The first quarter of payday super ended on 30 September. If you are an employer, now is the moment to check that every contribution since 1 July reached your employees' funds on time. The ATO has set out how it will treat mistakes in the first year, and the timing matters.

What the ATO has said

The ATO's first year approach is set out in Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2026/1 and covers quarters from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. Contributions must be received by the employee's fund within 7 business days of payday.

The ATO sorts employers into three risk zones:

  • Low risk: you tried to pay on time, some contributions arrived late, and you corrected the shortfall as soon as reasonably practicable, leaving no shortfall for any employee.
  • Medium risk: you missed the low risk criteria, but you fixed any unpaid super guarantee within 28 days after the end of the quarter in which the wages were paid.
  • High risk: unpaid super for one or more employees has not been corrected within 28 days after the end of the quarter.

For the quarter that ended on 30 September, 28 days after quarter end is 28 October, which is also the date your September quarter BAS is due. The ATO also says repeated late payments increase the chance of compliance action, and that your risk can fall in future quarters if you fix your process and correct errors quickly.

What to do this week

  • Reconcile what you paid. Compare each pay run since 1 July with what the funds actually received, not just what your software sent.
  • Look for rejected or missing payments. Wrong member details are a common cause.
  • Pay any shortfall now. The ATO's guidance for a missed payment is to pay the outstanding amounts to the funds as soon as possible and then pay on each payday going forward.
  • Think about a voluntary disclosure. The ATO says you can lodge a voluntary disclosure statement if you missed a contribution, or paid late, the wrong amount or to the wrong fund. It is optional, and the ATO says lodging one early can reduce your final super guarantee charge.
  • Fix the cause. If you were still paying super quarterly out of habit, set up payments to run with each pay cycle.
  • Check new starters. The first payment for a new employee or a new fund has a longer window, but diarise it so it does not slip.

The bottom line

The ATO has signalled that it will take a practical view of honest mistakes in the first year, but only if you find them and fix them quickly. A short reconciliation before 28 October is a cheap way to stay in the low or medium zone. If you are unsure about a shortfall, speak to your accountant before you decide how to correct it.