Since 2017, the ATO has been collecting employee payslips to manage to national tax gap. The most recent National ATO Audit Report concluded that many employers haven’t been paying superannuation to their employees on time or at all.
Because of reports of large amounts of unpaid Super Guarantee (SG) in the Australian economy and new ATO data matching tools, we are seeing a heightened focus on SG audit activity. The government is focusing on recovering unpaid SG.
What has changed?
- The ATO is better placed to electronically track your SG compliance. They match data received from employee’s superfunds and payroll lodgements. This means the ATO can track your SG payments and therefore your SG compliance.
- The ATO has dramatically increased this issue of penalties for non-compliance that come with the financial consequence.
What is your SG Obligation
SG is the minimum super obligation you pay into your employees selected superannuation account each quarter. SG is calculated on your employees Ordinary Times Earnings (normal contract hours) at a current rate of 12%.
Super is payable to the employee’s super fund now at the same time as the employee is paid. This is a new legislation change since July 1 2026, known as Payday Super.
The ATO will begin SG matching compliance checks and issuing a SG Charges to employers who have been late in paying super or who are not paying superannuation at all.
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