How super is paid
- Superannuation (or super for short) is currently an extra 11.5% on top of your ordinary time earnings (overtime excluded).
- Your employer must pay you super at least 4 times a year by the due dates.
- Super is your money. It’s paid into your super account. It’s up to you to look after your super.
If you are under 18, you will need to work 30 hours in a week to be eligible for super.
When do you get paid super?
Employers can choose how often they pay your super - some pay weekly, fortnightly, monthly or quarterly.
Legally however, employers must pay your super at least once per quarter, by the deadlines below;
Work period (Quarters)
Payment Deadlines
1 July - 30 Sept
28 October
1 Oct - 31 Dec
28 January
1 Jan - 31 Mar
28 April
1 Apr - 30 June
28 July
Example - If you worked between 1 July and 30 September, and you are eligible for super, your employer has until 28 October to make the payment into your super account.
The payment can then take around 5 business days to appear on your Transactions page.
Engineering Super sends members a notification each time their employer pays super into their account.
How do I tell my employer about my Engineering Super account?
We created a pre-filled form to make this easier.
You can download and print or email it directly to your employer. The pre-filled form has all the details your employer needs to pay your super.
Go to the Tell My Employer page.
Checking you’ve been paid super
Each time you get paid, you can check your payslip and see how much super has been calculated and set aside for you.
However, your payslip does not confirm that your super has actually been paid.
To best way to check if you have actually been paid, is to log in to your Engineering Super account and go to the Transactions page.
We recommend you do this quarterly, as it is potentially easier to resolve any issues with your employer close to the time they arise, than years later.
Your employer has until the quarterly deadline to deposit your super into your super account.
You can ask your employer what frequency they pay super. Some pay super at the same time you are paid. Others pay before the quarterly deadline.
What if my employer doesn’t pay super
We have a special page that addresses this in detail:
The best way to handle this situation is to start by not assuming the worst. Check there isn’t a smaller problem first.
If your employer is not paying your super and you are eligible, they are breaking the law.
But run through this checklist first;
- If you are being paid cash and your payslip does not show any super.
- If you are under 18, you’ve worked more than 30 hours a week.
- You’ve checked your payslip for details of the super that’s been put aside to be paid to you.
- You’ve checked the Transactions page carefully.
- The correct quarterly payment deadline, plus 5 business days, has passed.
- Your employer confirms they have your correct details for your Engineering Super account.
The next step is to discuss the situation with your employer. If that does not resolve your super payment issue, the next step is to make a report to the ATO.
I’m self employed
If you’re self-employed, you can choose to make super payments as voluntary contributions.
You’ll need to have added your TFN to start making contributions.
There are no compulsory superannuation guarantee requirements for contractors, sole traders or the self-employed. But, that doesn’t mean that super isn’t as important for you, as it is for regular employees. You can choose to put some of your income aside now so that you have money to live on in retirement.
