In a move to combat unpaid or underpaid super, the Albanese Government has announced that employers will be required to pay super in line with workers’ pay days, rather than once a quarter.
The FSU regularly assists members whose employers have failed to pay their correct super contributions. And with contributions only paid every three months at many workplaces, it can be difficult for employees to keep track of their super and ensure they’re being paid correctly.
It’s a problem that costs 2.8 million Australians about $5.1 billion a year, according to a Super Members Council report. That can leave an average worker $30,000 worse off in super when they retire.
This move to align super with wages – which will commence from 1 July 2026 – will give workers more power and oversight, reduce super theft, and deliver higher compound interest returns.
FSU member Karina agreed, adding that she hoped payday super would serve as a major attitude shift for employers.
“I’m hoping the increased attention on the issue will mean increased education for employers,” Karina said.
“Remembering that super is part of a staff member’s wage will hopefully mean employers will give it the same respect as a wage and pay it promptly.”
Karina knows a lot about unpaid super – as an employee in the Unpaid Super team at Industry Fund Services (IFS), she helps identify employers who appear to have gaps in their super payments and works with those employers to address these gaps.
“You’d be surprised by the number of employers who are behind in their super,” Karina said.
“I’ve been lucky to work for organisations who paid my super at the same time as my wage, so when I started working at IFS I was shocked that there are so many who don’t.
“Some of the cases that come to us aren’t actually unpaid, there have just been administrative errors when making payment, which need a conversation with the employer to straighten out.
“In other cases that are unpaid, a lot of employers don’t seem to view super as part of their staff’s wage – they think it’s just another bill like tax that they can put off, and they’re not thinking about the long term consequences for their staff.”
In many cases, these long-term consequences are significant. Karina said that $26,000 recovered in unpaid super for a 33-year-old worker can add over $300,000 to their super balance by the time they retire.
“The time that super is unpaid is time that their staff are not earning interest on that money, which goes towards their retirement,” Karina explained.
“Also, if they delay paying the super for a prolonged period, it can impact any insurance cover their staff have through their super.
“It seems like people, whether employers or employees, don’t think about their super much until they are approaching retirement age.
“But in reality, it’s what happens with your super at an early age that can have the biggest impact.”
It’s these significant impacts that the government’s new legislative changes hope to address, and the FSU looks forward to their implementation from mid-2026.
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