Payday Super is already changing how Aussies get paid
Millions of Australians are now getting super paid with every pay, and some could end up thousands of dollars better off in retirement.
The number of superannuation payments being made to Australians has more than doubled since the introduction of Payday Super on July 1, according to new figures from the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA).
Around 54 million super payments were processed in August, compared with an average of around 25 million a month in 2025-26. July recorded 64 million payments, as employers made their final quarterly payments under the old system alongside their first Payday Super contributions.
ASFA expects monthly payment numbers to remain around the August level.
Millions now getting super paid more often
ASFA's preliminary estimates show around seven million workers who were paid super once a quarter are now receiving it with their wages, mostly weekly or fortnightly.
A further two to three million workers are likely to have shifted from monthly super payments to weekly or fortnightly contributions.
ASFA says small businesses were the most likely to pay super quarterly, meaning their employees are seeing some of the biggest changes.
What Payday Super means for your retirement
ASFA chief executive Mary Delahunty says the early figures show the policy is working as intended.
"Payday Super was designed to make sure super is paid at the same time as wages. Two months in, the data shows that is happening for millions of workers," Delahunty says.
"When super is paid sooner, it is invested sooner and earns returns for longer. A 25-year-old on average wages will have around $5000 more in retirement just from more frequent payments. It has also made it less likely that workers will miss out on being paid the super they are entitled to."
Getting money into super sooner gives it more time to be invested and potentially benefit from compound returns over a working lifetime.
Unpaid super may be easier to spot
ASFA says younger Australians, tradies and hospitality workers are among those most likely to miss out on super because of unpaid contributions.
"Younger Aussies, tradies, and hospo staff are among the workers most likely to miss out on super because of unpaid contributions. They are the people Payday Super was designed to protect," Delahunty says.
"Under the quarterly system, workers often noticed missing super four to six months after they earned it.
"By then the business may have gone into liquidation, and the super may never be recovered. Employers now have seven business days after payday to get super into a worker's fund, so a missed payment can be identified within weeks, not months."
The shorter payment timeframe means workers may be able to identify missing super contributions much sooner than under the previous quarterly system.
This article first appeared on Financial Standard
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