, that's a little hint to some of those response messages.

Now let's look at some of the other response messages that are out there. So, you may have started to see or hear some of these response messages as part of Payday Super. And no need to be intimidated by all those acronyms as well. They're just simply messages that help confirm that information is correct or also highlight something that needs attention.

And you can really think of them in a logical sequence. So firstly, we have that Member Verification Request or MVR, and this one's a new one. So that's that message you'll send before the first contribution just to verify that the member and fund details are correct at the super fund area.

And then the super fund will return what is called an MVOR or a member verification outcome response. So, this message is there to confirm whether those details you sent through are valid and correct. This will then allow you to update any details before you've even set that first contribution.

Now, in some situations, you'll also send what is called an MRR or a Member Registration Request.

So, this is used when a member account needs to be set up at a super fund or even if a change of details needs to be sent through and this one's likely through your default fund. Now, that file will then respond with a Member Registration Outcome Request or MROR, and that will let you know whether that registration or update was successful.

And if relevant, we'll return the new member number if applicable.

Now, once you're ready to contribute, the contribution tier itself is set by what's called a CTR or Contribution Transaction Request. So, if something can't be processed, you'll receive what's called a Contribution Transaction Error response or a CTR.

So, this one's really important. This is your signal to look into that issue, fix the root cause in your payroll, and then go on and resubmit.

So the key takeaway here across these messages is that they're there to help you and they're simply operational messages that will help you identify issues in early so they can be resolved before they create any larger problems. Now, understanding messages is one thing, but what does it look like in practice?

So, I'm going to walk through some of the most common responses employers are seeing and what they typically mean. So here we have the four most common error messages we're seeing and what they mean and what to do about them.

And the good news, again, it comes back to data quality, and all of them are quite fixable as well. So, the first one we see first is number not found or no account exists. Now this usually means that details you've sent don't match what the Superfund holds or simply that employee doesn't have an account with that fund.

Now this is your chance to double check that unique super identifier, their membership number, their tax file number, date of birth, and name spelling. Now if something's wrong, fix that one in your payroll system and not just in that contribution file.

Otherwise, it will come back to a haunt you next payday. And if you're finding the details look right on your side, it's best to confirm with the employee about that super fund. What we're seeing is, you know, we're having people rolling out to other super funds and it happens quite often not letting payroll know.

So, contact that employee, confirm their details of their fund, and then go on and resubmit. Now, the second one, no account exists and no default relationship with a fund. So, this one's a little step further. So not only do the details not match an existing member, you're also not set up as a registered employer with that fund.

So, they can't create that new member account for you. So firstly, confirm those employees details are correct. Then importantly go and check your business is registered as an employer with that super fund and that super fund has been correctly configured in your payroll system or clearing house as your default fund.

Now once that's in place, you can go and resubmit. The third one we're seeing is contributions can't be accepted. So, this one, the account exists but it can't take your employer contributions.

Now, the reasons for this, it might be a closed product, like maybe it's a corporate plan or there's a defined benefit arrangement attached to that, or it could even be a pension account. So unfortunately, no fix inside payroll for this one.

You'll need to go back to the employee and ask for alternative fund details and then update your payroll and resubmit. Now the last one we're seeing contributions can't be accepted due to age or eligibility restrictions.

So, this one can come down to a data entry issue. So rather than a genuine eligibility problem. So, start by checking that date of birth in payroll, because a mistyped year is often the common culprit for that one.

Now, if the date of birth is right, confirm that the payment genuinely meets eligibility rules. And if it's a personal contribution, check that the employee has also provided their tax file number. Now, it's important to remember, as Luke's touched on this before, that clock is always running.

So that contribution will need to reach the fund within seven business days. So act on any error response messages the day they arrive rather than waiting for that next pay run. Now we've covered some of these common errors and fixes and I really want to finish with some more of that practical side of things.

So, there are ten tips on the screen, and I won't go through all of them, but I really want to draw out a few that can make a real difference to ensure your pay cycle runs more smoothly.

Firstly, make sure you know where your SuperStream error messages are coming back to in your relevant portal, with a notification going to the most responsible person who can then go and act on those.

Secondly, enable that New Payment Platforms on your business bank account and in your payroll or clearing house. As Shane mentioned earlier, this one gives you almost near real time settlement, which means that money lands with the super fund faster and your reconciliation is cleaner as well.

So with that seven-business day window, taking a day or two out of that pavement leg will give you so much more breathing room if something does need correcting. Thirdly, and we've seen this one pop up, aligning ABN in your SuperStream messages with the ABN in your single touch payroll reporting.

So where businesses run on multiple entities or there's a possibility of a restructure, they used to quietly drift apart.

