The crucial thing you need to check in your next payslip

In addition to the hope of a tax return coming your way, another thing that always comes with a new financial year is welcoming the suite of new and tweaked government policies that arrive every July 1.

This year in particular, there are quite a few that have the potential to impact your personal finances. These include, but are not limited to: a rise in the minimum wage for working Australians, a boost in pay for workers on the core skills and specialist skills visas, an increase to the government paid parental leave scheme and the introduction of superannuation payments, a 20 per cent cut to existing HECS debt for university students, and the eligibility threshold for pensions going up.

But some of the more significant changes being introduced this year apply to superannuation. Super will now be applied to the 26 weeks of federal paid parental leave scheme, meaning mums and dads won’t be financially penalised in the long term for taking time out of paid work to raise their family. But the most significant change to my mind is the introduction of payday superannuation.

Considering the other big-ticket changes being introduced in the 2026-27 financial year, I understand why this one might seem relatively small and somewhat insignificant upon first glance. However, if you’re among the 14.7 million people who are employed in Australia, or among the almost 1 million employers in Australia, it’s actually pretty big.

So, first things first, what actually is payday superannuation? I’m so glad you asked.

Where employers were previously required to pay superannuation quarterly, under the new scheme, every single time your wage lands in your bank account your employer is now also required by law to pay the corresponding amount of superannuation into your nominated fund within seven business days.

For some employees this will be weekly, while for others it may be fortnightly or monthly. Whatever the case, as of earlier this week, it is now applicable for all casual, part-time and full-time employees working in Australia.

There are a couple of reasons for this change, and a couple of reasons to be excited about it, especially if you’re a young person.

While the previous system wasn’t broken, it definitely has the potential to be more effective, particularly when it comes to weeding out employers that are underpaying superannuation, or not paying it at all.

The Australian Tax Office estimates that in the 2024-25 financial year alone, $5.2 billion of superannuation was unpaid. Even more sobering is the fact that the amount of lost super has been steadily growing recently, meaning more working Australians aren’t receiving what they’re rightfully entitled to. And as we know with superannuation, by the scheme’s very design, time is what makes the money we put into it so valuable.

Anyone who has ever had to go up against a dodgy boss to try and get their super paid will tell you that it’s a deeply awkward process.

By moving to the new model where contributions are more frequent, it will be a lot easier for employees – and significantly, the ATO – to track what’s going on and spot any problems.

That’s because as per the previous system, employers are required to report it has paid an employee’s super guarantee contribution via the ATO’s SuperStream. Now having to do that within seven business days of pay day instead of quarterly gives the ATO more opportunity to see who’s fallen down earlier on.

Getting onto an issue early is important because those relatively small amounts can make a big difference over time. Don’t believe me? Treasury estimates that in cases where a standard 35-year-worker can recover their unpaid superannuation, they will end up with $30,000 more in their funds by the time they retire.

The ATO was able to return $1.1 billion of previously unpaid superannuation through 120,000 reminders and 70,000 prompts being issued to employers, as well as about 15,000 audits last year.

While that’s unquestionably a great outcome for the people who were successful in being reunited with their lost funds, those numbers show that this problem is still far too common.

In many instances where superannuation is either underpaid or unpaid, genuine human error is to blame. And while no employer enjoys getting a stern letter from the ATO, it’s far better to know that there’s an issue on your end that needs to be rectified sooner rather than later because it means employers avoid building up huge payroll liability sums.

Now, to get to the reasons as to why this small but significant change is worth getting excited about. As I said earlier, where money is involved (especially money with the specific purpose of being set aside to benefit from decades of compound interest), time is very much of the essence.

In moving to a contributions model where payments are being made more regularly, your hard-earned super is given more time to be invested and get busy working its magic.

When you spread those more regular deposits out over the course of several decades and combine it with the eighth wonder of the world (compound interest), you can expect to enjoy a more robust nest egg waiting for you come retirement time.

Ask anyone who has ever had the unenviable task of having to go up against a dodgy boss to try and get their superannuation paid, and they’ll tell you that it’s a deeply awkward, unpleasant and drawn-out process.

Having to have that conversation two weeks into a new job, as opposed to three months in, however, is likely to change that radically. And if the worst-case scenario happens, and you do suddenly find yourself working for a company that doesn’t pay superannuation, it’s surely better to know that a couple of weeks in, as opposed to months down the track.

The federal government estimates that for a 25-year-old working today, payday super changes could add an extra $6000 in today’s money to their superannuation at the time of retirement. Again, that might not sound like all that much to some people, but to the people who are most at risk of being underpaid, it’s a game changer.

But more than just numbers, it sends a clear message to young people that their work matters, and that their right to retire comfortably does too.

Victoria Devine is an award-winning retired financial adviser, a bestselling author and host of Australia’s No.1 finance podcast, She’s on the Money. She is also founder and director of Zella Money.

• Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.

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