With Payday Super just over one week away, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has issued a final checklist for superannuation funds.
Under the new reforms, employers will be required to pay super contributions at the same time as wages rather than quarterly.
Ahead of 1 July, the ATO urged funds to ensure they are:
- Meet the three-day allocation and return requirement
- Receive payments via the New Payments Platform (NPP)
- Send contribution transaction error responses (CTER) messages when rejecting a contribution
- Get reporting right by ensuring member account attribute service (MAAS) and member account transaction service (MATS) data reported to us is accurate.
They also need to have plans to support SuperStream contributions as a core part of the processes which will mean responding to member verification requests within 24 hours.
After 1 July 2026, funds will need to use the updated Fund Validation Service (FVS) to update their unique superannuation identifier (USI) details.
Emma Rosenzweig, deputy commissioner for Payday Super at the ATO, said: “For super funds, your focus needs to be on confirming your end-to-end arrangements, testing your systems and ensuring you are ready.
“APRA and I jointly wrote to RSE licensees setting out our shared expectations for readiness from day one of Payday Super, and the critical role super funds have in the implementation of this generational change to Australia’s super system.”
Earlier this month, an Employment Hero survey of 725 Australian businesses found two in five employers had either not reviewed or were unsure of the cash flow impact of payday super ahead of its commencement on 1 July 2026. Employer concerns centred on ensuring contributions reached employees’ superannuation accounts within the required timeframe.
Rob Dunn, general manager, payments, superannuation and benefits at Employment Hero, said: “This is a huge change for every single business and the preparation window is closing fast. Our modelling showed businesses needs an average of $124,000 in additional working capital, and with inflation, rising costs and the upcoming ban of card surcharges, many businesses face a confluence of factors that could considerably impact their cashflow.”
