Do you trust your employer is paying you the right amount of superannuation?
Under the current super rules, your employer is required to make contributions to your super account on a regular basis.
But many aren’t.
Data published by ABC business reporter Nassim Khadem on Wednesday morning shows there is up to $5.1 billion of unpaid super each year.
Here are some tips on how to check if your employer is paying your super correctly.
Who is entitled to super?
According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, if you’re over 18 and an employee.
Whether working full-time, part-time or casually, you’re entitled to super.
If you’re under 18 but work for more than 30 hours a week, you’re entitled to super.
Temporary residents are also eligible for super.
For a long time, people earning less than $450 a month from a single employer weren’t entitled to super. But this rule changed on July 1, 2022.
How to check your employer is paying your super
You can check your employer is paying your super by:
- Using ATO online services through myGov or the ATO app to see the contributions your employer has made
- Contacting your employer to ask how much they have paid and to which fund
- Calling your super fund directly or looking at your member statement
Keep in mind that a super payment appearing on your pay slip doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting the money.
What can I do if my employer is not paying super guarantee contributions?
Lodge an inquiry with the ATO using its online tool.
The ATO can check to see, in real-time, whether the employer has paid your super or not.
If not, the ATO can hit the employer with a fine on top of the super owed.
In 2022-23, the ATO received about 23,300 employee notifications of unpaid super.
There are also organisations you can contact for help if you think that you’ve been underpaid super, such as:
- your relevant trade union
- workplace legal centres, such as JobWatch and Young Workers Legal Centre
- the Fair Work Ombudsman
When should super be paid?
Your employer must pay its Super Guarantee (SG) contributions at least four times a year.
Some employers do, however, choose to make super contributions more regularly.
Here are the quarterly super payment due dates:
| Quarter | Period | Payment due date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | July 1 – September 30 | October 28 |
| 2 | October 1 – December 31 | January 28 |
| 3 | January 1 – March 31 | April 28 |
| 4 | April 1 – June 30 | July 28 |
From July 1, 2026, all Australian employers will be required to pay their employees’ super at the same time as their salary and wages.
By switching to payday super, a 25-year-old median income earner currently receiving their super quarterly and wages fortnightly, could be about $6,000 or 1.5 per cent better off at retirement, according to Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones.
The change is expected to:
- Make it clear to workers when super is owed by their boss
- Give the ATO better visibility to chase down unpaid super in real-time
Legislation is yet to be introduced to parliament.
Who pays superannuation?
Under the law, employers must contribute at least 11.5 per cent of their employees’ ordinary time earnings towards super.
This amount is scheduled to increase by 0.5 per cent in July 2025.
The ATO has a useful calculator to work out exactly how much super your employer needs to pay you.