Blog - Kookaburra Veterinary Employment

From 1 July 2026 employers must pay superannuation contributions on payday, with funds received by the employee’s super fund within seven business days.

At the moment, employers need to pay employees’ super contributions at least every 3 months and into the employee’s nominated account.
Under the new rules, employers will need to pay employees’ super contributions at the same time they pay their salary or wages so that the contributions reach the employees’ nominated account within 7 business days. There are some exceptions, for example the first super contribution for a new employee will need to be made within 20 business days of the salary or wages being paid.

Super guarantee is calculated as 12% of QE (Qualifying Earnings), which includes OTE (Ordinary Time Earnings) and other payments. The ATO is the primary enforcement agency for the compulsory super guarantee. The ATO is responsible for implementing the new rules and has prepared a fact sheet about the changes.

As a reminder about who should be receiving Super payments from their employer, in Australia, Employers must pay Super (the Super Guarantee) for

• employees 18 years+
• employees under 18 years working more than 30 hours a week.
• some contractors paid primarily for labour, even if they have an ABN

Temporary residents (eg. working holiday makers) are also eligible for superannuation.

For more information about Superannuation in Australia, see our previous article published in December 2025 – Superannuation – Australia.

Author:
Wendy Nathan
Kookaburra Veterinary Employment

This information includes the views and opinions of Kookaburra Veterinary Employment and is of a general nature only. Factual information is believed to be correct at the time of writing, however, should not be relied upon and any person should confirm details with the relevant authorities and through their own research prior to acting on any of the suggestions in this article.