Australian Payments Plus (AP+) says payday super represents not just a major compliance change, but a significant opportunity to modernise how super payments move through the ecosystem.
From 1 July 2026, employers will be required to pay super at the same time as salary and wages, with contributions needing to reach employees’ super funds within seven business days, and able to be allocated into the employee’s account.
The changes are driving increased focus on real-time payments capability, operational readiness and modernising longstanding payment processes.
And Australia’s real-time payments infrastructure, the NPP, is ready to support the transition.
“The NPP has the capability, capacity, reach and resilience to support real-time, data-rich super payments and to comfortably handle the expected volumes associated with payday super,” said Marnie Ryan, Head of Product Innovation and Enablement at AP+.
“We’re also working with participants across the ecosystem as organisations prepare for the operational and process changes associated with payday super."
The transition has involved close collaboration across industry and government, including the ATO, which has pointed to the potential operational efficiencies and improved processing outcomes that real-time payments capability can support as part of the move to payday super.
“The NPP can provide greater confidence for employers, a more efficient and lower-cost system, and more time to identify and resolve errors,” said ATO Deputy Commissioner Emma Rosenzweig, encouraging more digital service providers and clearing houses to enable NPP transfers.
While much of the focus has been on compliance by 1 July, attention is increasingly shifting to the broader operational opportunity created by real-time super payments – including more immediate, automated and transparent payment flows that improve visibility, reduce delays, and support better outcomes for members.
This sentiment was echoed recently on an episode of the AP+ POV podcast by Sue Pearce, Senior Manager, Regulatory Change and Compliance at Aware Super, one of the super funds that is already actively engaging NPP capabilities as part of its payment transformation journey.
“For super funds, in addition to the compliance requirements, there is also an opportunity to think strategically about how real-time payments can improve the experience for members and employers well beyond 1 July,” Pearce said.
Grant Doherty, Managing Director at Qvalent and Global Transaction Services Digital, Westpac, said that the transition should be viewed as the next stage in the ongoing modernisation of super payments infrastructure.
“The seven-day requirement should be viewed as a starting point, not the endpoint,” Doherty said. “Over time, the opportunity is to create a more automated environment with faster movement of both payments and data across the super ecosystem.”
Jon Adams, Executive, Enterprise Payments and Digital Assets, at NAB said the move to payday super highlights the growing importance of real-time payment capability across payroll and business payment processes more broadly.
“The transition to payday super is prompting organisations to think more strategically about how payroll, payments and data can work together in a real-time and automated way.”
Ultimately, delivering the full benefits of real-time super payments will depend on how payroll providers, clearing houses, super funds, banks and payment providers work together across the broader ecosystem.
“This is a whole-of-ecosystem transition, and continued collaboration across industry will be critical to delivering the best outcomes for employers and members,” AP+’s Ryan concluded.