And a mismatch there will create reconciliation problems that are really quite difficult to unpick after the fact but can be prevented. And fourthly, keep evidence of your corrections.

So, dates on what you did and the outcome. So then if a question comes up later about a late or short for payment, that record is what demonstrates that you acted promptly.

And fifth, checking with your default fund. So, make sure that your business is registered correctly as an employer and that the right contacts are also listed on your account.

So, it's not uncommon for us to see communications going to former employees simply because contact details haven't been updated. And a quick check now can prevent any missed messages and unnecessary follow up down the track.

And then the bonus tip. And this one's an important one, voluntary disclosure. So, if you've realised you've missed a payment, pay that correct amount to the fund as soon as you realise that error, as long as you haven't already received a notice of assessment.

So, tell any HR about that shortfall before they issued assessment may help any lower help lower the penalties that apply. So don't sit on it. Act early and be upfront. I'm now going to pass that to Luke for a quick word on some of the support available. Luke, over to you.

Thanks so much Katie. And as everyone will have heard, Katie and the team have been very busy supporting employers, analysing the data and hopefully some of those tips resonated with you. There was a lot of information across the three speakers this morning, this afternoon, I should say.

What I wanted to share here is that you're not doing it on your own and that there is support available. AustralianSuper has some really practical information that we have shared with you today, but we will continue to share that as Payday Super evolves. If you haven't already, you'll see it on the screen there. Please visit our Payday Super website for the latest updates.

On there you'll find a Payday Super checklist which outlines some practical steps you can take, some which you will have heard today. We also update on that site the frequently asked questions. So, as we get new questions that come through that aren't up on there, we will republish them. So, a good one to check.

Another thing that I wanted to talk about quickly was we have introduced a new Employer Portal and it's really to help employers manage their super obligations in a Payday Super environment. It brings together things like contribution submission, data validation, error alerts, reporting, and support all in that one secure place. And it gives employers better visibility and control over that contribution process.

It supports a range of payment methods. You've heard about the NPP or New Payments Platform, so it supports that. It helps with employee onboarding, choice of fund capture. I've seen some questions in the chat around stapling. So, it's got an integrated ATO stapling look up feature that you can activate.

In addition, it's also got a virtual bank account so that it helps employers track contribution payments. It's particularly useful for things like refunds or corrections. I should also say that you you've got access to our people.

So, a range of people on the call today that you've heard from a range of people behind the scenes answering questions. We've got a dedicated employer contact centre if you want to talk things through as well as Payday Super further develops, we'll, we'll obviously keep you up to date.

We'll keep you informed. Keep an eye on your inbox if you on, if we have your valid email, we'll send some things through to you as they evolve. But I have seen a very active Q&A section, Erin, which is good.

People have got lots of questions. I know there were a lot of pre submitted questions as well. So, I might hand over to you to walk us through some of the questions that people might have had. Thanks, Luke. Yes, a lot of a lot of information to take in today and a lot of questions being asked.

So, I'd like to invite all our panellists back onto the screen. I'd now like to start with yourself, Luke.

So, one of the biggest themes is about what starts the Payday Super clock. When must the fund receive the contribution and is it ok to submit early or schedule a pay run in advance? Well, big question and I thought we agreed the hard ones were going to Shane, but I'll give it a crack to start with.

I think this is probably one of the more important questions or things to know around Payday Super.

And the clock starts from the actual payday, not the end of the pay, not when you enter the payrun into payroll, but the actual payday.

So, to be on time, the contribution needs to reach the employee's super fund. And you've heard this a few times within seven business days of that payday. And the fund needs enough information, you heard me say allocable needs enough information to be able to allocate that into a member's account.

So, it's really about when the fund receives and then can process the contribution, not just when it's submitted to the clearing house. So that's why he will have heard us encourage you to try and build in enough time for payroll clearing house fund processing. And where possible, and I know it can be hard, people in payroll are very busy to pay super on payday where you can.

Now we have had, as you rightly point out, Erin, a number of questions around setting up pay runs early because of things like say, annual leave or Christmas shutdowns. And I'm sure there's a long list of other planned absences. That’s understandable and something many businesses do.

I think the key thing to remember here is that the deadline is still linked to that actual pay date. So, it's worth checking with your payroll and clearing house provider how they handle those early instructions. And what I mean by that is some will release and process them straight away and others might hold them to that nominated pay dates or important nuance there.

But yeah, that's me. Kicked it off. Question one. We got a question two. Hopefully not for me. Yes, thanks for that, Luke. So yes, the dates don't change, but there will be nuances with your different payroll or clearinghouse providers.

Now this one's not for you. I'm going to throw over to Katie now. So, Katie, do employees need a separate super payment for every ad hoc or out of cycle pay? And what changes when the payment is final termination pay?

