On this page (10 sections)
- What changed on 1 July 2026
- What it looks like on your payslip and in your fund
- Who notices the change most
- Does paying super sooner make a difference?
- How to check your super is being paid
- If your super is late or missing
- Salary sacrifice under Payday Super
- Changing schools, going part-time or taking leave
- Myths about Payday Super
- FAQs
The short answer
From 1 July 2026, employers must pay your 12% super with every payday instead of quarterly, calculated on 'qualifying earnings'. For a NSW Step 3 teacher on $104,156 that's about $481 every fortnight. Contributions should reach your fund within days of each pay, so you can now check every fortnight that super has arrived.
- Applies to every employer: departments, Catholic systems, independent schools and agencies.
- Biggest change for casual relief teachers and teachers at schools that paid super quarterly.
- The annual maximum contribution base is $270,830, far above any teacher salary.
- Government Parental Leave Pay super is still paid annually by the ATO.
What changed on 1 July 2026
Source: ATO super guarantee page. The SG rate stays at 12%.
Before 1 July 2026
- Super Guarantee due quarterly, 28 days after each quarter ended
- Calculated on ordinary time earnings (OTE)
- Quarterly maximum contribution base ($62,500 a quarter in 2025–26)
- Up to four months between earning super and it reaching your fund
- Missing super could go unnoticed for most of a year
From 1 July 2026
- Super Guarantee paid with each payday
- Calculated on 'qualifying earnings'
- Annual maximum contribution base: $270,830 for 2026–27
- Contributions generally due in your fund within about seven business days of payday
- You can check every pay cycle
Qualifying earnings are, in practice, very close to the ordinary time earnings that super used to be worked out on, plus any amounts you salary sacrifice. That means your employer still can't reduce its 12% because you're salary sacrificing. For a classroom teacher, the 12% applies to your base salary and most ongoing allowances.
What it looks like on your payslip and in your fund
12% unless noted. Per fortnight = annual ÷ 26. ACT teachers who contribute 3% get a further 1%.
Your payslip should show the super amount and the fund it's paid to for each pay. Within a week or so, your fund's app or member portal should show a matching contribution, with 15% contributions tax deducted by the fund.
Who notices the change most
- Casual relief teachers: with several employers, it used to be hard to tell which school had paid and which hadn't. Now each pay should produce a contribution within days. See relief teacher tax and super.
- Teachers at independent and smaller schools whose payroll paid super quarterly will see more frequent, smaller contributions.
- Teachers changing schools mid-year: final pay super should no longer lag for months after you leave.
- Government school teachers: if your department already paid super each pay, the visible change is small.
- Defined benefit members: your scheme's rules still determine your benefit. Check scheme communications for any changes to how employer contributions are reported.
Does paying super sooner make a difference?
A little, and it adds up over a career. Money that reaches your fund weeks earlier is invested weeks earlier. The bigger benefit is protection: unpaid super is spotted within a pay cycle or two, not a year later when the employer may be in trouble.
Illustration: NSW Step 3 teacher's super arriving about six weeks earlier on average
- Employer super a year
- $12,499
- Average extra time invested
- About 45 days
- Assumed investment return (illustration only)
- 7% a year
- Extra earnings in a year
- About $108
Hypothetical return, for illustration. Actual returns vary and can be negative. Use the super calculator for your own projection.
Free calculator
Teacher super calculator
Project your super at retirement from your state, step, FTE and any salary sacrifice.
Project my superHow to check your super is being paid
A five-minute check each term
- 1
Look at your payslip
Find the super line. It should be about 12% of your gross salary for the pay (12.5% in the ACT and 12.75% in Queensland state schools). Salary sacrifice shows separately.
- 2
Open your fund app
Contributions should appear within roughly a week of payday. Check the employer name and the amount.
- 3
Match a few pays
Pick three pays from the term and tick them off against fund contributions. Casual teachers should do this for each employer.
- 4
Check your ATO record
In myGov, your ATO account shows super contributions reported by funds. It's useful if you have more than one fund.
- 5
Act on gaps quickly
If a contribution is missing after two weeks, contact payroll first. If it isn't fixed, you can report unpaid super to the ATO online.
If your super is late or missing
What to do
- Confirm the fund details your employer holds (fund name, USI, member number)
- Ask payroll for the date the contribution was sent and a reference number
- Ask your fund whether it received and rejected a payment (wrong member number is common)
- Keep copies of payslips showing super was due
- If it's still unpaid, lodge an unpaid super enquiry with the ATO through myGov
- Union members can also ask their union for help, especially at independent schools
Salary sacrifice under Payday Super
If you salary sacrifice, your extra contributions also go in each payday. The 12% Super Guarantee is worked out on your earnings including the sacrificed amount, so sacrificing doesn't reduce what your employer pays. Watch the $32,500 concessional cap if you're a senior teacher or principal. See salary sacrifice super for teachers.
Changing schools, going part-time or taking leave
Payday Super ties your super to each pay, so anything that changes your pay changes your super in the same fortnight. That makes it easier to see the cost of career decisions as they happen.
General guidance. Your agreement and your employer's payroll rules decide the detail.
Myths about Payday Super
- 'My super rate went up.' No. The Super Guarantee rate is 12% in both 2025–26 and 2026–27. Payday Super changes timing, not the rate.
- 'Super now comes out of my pay.' No. It's still paid on top of salary. Your net pay is unaffected.
- 'I don't need to check any more.' The opposite. Frequent payments make gaps easier to spot, but only if you look.
- 'It only matters for private schools.' Every employer is covered, including state departments and Catholic systems, as well as the agencies that employ many relief teachers.
- 'My parental leave super will now come each fortnight.' Not for government Parental Leave Pay: the ATO still pays that super annually.
If you have more than one fund after moving schools or states, consolidating can stop you paying two sets of fees, but check insurance and any defined benefit rights before you roll anything over. See teacher superannuation explained.
Frequently asked questions
What is Payday Super?
When did Payday Super start?
Does Payday Super change how much super teachers get?
How soon should super reach my fund?
What are qualifying earnings?
What should I do if my super hasn't been paid?
Is the maximum contribution base still quarterly?
Sources we checked · last verified 2026-10-16
About this page
Written and fact-checked by the TeacherPay AU editorial team against the enterprise agreements, awards and official pages listed in the sources. It is general information, not personal financial, tax or legal advice. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it, usually within a day. See our editorial policy and how we calculate.
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