An historic day for 3.3 million Australians: payday super laws pass the Parliament

Super Members Council

The Super Members Council welcomes the historic passage through Parliament today of payday super laws — a gamechanger to tackle unpaid super which costs Australian workers $5.7 billion a year.

The Council commends all Parliamentarians for swiftly passing the laws first promised over two years ago.

Unpaid super costs working Australians a staggering $110 million a week in unpaid retirement savings – money they have earned but never been paid.

SMC has championed payday super laws as a key reform to help stamp out unpaid super, coupled with more proactive recovery of unpaid super by the Australian Taxation Office. The Council’s landmark 2024 report  comprehensively highlighted the scale and urgency of the unpaid super challenge.

The Council’s modelling shows 3.3 million Australians were not paid $5.7 billion in super in 2022–23, missing out on an average $1,730 each a year. Those losses can make people up to $30,000 poorer at retirement.

Unpaid super disproportionately affects vulnerable groups. Among the hardest hit workers are women, who already retire with a quarter less super than men. Younger workers, and low-income earners are also at risk: one in two workers who earn under $25,000 a year have unpaid super entitlements.

Unpaid super also compounds losses over time, leaving less well-off workers with tens of thousands less money to live on in retirement.

Payday super is a simple fix requiring all employers to pay super at the same time as wages instead of quarterly.

This commonsense reform will boost transparency for workers – who typically assume their super has been paid with wages – and make it much easier and faster to detect and fix underpayments.

The laws will also make it much easier for employers to stay on top of their cashflow and worker entitlements, and level the playing field for businesses doing the right thing. Many employers already pay super more often than quarterly.

“This is an historic day which will make a huge difference to help 3.3 million Australians retire with more income to cover the cost of living,” said Super Members Council CEO Misha Schubert.

“The passage of payday super laws will help ensure every dollar owed to millions of workers makes it into their super account on time and in full.”

“Payday super will also help to deliver an average of $7,700 more for working Australians by retirement, because being paid your super sooner helps to grow your investment returns faster.”