Ok, so good news is not every out of cycle payment automatically means you will need to run a separate super payment. So, if you've got an employee on a regular payroll cycle and you'd make it genuine out of cycle payment.

So, things like a bonus, a commission allowance, back payment or payment in advance, that associated super can generally be paid by 7 business days after that employee's next regular payday. So, in many cases it can simply be picked up in that next normal super contribution rather than requiring a separate run there.

Now where I will say this, where payroll teams need to be a little bit more careful is around terminations. So, if someone's leaving and it isn't going to be another regular payday for that employee, don't assume that that same flexibility is available.

In those cases. You need to make sure that you've considered that super obligation as part of your termination process rather than waiting for a future payroll cycle that might never occur. And the other point I'd call out is this concession is really aimed at genuine out of cycle payments within an established payroll schedule.

So that doesn't, that doesn't work quite the same way with paydays and genuinely irregular. So, if you're dealing with a little bit more of an unusual scenario, it's worth checking with the ATO guidance on that one. Thanks, Erin. And that's great guidance. Thanks for that, Katie.

Now Shane, over to you, kept you waiting. Can you explain OTE versus qualifying earnings or QE and the practical reconciliation employees should perform between payroll super and STP?

Yeah, thanks. Thanks, Erin. So in in many ways QE and OTE are exactly the same thing. Many employers, it'll be exactly as it was before the, and it always does just flow through into STP reporting. So, what we had before was employers were reporting either OTE or super liability to the ATO.

And in most cases, most employers reporting just super liability, which is the total amount that is superable for an employer. So, and only a very small percentage reported OTE to us. But under Payday Super, we do require now QE and Super Liability.

It's important to be able to work out because previously employees may not necessarily have had to work out what OTE was because they paid super on the Super liability amount because that's what was determined in a reward or an industrial agreement or added like a contract with an employee to pay a particular amount based on a wage or bonuses, et cetera.

So, where QE then changes that is it also includes everything that was always in OTE, but it also includes commissions and salary sacrifice does come in. So, it's really in many cases OTE plus a couple of other.

So, in your pay codes mapping within your payroll system instead of make sure it'll work out what is OTE and what's QE. Now the ATO does have a good table on our website that explains all the different types of pay, pay codes or you know, types of payments an employer may make.

And it has a column that says whether it's OTE and a column whether it's also QE and whether it's either in or out. So that's a really good reference to point back to work out well what's in OTE, what's in QE and then also what is out of those components as well.

But it's important to note that super liability reporting you do today has not changed. The only change in STP is to report a QE amount. So, the super liability will still be that larger amount where they're under an award or an agreement or additional voluntary payments.

They sit under the suitable liability field as they do today. And that's the year-to-date report in STP. The QE, it's just the QE component. And then of course, the ATO would then expect to see 12% of that QE amount appear into the super fund as a Super Guarantee contribution.

I hope that's answered the question, Erin. I didn't feel the need to either add or correct anything that Luke or Katie have said on their questions. It's been very long.

On behalf of the ATO, if I must say, that's fantastic. t's where we're sourcing all our information from. So thanks for that, Shane. And yes, if you have any queries or any concerns, I love a cheat sheet.

So go along to the ATO website and have a look at that table.

So, Luke, as Shane mentioned earlier, the ATO Small Business Superannuation Clearing House, what a mouthful has now closed.

What payment options should employees use and can they schedule reoccurring direct debits, Efts or other automated payments?

Thanks, Erin. Yeah, that's a question that we're getting a fair bit as well. We have tens of thousands of businesses paying to us through the ATO Small Business Clearinghouse, which you rightly pointed out is now closed.

I think the key point is that employees need to use a SuperStream compliant solution, whether that's their payroll software or commercial clearing house, a fund that might provide an employer portal as well. Shane I think you mentioned earlier that there is a link on the ATO website that goes through some of the providers that are in market that people might want to consider which is good.

So that's a good source for AustralianSuper employers. The Employer Portal does offer that integrated clearinghouse solution and tools to help manage contributions and management. I think you know many employees use payroll software. You know some names that come to mind, Xero, QuickBooks and many others.

And they have an integrated payment solution that goes into that payroll process. Large and more complex businesses, we sometimes see them working with what we would call like a commercial clearing house provider and having a direct relationship with them so they can build out that to make their needs. And I, I guess the key message is what one size doesn't fit all.

It's good to do your research and choose an option that works best for you so that you can meet your Payday Super requirements and, you know, get things right and get it done on time. So that's all I'd say, Erin. Cheers. Thanks, Luke.

