Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025, Superannuation Guarantee Charge Amendment Bill 2025
Ms DOYLE (Aston) (17:38): I rise to speak on the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025. This is a bill that delivers a once-in-a-generation reform to finally fix one of the most persistent and grossly unfair issues in our retirement system: that of unpaid super. For far too long, too many Australians have worked hard for their wages and have earned their super, only to find out down the track that their employer that has failed to pay up, or worse, pay their super at all.
The result is billions of dollars being lost from the future retirement savings of those workers every single year. According to the ATO, in 2021-22 alone, an estimated $5.2 billion in super went unpaid. That's around $100 million every single week—money that Australians have earned, earnings that belong to them and earnings that should be working for their future.
This reform will help ensure that Australians are paid the super they're owed when they're owed it. Unpaid super hits hardest those who can least afford it: younger workers, women and people in insecure, part-time or casual employment. These are Australians already facing cost-of-living pressures, housing stress and some slower wage growth.
Missing out on their super makes the challenge of building financial security even tougher. In an ATO investigation, a worker had missed out on nearly two years of super contributions. For a 35-year-old worker, that can mean around $32,000 less in retirement savings.
When an employer goes belly up, that kind of loss can be catastrophic. For that same 35-year-old worker, losing out on super because their employer goes into liquidation could leave their retirement balance more than $90,000 worse off in today's figures. That's the difference between retiring in confidence and retiring in anxiety about how the bills will be paid.
This is not just a matter of accounting; it's a matter of fairness. When workers miss out on super, they lose not only the immediate contribution but also the years of compound growth that follows. Over a lifetime, those lost earnings mean further losses in compound interest to retirement savings, and that in turn increases pressure on the aged pension and on government budgets for decades to come.
This demonstrates how fixing unpaid super is good for workers, good for the budget and good for the long-term sustainability of our retirement system. This is yet another way our government is helping Australians to not only earn more but keep more of what they earn. This bill makes a simple yet powerful change.
From 1 July 2026, employers will be required to pay super contributions at the same frequency as wages are paid instead of quarterly. Employers must ensure that contributions are received by the employee's super fund within seven business days of payday. This simple alignment, with super paid on the same pay cycle, will make an enormous difference to workers.
It will make it easier for them to see that their super has been paid because it will appear in their fund soon after payday, not months later. It will also help the ATO identify missed or late payments early, before small debts snowball into large and unrecoverable ones. In short, it will make the system more transparent and trustworthy.
The bill also updates the superannuation guarantee charge, the penalty imposed when employers fail to pay super on time. Under the new system, the charge will apply for each payday that super is unpaid or underpaid, rather than for each quarter. This ensures the rules match the new payday cycle and that noncompliance is identified and addressed sooner.
The updated charge includes notional earnings, compensating employees for the investment returns they miss out on due to late payment. It additionally introduces an administrative uplift to reflect enforcement costs and encourage prompt voluntary correction, with reductions available for employers who disclose errors early and have a strong compliance history.
Furthermore, it adds a choice loading, an additional penalty for employers who fail to pay into an employee's chosen super fund. For those employers who continue to withhold payments even after the ATO has raised a charge, the penalties will be tougher and consist of up to 50 per cent of the unpaid amount. These measures are designed not to punish but to encourage fairness and responsibility.
Employers who do the right thing have nothing to worry about. However, those employers who don't do the right thing will no longer be able to hide behind tired excuses of complexity and delay. The ATO will enforce this new framework using Single Touch Payroll—STP—which employers already use to report wage and super information.
STP data will be matched with information from superannuation funds in near-real time, allowing the ATO to detect missing payments almost immediately. Early detection means earlier intervention, preventing large debts from building up and improving the chances that workers recover what they're owed. To support implementation, the government has committed $404.1 million.
This investment will help modernise systems, enhance data sharing, and ensure that the ATO has the capability to act swiftly and effectively when super goes unpaid. We also recognise that reform on this scale requires time and adjustment. That's why the bill allows a 12-month transition period with commencement on 1 July 2026.
In the first year of operation the ATO will adopt a facilitative compliance approach, meaning that employers who make a genuine effort to comply, even if they encounter technical challenges, will not face enforcement action. The goal is education, support and partnership, not punishment for honest mistakes. Aligning super payments with the pay cycle will also reduce administrative burdens at the end of each quarter.
It will help businesses to better manage cash flow, spread obligations evenly throughout the year and minimise the risk of large unpaid liabilities accumulating unnoticed. Many responsible employers already pay super alongside wages, because they know it's the right thing to do and because it's actually the easier option. This reform levels the playing field, ensuring that all businesses meet the same standard.
This bill is supported by unions, consumer advocates and even many employer groups, because it's fair, it's practical and it's long overdue. The evidence is clear, the benefits are substantial and the moral case is undeniable. Australians should not have to chase their own money through the courts or the ATO.
They should be able to have faith that when they work they are paid their wages and their super in full and on time. In order to make this much-needed reform work, we have to act now. Employers, payroll providers, super funds and the ATO need time to prepare their systems, upgrade technology and educate their workforces ahead of the 1 July 2026 start date.
Every month of delay means millions more in unpaid super slipping through the cracks. The longer we wait, the more earnings workers miss out on and the harder it becomes to recover what is owed. This bill represents another step in the Albanese government's commitment to restoring fairness and integrity to the economy, making sure every Australian keeps what they've earned and the system works for people, not against them.
When this reform takes effects, millions of Australians will be able to look forward to retirement with greater savings, greater security and greater dignity. Their hard work will finally be rewarded in full. This is what good reform looks like: practical, targeted, fair and future focused.
It protects workers, supports honest employers, strengthens the retirement system and builds a better foundation for generations to come. I commend this bill to the House.