Making payments

No, the stapling rules don't apply to contributions made under Queensland Government legislative arrangements. So if you're a Queensland Government employer, simply give new employees this choice form (pdf) within 28 days of them starting their job, and pay their super to their chosen fund.

And of course, you can continue to pay your employee's super to QSuper if they already have an account with us.

For more information, see the ATO website.

Yes, employees can still choose their own super fund, regardless of where they work.

Your super contribution should be an amount equal to the employee's standard member contribution, plus an additional 7.75% (up to a maximum of 12.75%). This applies whether your employee is making their standard member contributions before tax by salary sacrificing, or as after-tax contributions.

You will need to pay the greater of these two calculations:

• 10.5% of the employee's ordinary time earnings (OTE).¹
  Example
  Your employee's fortnightly OTE is $2,200. The payment you’re required to make, based on OTE for the period, is: 0.105 x $2200 = $231.
  OR
• 7.75% of (employee's standard member contribution divided by their standard member contribution percentage) plus employee's standard member contribution
  Example
  Your employee earns a fortnightly base superannuation salary of $2,000 (excluding non-approved allowances and bonuses). If your employee is paying a 5% standard member contribution for the period, amounting to $100, you’re required to pay on their behalf: 0.0775 x ($100 / 0.05) + $100 = $255.00.

Of these two examples, the second calculation is greater so your employer obligation to super for this employee would be $255.00.

If you’re unsure how much you should be paying or need help calculating payments, please contact the Employer Solutions and Support team.

You will need to pay 10.5% of the employee's ordinary time earnings (OTE).¹

Your employee's standard member contribution amount is calculated by using this equation:

(Salary for superannuation purposes x standard member contribution percentage) x hours paid ÷ standard full-time hours.

How much you need to pay on top of what your employee pays should be the greater of these two calculations:

• 10.5% of the employees ordinary time earnings (OTE).¹
  Example
  Your employee's fortnightly OTE is $2,200. The payment you’re required to make, based on OTE for the period, is: 0.105 x $2200 = $231.
  OR
• 7.75% of (employee's standard member contribution divided by their standard member contribution percentage) plus employee's standard member contribution
  Example
  Your employee earns a fortnightly base superannuation salary of $2,000 (excluding non-approved allowances and bonuses). If your employee is paying a 5% standard member contribution for the period, amounting to $100, you’re required to pay on their behalf: 0.0775 x ($100 / 0.05) + $100 = $255.00.

Of these two examples, the second calculation is higher so your employer obligation to super for this employee would be $255.00.

Your employer contribution can also be calculated by using this equation:

(Standard member contribution ÷ standard member contribution rate) x 7.75% + (standard member contribution).

If you’re unsure how much you should be paying or need help calculating payments, please contact the Employer Solutions and Support team.

All before-tax payments (which include an employee's salary sacrifice contributions and employer contributions) are taxed at 15% when they’re paid into a super account. You will need to increase any before-tax standard member contributions to a Defined Benefit account you pay on your employee's behalf to pay the contributions tax and make sure your employee continues to accrue the same multiple.

The table below shows the adjusted salary sacrifice contribution rates that you’ll need to pay for Defined Benefit accounts to keep the employee's standard member contribution rate.

How much you need to pay on top of what your employee pays should be the greater of these two calculations:

• 10.5% of the employee’s ordinary time earnings (OTE).¹
  Example
  Your employee's fortnightly OTE is $2,800. The payment you’re required to make, based on OTE for the period, is: 0.105 x $2800 = $294.
  OR
• 7.75% of (employee's standard member contribution divided by their standard member contribution percentage) plus 85% of employee's standard member contribution.
  Example
  Your employee earns a fortnightly base superannuation salary of $2,000 (excluding non-approved allowances and bonuses). If your employee pays 5.88% standard member contribution for the period, amounting to $117.60, you’re required to pay: 0.0775 x ($117.60 / 0.0588) + (0.85 x $117.60) = $254.96.

Of these two examples, the first OTE calculation result is greater so your employer obligation to super for this employee would be $294.

If your employee is paying their contribution before tax, your employer contribution can also be calculated by using this equation:

(Standard member contribution ÷ standard member contribution rate) x 7.75% + (standard member contribution x 85%).

Some employers will have employment arrangements that govern the contribution arrangements that differ from these standard arrangements.

If you’re unsure how much you should be paying or need help calculating payments, please contact the Employer Solutions and Support team.

You will need to include these allowances when working out what salary to use for calculating your employee's standard contributions.

If you have made an error, such as an overpayment, please contact the Employer Solutions and Support team to discuss your options.

Employees working higher duties, or seconded from one department to another, need to work for a continuous period of 12 months before the higher salary is recognised and used as the basis for superannuation payments. When an employee returns to their substantive position, their payments will change to the current substantive position salary.