So, yeah, as well as making sure that you got all your data correct upfront, making sure that you choose a solution that fits your purposes for your business. All right, Katie, I'm going to go to you next.

And this one, I have seen so many different variations pop up in the Q&A alongside throughout the session. So what should an employer do when a new starter has no fund details, no stapled fund results, missing TFN or delayed SMSF information?

Thanks, Erin. So yeah, this is one of those areas we're getting things right up front. It's really going to help save a lot of time earlier. So, when you're in onboarding that new employee, you'll be collecting that choice of fund information. Checking staple fund details is now part of that same process as well. So, if you're finding a valid fund isn't available through either of those pathways.

So that's where your default fund will come into play. So good news, I've mentioned this before, that first contribution for a new employee or first contribution for a new fund as well. That's clear.

Want to put in there as well for an existing employee, you have that extended time for over 20 business days from payday. So it'll give you some additional time to work through onboarding verification, and you can really use that time proactively rather than waiting until that deadline approaches.

So, we're seeing a range of situations that will need a bit of a follow-ups. So things like missing tax for numbers, you know, it could be employees providing details for an account that's being closed or a fund that's merged or some of that fund information that can't be validated straight away.

So, for employers, one of the most important checks is confirming that that fund can accept contributions and if the details provided a complete and current. So, verifying those details through that superfund look up or it's sending that member verification request.

And if you have that employee who chooses a self-managed superfund, for example, you'll need to have that information such as electronic service address or ESA before contributions be made. Now as Jay mentioned earlier, if that information is not provided, that is not a valid fund choice.

So that's where you'll need to go back to that employee. And as we mentioned, if we don't get that information, that's where your default fund will come into effect. So, you'll be able to pay into your default fund. So, the earlier those checks happen, the easier it is to resolve before any of those issues pop up, before that first contribution is due as well. So, default fund is very important for this.

Thanks Katie. Yes, that's what I was taking away from that default fund very important. So that's another thing to put on our checklist. So, keeping in order of things.

Shane, I've got a triple barrelled one for you here and it's about late contributions. And what happens next. So firstly, are charges or penalties applied? Will the ATO contact the employer and are there any concessions for small businesses? Oh, a triple banger there, Erin. So, I'll probably come on that from a few angles there.

So obviously where an employer realises that they are late on contribution, the first advice from the ATO is pay that to the fund. As soon as you realise you're late, you don't need to pay it to the ATO.

You don't need to do anything at that point; you just need to pay the amount to the fund as soon as you can.

And we acknowledge these things can happen. Mistakes can happen and you know, there could be cash flow issues. But you just need to pay that to the fund as soon as you can. It then leans into probably a couple of different options for the employer from that point. There is now underpaid a super an option for an employer to lodge a voluntary disclosure statement with us and say that they were late.

They can say the amount they paid, you know, and, and when it was paid to the fund. And then obviously the ATO would could, may issue a Super Guarantee Charge assessment because of that disclosure.

Lodging a voluntary disclosure statement does not mean the ATO will raise an assessment. It just means you are notifying the ATO that there was a mistake and you've taken corrective action. That is just a tool the ATO uses in its compliance approach.

The other and of course lodging a voluntary disclosure statement does have a minimising impact on if the ATO did come at a later point and say that we noticed that payments were late or amount was unpaid.

The administrator, the admin uplift starts at a higher rate than if you had lodged a voluntary disclosure statement. Of course, the nominal interest is crystallised when you lodge a voluntary disclosure statement. So there are some tax benefits in lodging a voluntary disclosure statement.

The ATO in case we did come knocking at a later point from a compliance position. Now of course during the first year, the ATO has taken a very soft approach with compliance, and we'll only be dealing with those employers who are high risk, which means those are employers who have not paid and do sit in a high.

And pretty much not paying and are likely to have had broader issues as well. So that would be high risk from us, an employee who's a little bit late is by nature of the practical compliance got a low risk, our perspective. Wonderful. Thanks for that, Shane.

That sounds like a very measured approach. And what I'm taking away from that is, is get up to speed on what the changes are. If you try and do the right thing and if you figure out you've done the wrong thing, tell the ATO and you'll be treated a little bit more kindly. So we're actually right on time at the moment.

So that will be our last question for today. Our team will take some of those pre submitted questions and put some answers up on our FAQ on our Payday Super website as Luke mentioned earlier. So, Luke, Shane, Katie, thank you all for your time today for answering these questions being put in the spotlight.

And thank you to all our employers who have joined us for this information. I hope you found it useful and an emailed copy of the presentation will be sent out to all of those who have registered.

If you have any further questions about your own Payday Super arrangements, reach out to your partnership manager if you have one or our dedicated employer contact centre to help you. Thanks again for your time and have a great day.