The super guarantee: what your employer must pay in 2025–26

The super guarantee (SG) is the percentage of your pay your employer must contribute to your super fund. It reached its legislated destination of 12% on 1 July 2025 — the end of a climb from 9% that took over two decades (11% in 2023–24, 11.5% in 2024–25).

What the 12% is calculated on

SG applies to ordinary time earnings — your normal salary or wages, most allowances, and paid leave. Overtime generally isn't included. On a $90,000 salary that's $10,800 a year flowing into your fund, taxed at 15% on the way in rather than your marginal rate.

Two package styles change how the number looks in your contract:

• Salary plus super — "$90,000 plus super" means $10,800 lands on top.
• Package inclusive — "$100,800 including super" is the same money, sliced differently. When comparing offers, always convert to one basis; our income tax calculator's "included / on top" toggle does it instantly.

If you salary sacrifice, your employer must still calculate SG on your pre-sacrifice salary — a 2020 rule change that closed a nasty loophole.

Payday super: the 2026 change

From 1 July 2026, employers must pay super at the same time as wages, with contributions reaching your fund within seven business days of payday — the end of the old quarterly system, where your super could lag your work by months. The change makes missing contributions visible within weeks instead of quarters, which matters because unpaid super has historically cost workers billions a year.

How to check you're actually being paid

Your payslip must show the super accrued for the period — but a payslip line isn't money in your fund. Log in to your super fund (or myGov → ATO → Super) a few weeks after payday and confirm contributions are landing. Roughly, you should see 12% of gross ordinary earnings: about $415 a fortnight on a $90,000 salary.

If contributions are missing, raise it with payroll first; if that goes nowhere, the ATO investigates unpaid SG and can pursue employers for it, with interest.

The caps that matter

Concessional contributions — employer SG plus any salary sacrifice — are capped at $30,000 a year (2025–26) before the 15% concession stops applying. On SG alone you'd need to earn $250,000 to hit it, but sacrifice narrows the gap quickly. Unused cap from the past five years can often be carried forward if your balance is under $500,000.

Whether 12% is enough is a projection question — run your numbers against the ASFA benchmarks with the super calculator.