Your super is your money: How to check it’s being paid.

Your super is your money: How to check it’s being paid.

A practical guide for workers before Payday Super starts on 1 July 2026

Superannuation is not a bonus or a nice extra. It is part of your employment entitlement and part of your long-term financial future. If your employer is required to pay super for you, that money belongs in your nominated super fund.

The challenge is that many workers only check super once a year, or only look at the super amount shown on their payslip, without confirming whether the money actually reached their fund. That needs to change.

From 1 July 2026, Payday Super will require employers to pay superannuation contributions at the same time they pay wages, with contributions reaching the employee’s nominated super fund within 7 business days. This reform is designed to make unpaid or late super easier to identify and harder to ignore.

You do not need to wait until Payday Super starts. You can check your super now.

Why this matters

Super is your money. If it is not paid, is paid late, or is paid to the wrong fund, your retirement savings can be affected over time. For casual, shift, production, warehouse and labour hire workers who move between jobs or work variable hours, missed super can be easier to overlook.

Most employers do the right thing, but payroll mistakes can happen. Fund details can be wrong. Payments can fail. Amounts can be listed on a payslip before they have actually landed in the fund. That is why workers should check the numbers, not just assume everything is correct.

Check your super fund first

Log in to your super fund account and check the employer contributions that have actually been received. Look at the dates, amounts and employer name.

Check ATO online services through myGov. This can help you see super information reported to the ATO and find any lost or multiple super accounts.

Compare contributions against your payslips. Your payslips should show super contribution information, but the key question is whether the money has actually reached your fund.

Do a quick 12% sense check. For the current financial year, the Super Guarantee rate is 12%. As a rough check, take your ordinary time earnings for the year and multiply that amount by 12%.

Quick super sense check
Ordinary time earnings for the financial year x 12% = approximate super that should be paid.

Example: $45,000 x 12% = $5,400

Important: this is a practical sense check, not a final legal calculation. Super is generally calculated on ordinary time earnings until 30 June 2026. From 1 July 2026, the Payday Super rules use qualifying earnings for SG and SGC purposes.

If the amount in your super fund is much lower than expected, do not ignore it. There may be a reasonable explanation, such as quarterly payment timing, salary sacrifice, overtime treatment, fund processing delays, a correction still being processed or a payment made to another fund. However, you should ask the question and get a clear answer.

Payroll checks

Super is important, but it is only one part of employment compliance. If you work through a labour hire agency, you can also check the following items using your payslips, rosters, timesheets, super account and other records.

What to do if something looks wrong

Start by gathering your records: your recent payslips, your super fund transaction history, your roster, timesheet or clock-in records, your income statement or year-to-date earnings summary, and your nominated super fund details.

Then contact your employer or payroll team. Keep it simple and specific:

A good employer should be able to explain what has been paid, when it was paid, which fund it went to, and whether any correction is required. If there is an error, ask when it will be fixed and keep a written record of the response.

When to report it

If your employer cannot explain the issue, does not respond, refuses to fix it, or you believe your super has not been paid correctly, you can report unpaid, late or incorrectly paid super to the ATO.

The ATO has an online tool for reporting unpaid super contributions from your employer. You can use it where your employer has not paid your super, has paid it late, or has paid it to the wrong fund.moneysmart.gov

Payday Super changes – 1st July 2026

Under the current system, employers generally pay super at least quarterly. That means there can be a delay between when you earn wages and when super appears in your fund.

From 1 July 2026, Payday Super changes that rhythm. Super will need to move much closer to payday, which should make it easier for workers to see whether contributions are being made regularly. For workers paid weekly or fortnightly, you should expect super contributions to appear much more frequently than they do under the quarterly system, allowing for processing time and the 7 business day receipt rule.

Final message

Your super is your money. Do not assume it has been paid just because it appears on your payslip. Log in, check your fund, compare the numbers and raise the issue if something does not look right.

If your employer or labour hire agency has made a mistake, give them the chance to explain and correct it. If they cannot or will not respond, report unresolved unpaid, late or wrong-fund super concerns to the ATO. Employers can face serious consequences for unpaid, late or incorrectly paid super, and workers should not be left out of pocket because super obligations were not handled properly.

Quick checks

• Check your super fund account at least quarterly now, and more frequently from 1 July 2026.

• Keep your payslips and compare them against your super fund transactions.

• Check your payslip is issued each pay cycle and shows the correct employer name and ABN.

• Compare your paid hours against your roster, timesheet or clock-in records

• Check your hourly rate, casual loading, shift penalties and overtime are being calculated correctly.

• Use 12% of ordinary time earnings as a quick super sense check for the current financial year.

• Raise concerns with your employer or payroll team in writing.

• Report unresolved unpaid, late or wrong-fund super concerns to the ATO.

Sources

ATO: About Payday Super

ATO: Making super payments under Payday Super

ATO: Super Guarantee rates and ordinary time earnings

ATO: Report unpaid super contributions from my employer

Fair Work Ombudsman: Pay slips

Fair Work Ombudsman: Record-keeping and pay slips fact sheet

Fair Work Ombudsman: Payday Super: New rules starting 1 July 2026

Business.gov.au: Superannuation