Superannuation
Work out, record and pay super correctly - choice of fund, stapled funds, contribution caps and Payday Super due dates.
Overview
Mployr calculates Super Guarantee automatically on each pay run and records a contribution per employee per pay period, each with the fund it's payable to and the date it's due. This guide covers how the fund is chosen and how the amount is worked out. For running the pay run itself, see the Payroll guide.
The Super Guarantee Rate
Super Guarantee is charged at the rate set for the financial year - 12% for 2026-27 - on ordinary time earnings (OTE).
An employee can be set to a higher rate than the statutory minimum. The stored per-employee rate acts as a floor: Mployr pays the greater of that rate and the legislated Super Guarantee rate, so an employee on an agreed 13% keeps it, and an employee left on an old lower figure is still topped up to the legal minimum.
Which Fund Gets Paid
Choice-of-fund rules run as a waterfall, and Mployr follows the same order:
Recording an Employee's Fund
- Add the fund - search the fund product list rather than typing a USI by hand
- Record their member number
Requesting a Stapled Fund
Where a new starter hasn't chosen a fund:
- Submit a request to the ATO
- When the ATO responds, the fund it returns is recorded as the employee's fund automatically, so the next pay run resolves to it at step 1
Reaching your employer default without having made a stapled-fund request is flagged as a compliance warning on the pay run - the request is the step that makes the default lawful.
Setting Your Default Fund
Your nominated default fund is configured in payroll settings - its name, USI, ABN and product. Setting a default is gated on the fund actually being resolvable, so you can't nominate something contributions can't be paid into.
When Nobody Has a Fund
If an employee has no fund and your business has nominated no default, that's a compliance gap, not "no super owing". The pay run blocks rather than quietly producing a payslip with no contribution behind it.
How Much Is Payable
Ordinary Time Earnings
Super is charged on OTE. Leave loading and long service leave are treated as OTE.
The Maximum Contribution Base
There's a cap on the earnings a single employer must pay super on. From 2026-27 the maximum contribution base is assessed annually - $270,830 for the year - rather than per quarter, following the Payday Super changes. Mployr applies the cap against the year, not the pay period.
The Quarter-to-Date Cap
Where a per-period cap applies, it's assessed against cumulative quarter-to-date OTE rather than each pay period in isolation, so a large one-off payment in a single period doesn't over- or under-cap the quarter.
Payday Super
From 1 July 2026, super must be paid shortly after each payday rather than quarterly. Mployr records a due date against every contribution as the pay run is finalised, so you can see what's payable and by when rather than working it out from a calendar.
Payslips show each contribution with its due date.
Paying Super
- Review contributions by fund and by due date
- Generate the clearing house file
- Submit the payment
- Keep the confirmation against the period
Frequently asked questions
An employee's payslip shows super but no fund
That means contributions couldn't be resolved to a destination. Record the employee's chosen fund, or request their stapled fund from the ATO, or nominate a business default - in that order of preference. Until one exists, the pay run won't finalise.
Do I have to request a stapled fund for everyone?
No - only where the employee hasn't chosen a fund themselves. If they've nominated a fund, that's step 1 of the waterfall and you're done. The stapled-fund request is what you must do before falling back to your own default.
An employee wants more than 12% super
Set their per-employee super rate higher. Mployr always pays the greater of the employee's rate and the statutory rate, so their agreed rate is honoured and can never drop them below the legal minimum.
Why is super capped for my highest earner?
The maximum contribution base limits the earnings a single employer must pay super on - $270,830 for 2026-27, assessed annually. Above that, no further Super Guarantee is compulsory for that employee from you.
When is super actually due now?
Under Payday Super, shortly after each payday rather than quarterly. Every contribution Mployr records carries its own due date, visible on the payslip and in the super view.
Tips
- Collect fund details during onboarding - it's far easier than chasing them at the first pay run
- Make the stapled-fund request as soon as a starter joins without a fund
- Check the super view by due date, not just by fund, now that Payday Super applies
- Review employees on non-standard super rates each July, when the statutory rate can move
- Keep clearing house confirmations with the period they relate to