Payday super – exposure draft - The Treasury - April 2025
In April 2025, The Salvation Army provided a submission to the Treasury in response to the Payday super – exposure draft. Payday super will require employers pay their employees’ super guarantee at the same time as their salary and wages and outlines stronger penalties for employers who fail to pay super on time.
In this submission, we outline the importance of super being paid correctly and the barriers community members face when engaging with their super and recovering unpaid super. We highlight the experiences of community members who have been impacted by unpaid super and received financial counselling through our Moneycare service. Our financial counsellors do not provide investment advice and instead interact with super through providing advice and support to community members who may be eligible to apply for early release of their super or make a claim on insurances held within their super.
This submission covers:
- Harm employees experience from late and unpaid super. When things go wrong, having access to expected super and insurances through super is vital. Financial hardship and compassionate grounds for early super release are a lifeline for many people experiencing hardship such as unemployment, terminal illness, disability, or the death of a loved one.
- Difficulties employees face to engaging with their super. For employees to feel empowered to engage with their super, it is essential that the information available to them is presented in the most accessible way possible. Whilst Payday Super will enhance employee understanding of employer contributions and allow for more frequent and streamlined review, confirmation of payment, and rectification, more can and must be done to support employees to engage with their super through accessible systems.
- Barriers to reporting and recovering unpaid super. Current processes for uncovering, reporting and pursuing unpaid super are heavily reliant on the employee. Many personal circumstances can lead to an employee being unaware of or apprehensive to pursue their super entitlements. It is essential that all employers are equally held accountable for unpaid super and that all employees, regardless of their circumstances, receive the super they are entitled to.
Payday super will be in effect from the 1st of July 2026.