What changes on 1 July 2026?
Payday Super is the most significant change to the Superannuation Guarantee since it began in 1992. Super stops being a quarterly payment and becomes part of every pay run: the contribution must be received by the employee’s fund within 7 business days of payday. The clock measures to receipt, not to when you send it, and clearing houses can take one to three business days to transmit — so the practical window is tighter than it looks.
Why this lands harder on labour hire
Most labour hire businesses run weekly or fortnightly payroll. Under the old quarterly system, a wrong timesheet, a disputed shift, or a supervisor sign-off that never landed could be fixed before the next quarterly deadline. That slack is gone. Every run is now a super event with a hard, short clock, and weekly runs mean weekly exposure.
The hours are where the risk is
Payday Super calculates on the hours you report — every week, now. It says nothing about whether your record of those hours will hold up if a pay run is ever challenged.
That is the gap the Workforce Ledger Evidentiary Standard (WLES) addresses: hours verified at the point of work, approved by the supervisor, and sealed into a tamper-evident record before payroll. Flostruction does not calculate wages, award entitlements, tax, or superannuation — it makes the hours those systems start from verifiable.
Payday Super and labour hire: FAQ
How does Payday Super affect labour hire businesses?
From 1 July 2026, super must be paid on every pay run rather than quarterly, with contributions received by the employee’s fund within 7 business days of payday. Labour hire businesses typically run weekly or fortnightly payroll, so each run becomes a super event with a hard, short deadline — and the super is calculated on the worked hours feeding that run.
When does Payday Super start?
Payday Super starts on 1 July 2026 and applies to all employers, with no phase-in. It is legislated under the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Act 2025.
Does Payday Super apply to labour hire contractors?
It applies to employers with Superannuation Guarantee obligations, which can include independent contractors paid mainly for their labour — a common arrangement in construction labour hire. If you pay super for a worker today, from 1 July 2026 you pay it on payday.
What happens if the worked hours are wrong?
Super is calculated on paid earnings, which come from worked hours. If the hours are wrong, the super is wrong, and underpaid super can trigger the Super Guarantee Charge — not tax deductible, with penalties that can reach 200 percent and Director Penalty Notices. Correcting hours after the money has moved is slower and costlier than getting them right beforehand.
Sources: Australian Taxation Office, Payday Super; Fair Work Ombudsman, Payday Super: new rules starting 1 July 2026.