How much super do I need to pay my employees?
27 February 2020
5
min read
As an employer, you’re legally required to pay eligible employees’ superannuation.
Employers must pay employees a minimum amount of super called the Superannuation Guarantee (SG).
4 things to know about the SG
The SG rate
From 1 July 2024, the SG rate is 11.5%. You may have to pay superannuation at a higher rate under an award or agreement. The SG rate is scheduled to increase to 12% on 1 July 2025.1
SG and employees’ salary
You are required to pay SG regardless of how much your employees are paid. But for employees who earn a lot of money, you only need to pay SG on earnings up to the maximum contribution base, which for 2024-25 is $65,070 a quarter.
SG and employees’ age
You pay SG for employees who are:
• 18 years or older, regardless of how many hours they work
• under 18 years old, if they work more than 30 hours in a week.
How you calculate SG
You use your employee’s ordinary time earnings (OTE) to work out the SG contribution. For 2024‑25 that’s 11.5% of OTE. OTE means the amount you pay employees for their ordinary hours of work up to the maximum contribution base.
If you don’t pay SG on time, you’ll also need to pay the Superannuation Guarantee Charge.
Generally, all employees are eligible for SG. The ATO2 says this includes employees who are:
-
full time, part time or casual
- receiving a super pension or annuity while working (this includes employees on transition to retirement)
- a temporary resident, such as a backpacker
- a company director
- a family member working in your business.
You must pay SG contributions to either:
-
your employee's chosen fund – this is if your employee chooses a super fund
- your employee's stapled super fund – if your employee doesn’t choose a super fund, you’ll need their stapled super fund details from the ATO
- a fund that meets your choice of fund obligations – this is if your employee doesn’t choose a super fund or have a stapled super fund.
It’s compulsory to pay your eligible employees’ SG at least 4 times a year. You can make payments more often. If you don’t pay on time, you must pay the Superannuation Guarantee charge.
These are the due dates for paying SG.3 When a due date falls on a weekend or public holiday, you must make sure the fund receives your contribution on or before the next business day.
| Quarter |
Period |
Payment due date |
| 1 |
1 July - 30 September |
28 October |
| 2 |
1 October - 31 December |
28 January |
| 3 |
1 January - 31 March |
28 April |
| 4 |
1 April - 30 June |
28 July |
1. Australia Taxation Office, updated 1 July 2024, How much super to pay accessed 10 July 2024 at ato.gov.au
2. Australia Taxation Office, updated 1 July 2024, Work out if you have to pay super accessed 10 July 2024 at ato.gov.au
3. Australia Taxation Office, updated 1 June 2023, Super payment due dates accessed 10 July 2024 at ato.gov.au