Super Guarantee Explained
What the 12% SG rate means, when your employer must pay it, how to check you are being paid correctly, and what changes on 1 July 2026.
General information and estimates only — not financial, tax, or legal advice. Always verify with a licensed adviser or the ATO.
Step 1.What the Super Guarantee Is and Why It Exists
The Superannuation Guarantee (SG) is the compulsory percentage of your ordinary time earnings that your employer must pay into a super fund on your behalf. It was introduced in 1992 at 3% and has climbed in legislated steps to its current rate. The policy goal is straightforward — reduce long-term reliance on the Age Pension by forcing retirement saving during working years. It is your money, not your employer's goodwill. You cannot opt out, your employer cannot substitute it for wages, and it must go into a complying fund. For most Australians, SG contributions compound into the largest single asset they will ever own, often larger than their house.
Step 2.The Current 12% SG Rate and What Counts as Ordinary Time Earnings
From 1 July 2025, the SG rate is locked at 12% of ordinary time earnings (OTE). OTE is the amount you earn for ordinary hours of work, which includes your base salary, shift loadings, commissions, and most bonuses. It does not include overtime worked outside your ordinary hours. On a $90,000 base salary, that is $10,800 per year in compulsory super on top of your wages. Casual workers are entitled to SG on every dollar of OTE regardless of hours worked — the old $450 minimum monthly threshold was abolished on 1 July 2022. If you are 18 or over (or under 18 and work more than 30 hours a week), you are entitled to SG.
Step 3.When Your Employer Must Pay Super — Payday Super From 1 July 2026
Today, employers only have to pay SG quarterly, by 28 days after the end of each quarter. That changes on 1 July 2026 when Payday Super takes effect. From that date, employers must pay your super at the same time as your wages — within seven days of each pay cycle. This is one of the biggest structural super reforms in a decade and was introduced because the ATO estimated employers were underpaying around $3.6 billion in SG every year, often because workers could not see contributions until months later. Payday Super closes that visibility gap and gives the ATO real-time data to chase non-payment. If you change jobs after 1 July 2026, always check super hits your fund within a week of your first payday.
Step 4.How to Check Your Employer Is Paying You Correctly
Do not assume your payslip is the truth. Payslips show what your employer has accrued, not what they have actually deposited with your fund. Log into your super fund portal (or myGov, which aggregates all your super accounts) and check the 'transactions' or 'contributions' tab. You should see employer contributions landing each quarter (or each pay cycle from July 2026). Cross-check the dollar amount against your gross pay times 12%. If contributions are missing or wrong, first raise it with your employer in writing. If that does not resolve it, report it to the ATO via their 'Report unpaid super' online tool — the ATO has strong recovery powers including the Superannuation Guarantee Charge (SGC), which hits the employer with interest and penalties.
Step 5.What to Do If Your Employer Underpays or Misses Super
Unpaid super is more common than people realise, especially in hospitality, construction, and among small business employers in financial distress. Your first step is to gather evidence — payslips, bank statements, and super fund records showing the gap. Give your employer written notice of the shortfall and a reasonable time to fix it. If they do not, lodge a report with the ATO. The ATO can issue an SGC assessment that forces the employer to pay the shortfall plus interest, plus an admin penalty, and none of the SGC is tax deductible for the employer. If your employer becomes insolvent, you can claim unpaid super through the Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) program for most entitlements, though super recovery from FEG is more limited than wages.
Step 6.Beyond the SG — Concessional Caps and Voluntary Contributions
The 12% SG is only one way money flows into super. You can also add voluntary concessional contributions — most commonly through salary sacrifice or personal deductible contributions — up to a total concessional cap of $30,000 per year for FY2025-26 (including your employer SG). Going over the cap triggers excess contributions tax. Non-concessional contributions (after-tax money) have a separate $120,000 annual cap. If you have not used your full concessional cap in prior years and your total super balance is under $500,000, you may be able to carry forward unused cap from the previous five financial years — a powerful catch-up strategy for people who have taken time out of the workforce. Always check your ATO online services portal for your exact available cap.
Useful Tools
- Superannuation Calculator — project your retirement balance
- Salary Sacrifice Calculator — see your tax saving at each contribution level
- Division 293 Calculator — extra tax for high income earners
Resources
- ATO — Super guarantee percentage
- ATO — Report unpaid super (online tool)
- ASIC MoneySmart — Super contributions