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Have you noticed how the biggest changes in business often arrive quietly? On 1 July 2026, one of the most significant shifts to Australia’s superannuation system in decades came into effect. It is called Payday Super and it deserves a place near the top of every Australian business owner’s agenda.

In a nutshell, employers must now pay their employees’ super guarantee every payday, rather than quarterly. Contributions must be received by the employee’s super fund within 7 business days of payday, with some limited exceptions such as for new employees. The rate remains 12 per cent, but it is now calculated on ‘qualifying earnings’, a new term that brings together ordinary time earnings, commissions and salary sacrifice amounts.

So why the change? When Payday Super was announced in the 2023 Federal Budget, Treasury estimated employees missed out on $3.4 billion of super entitlements in the 2019 to 2020 financial year alone. Paying super with wages means employees can see quickly if something is missing. It also means the ATO can see it too, with employers now reporting both qualifying earnings and super liability through Single Touch Payroll.

• $3.4bn – super entitlements missed in FY2019–20
• 52 vs 4 – super payment events a year on weekly payroll
• 7 days – business-day window for funds to receive contributions

The cash flow reality

For years, businesses have enjoyed a quiet luxury. Super accrued each pay run but did not leave the bank account until 28 days after the end of the quarter. For a business paying wages weekly, that could mean holding up to four months of super as working capital.

That buffer is now gone. If payroll is weekly, it means 52 super payment events a year instead of 4. The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House closed for good on 30 June 2026, so employers relying on it have had to move to new payment channels.

The consequences of missing the deadline have sharpened as well. The new super guarantee charge is assessed by the ATO rather than self assessed, includes interest that compounds daily plus an administrative uplift amount, with additional penalties of 25 or 50 per cent of any unpaid charge. Interestingly, the charge is now tax deductible, but no business wants to be paying it.

The flow-on effect to your debtors

Here is the part I would encourage every credit manager and CFO to think carefully about. Whilst your own business may be well prepared, what about your customers?

Any business that was quietly using accrued super as free working capital has just lost that facility. For well run businesses, this is a timing adjustment. For marginal operators already juggling the ATO, their landlord and their suppliers, it removes one more place to hide. With company insolvency numbers remaining elevated, we would expect Payday Super to add real pressure to businesses that were already stretched.

The domino effect of a struggling customer can quickly reach your own debtor’s ledger, which is quite often the largest asset within your balance sheet and can be the most volatile.

So where does trade credit insurance fit in?

Many businesses insure their buildings, machinery, cars etc. without a second thought, yet leave their debtor’s ledger exposed. Trade credit insurance protects your business against the risk of a bad debt, typically covering up to 90 per cent of what you are owed. It acts as a circuit breaker to the domino effect, so that one customer’s failure does not have catastrophic effects on your cash flow and your ability to meet your own payday obligations.

Tips to prepare your business

1. Model cash flow on a payday cycle. Model your cash flow on a payday cycle, not a quarterly one and confirm your payroll systems can deliver contributions within the 7 business day window.
2. Watch your debtors aged trial balance. A customer stretching from 30 to 40 days may be struggling to fund wages plus super every pay run.
3. Get the right entity on credit applications. Obtain the correct legal entity (ABN or ACN) on all credit applications from the outset.
4. Take early collection action. Act the moment an account becomes overdue. ‘Free credit’ is now more expensive for you to provide.
5. Review whether your debtor’s ledger is protected. If your largest customer could not pay you, could you still meet every payday?

The bottom line

Payday Super arrived quietly, but its impact on cash flow, both yours and your customers’, will not stay quiet for long.

Now is the time to make small changes today that can have a big impact tomorrow.

For more information, contact NCI on 1800 882 820 or [email protected].