Payday Super Starts 1 July 2026: What Australian Accounting Firms Should Be Communicating Now

Payday super starts on 1 July 2026. Most of your clients do not know what it means, have not updated their payroll systems, and have not been told by anyone that the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House closes permanently on 30 June 2026.

Their accountant has not told them yet either, and that is the gap this post is about.

The accounting firms that close that gap before 1 July will be remembered as the ones that were paying attention when it mattered.

What Is Payday Super and Why Does It Matter to Your Clients?

From 1 July 2026, every Australian employer must pay their employees’ super guarantee on each payday, at the same time as salary and wages, rather than quarterly. A contribution is on time if it is received by the employee’s super fund within 7 business days after paying the employee.

A key technical change is the introduction of qualifying earnings, which replaces ordinary time earnings as the basis for calculating super guarantee contributions. The practical implication is that payroll software needs updating, pay codes need remapping, and the quarterly float that many business owners have relied on for cash flow planning disappears entirely.

The ATO is advising employers to start reviewing their payroll systems and business processes now, including speaking with their accountant or registered tax professional ahead of the 1 July changes. That advisory role belongs to your firm. If your clients are not hearing this from you, they are not hearing it at all.

What Your Clients Are Not Telling You

Most business owners have heard the phrase “payday super” somewhere. Few of them understand what it requires in practice. Three specific issues are catching employers off guard right now.

The ATO Small Business Superannuation Clearing House, used by around 200,000 employers to meet their super obligations, is closing permanently from 1 July 2026. If your clients are still using it, transitioning is not optional and time is nearly up.

Under the expanded qualifying earnings definition, certain contractors, particularly those paid mainly for their labour, are captured under employer super guarantee obligations. A client who pays a regular contractor and assumes they are exempt may be wrong.

Employers will also need to report the year-to-date super liability for each employee under Single Touch Payroll, and STP pay codes need to be correctly remapped before 1 July. This is not something that can be done on 1 July. It needs to happen before.

What to Send and What the Conversation Opens

The communication case here is straightforward. Payday super is mandatory, it starts in weeks, and there are three specific actions your clients need to take before 30 June. That is an email most practices could send today.

The more important point is what that communication opens. A client who receives a clear, plain-English explanation of payday super from their accountant before it becomes a compliance problem has just been reminded of exactly why they need an accountant — not for the annual return, but for this. For the regulatory changes that arrive without warning and carry penalties if they are missed.

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Act 2025 was passed by Parliament and this measure is now law. There is no ambiguity about whether it is happening, and there is only a question of whether your clients hear about it from you or from a competitor who got there first.

Three Things Every AU Accounting Firm Should Send Before 30 June

The brief for client communication on payday super covers three points. Keep it plain. Keep it short. Send it this week.

What is changing

Super moves from quarterly to payday from 1 July 2026. Each payment must reach the employee’s super fund within 7 business days. Qualifying earnings replaces ordinary time earnings as the calculation basis.

What clients need to do now

Check payroll software is updated and STP pay codes are remapped before 1 July. If they use the ATO Small Business Superannuation Clearing House, they need a replacement before it closes on 30 June. Review any contractor arrangements that may fall under the expanded qualifying earnings definition.

What the penalty is for getting it wrong

The super guarantee charge applies to late or underpaid contributions and is not tax-deductible. The ATO has confirmed it will use data matching to enforce compliance from 1 July 2026. Missing payments is not a minor administrative issue under the new regime.

How to Send This Without Writing It From Scratch

The obstacle for most small accounting firms is not awareness. It is time. Writing a technically accurate, plain-English article on qualifying earnings, STP remapping, and SBSCH transition in the next three weeks is not a realistic ask on top of EOFY workload.

BOMA’s content library contains hundreds of articles written by chartered accountants and financial specialists, localised specifically for Australian legislation and updated weekly as the regulatory picture develops. Every article is available in three formats; email, social media post, and website blog article all formatted for multi-channel publishing in a single step.

An Australian accounting firm can send a clear, technically accurate payday super client communication in the time it takes to choose the article and schedule the send. The communication that protects your client relationships before 1 July is already written.

Browse the BOMA content library at bomamarketing.com/features/content-libraries/

Frequently Asked Questions

What is payday super and when does it start?

Payday super requires Australian employers to pay super guarantee contributions on each payday rather than quarterly. It is mandatory from 1 July 2026. Contributions must reach the employee’s super fund within 7 business days of the payday, and the calculation basis changes from ordinary time earnings to qualifying earnings.

What is closing on 30 June 2026 that employers need to know about?

The ATO Small Business Superannuation Clearing House, used by around 200,000 employers to meet their super obligations, closes permanently on 30 June 2026. Employers still using it must transition to an alternative clearing house before that date or they will have no mechanism to make compliant payments from 1 July.

Do payday super rules apply to contractors?

Under the expanded qualifying earnings definition, certain contractors paid mainly for their labour are captured under employer super guarantee obligations. Businesses that pay regular contractors should review their arrangements before 1 July to confirm whether super obligations apply.

Why should accounting firms be communicating payday super to clients now?

Clients need to update payroll software, remap STP pay codes, and transition away from the ATO clearing house before 30 June. These are not 1 July tasks. The accounting firms that communicate this clearly before the deadline demonstrate the kind of proactive advisory value that retains clients for years.

What happens if an employer misses a payday super payment?