In all other cases (including secondment to another Queensland Government employer), the new salary should be reported and your payments increased or decreased immediately.

You should report the salary for superannuation purposes (defined as base salary plus approved allowances), at the most recent 1 July. This applies regardless of whether your employee has an increase or decrease in salary throughout the year.

For an employee who is receiving a higher salary because they’re in a higher paid role, the higher salary is only reported as the employee's 1 July salary if they’ve been acting in the higher role continuously for at least the 12 months preceding that 1 July. This also applies when an employee is seconded from one Queensland Government department to another to act in a higher paid role.

When an employee changes their hours of work, the 1 July salary remains unchanged. However, the contributions and working hours are adjusted according to what the employee is actually working.

If your employee is on unpaid sick leave or leave without pay, you don't have to pay employer contributions and your employee doesn't have to make standard member contributions. However, your employee can make voluntary contributions to their Accumulation account at any time, including when they’re on unpaid sick leave and leave without pay.

When your employee is on WorkCover leave, and being paid directly by WorkCover, you’ll need to make employer payments equal to 10.5% of their salary. While an employee is being paid directly by WorkCover, they can also pay standard member contributions directly to their account. If this occurs, we’ll invoice you for the additional employer payment on top of the amount already paid (10.5% of salary).

There’s no need to report leave without pay on your contribution payment file unless contributions are being made on your employee's behalf.

Employees do not and cannot accrue super in their Defined Benefit account while they’re on leave without pay or unpaid sick leave.

If your employee is on WorkCover leave, they have the option of making contributions to QSuper at their standard member contribution rate. Because this contribution is made directly to us, we must invoice you for the full amount of your employer super obligation for that particular employee.

Even when no contributions are being made, you need to report leave without pay and hours worked for your employee (as zero when applicable).

It’s important to record the exact number of hours (per type of leave) and payment structure in your contribution payment file. If they haven’t worked for a full pay cycle, record the hours worked number as zero.

If your employee has a Defined Benefit account, State account, or Police account, fill out the employer certification section of the relevant Employer Certification form. If your employee has an Accumulation account, you do not need to complete this form.

After you’ve made your final super payment, record the details of the employee who’s leaving on your contribution payment file, including a leaver code that shows the actual termination date.

You can let your employee know wherever they work, they can stay with QSuper.

If they're a Defined Benefit member moving to another Queensland Government employer, ask them to let their new employer know that they have a Defined Benefit account that they want to continue with. Special rules apply to a member’s eligibility to maintain their Defined Benefit membership, so please ask your employee to contact us to discuss their options.

If your employee has retired, we can help them explore their retirement options or access financial advice.

If they have been made redundant, they can learn more about redundancy or we can hold a redundancy seminar at your workplace.

Queensland Government employees can choose which fund they want their super paid into. Find out more about your choice of fund requirements.

If your employee would like to continue using an existing QSuper account for their superannuation, determine whether they’re casual, permanent, or temporary, and find out whether their previous employer was making superannuation contributions to an Accumulation account or a Defined Benefit account. If your employee doesn't know their QSuper membership arrangements, contact us.

If your employee is permanent or temporary, already a QSuper member, and has an Accumulation account, add them into the contribution payment file as an Accumulation account member, pay standard contributions, and submit the file as normal.

If they’re permanent or temporary, already a QSuper member, and have a Defined Benefit account (and their break in service is less than one calendar month), add them into the contribution payment file as a Defined Benefit account member, pay standard contributions, and submit the file as normal.

If you are an employer that currently offers Defined Benefit membership, please contact the Employer Solutions and Support team to discuss your options.

You may need to start paying standard contributions to an Accumulation account. In most cases, employees must contribute from between 2% to 5% of their superannuation salary to QSuper. If your employee starts making standard contributions, you will need to match your employer payment accordingly.

You should also encourage them to contact us if they need more information.

Casual employees don't need to contribute standard member contributions, but in most cases they can if they want to (and they’ll receive a higher employer super payment as a result). If they’re eligible, and they want to contribute between 2% and 5%, you will need to match your employer payment accordingly.

Alternatively, you'll need to make an employer contribution that’s at least equal to the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) rate of ordinary time earnings.¹

You should also encourage them to contact us if they need more information.

Casual employees can’t contribute to a Defined Benefit account, so if a permanent or temporary employee with a Defined Benefit account becomes a casual employee, their superannuation will be paid to an Accumulation account.

You will need to complete the relevant Employer Certification form for their Defined Benefit account.

These employees should contact us to talk about the options.

You should give your employee all the options that apply to their new employment status each time they change. Generally, this will mean continuing your super payments to their existing QSuper account.