Payday Super commenced on 1 July 2026. The ATO's own guidance now files the old rules under a page titled quarterly super to 30 June 2026, which tells you how firmly that chapter is closed.
But one obligation from the old regime is still open. If a client's superannuation guarantee for the April–June 2026 quarter was paid late, short, or to the wrong fund, the super guarantee charge statement and payment are due 28 August 2026.
This is the last quarterly SGC statement most clients will ever lodge. It is worth getting right, because the charge is considerably harsher than the payment it replaces.
What the charge is made of
Per the ATO's guidance on the super guarantee charge, the SGC has three components:
- The superannuation guarantee shortfall — the amount that should have been contributed.
- Nominal interest of 10% per annum, accruing from the first day of the quarter.
- An administration fee of $20 per employee, per quarter.
Two features of that structure catch people out every year.
Nominal interest cannot be waived. The ATO is explicit: nominal interest is part of the SGC and by law cannot be reduced or waived. There is no remission argument to make. It accrues from the first day of the quarter to the quarterly due date, or the date the ATO receives the SGC statement, whichever is later — so every week of delay in lodging increases it.
The SGC is not deductible. The contribution, had it been paid on time, would have been deductible. The charge that replaces it is not. For a client in a company at 25%, that swing is a real cost on top of the interest and fees.
The trap that makes the shortfall bigger than expected
This is the detail that surprises clients most, and it is worth explaining before you send them a number.
An on-time superannuation guarantee contribution is calculated on ordinary time earnings (OTE). The SGC shortfall is calculated on salary and wages.
Salary and wages is a broader base. It can include amounts excluded from OTE — most commonly overtime. So a client who missed a contribution on $100,000 of OTE may find the shortfall calculated on a materially larger figure once overtime is brought in.
The practical consequence: paying late is not simply paying the same amount later. It is paying a bigger amount, plus unwaivable interest from the start of the quarter, plus $20 per employee, and losing the deduction. For a business with 15 employees, the administration fee alone is $300 for a single quarter.
Late payment offset — and its limit
If the client did eventually pay the contribution to the employee's fund, just late, that payment may be able to be offset against the SGC. The offset generally requires that the SGC statement is lodged and that the late payment was made before the ATO issues an assessment for the quarter.
Two things to be careful about:
- The offset applies to the shortfall component. Nominal interest and the administration fee remain payable.
- The timing conditions are strict. If you are relying on an offset, lodge the statement — do not let the deadline pass while assembling a perfect reconciliation.
The ATO's module on rectifying late quarterly payments walks through the mechanics, and there is a quarterly SGC statement and calculator tool that handles the arithmetic.
How to find the exposure before 28 August
The clients with an SGC obligation frequently do not know they have one. They believe the super was paid, because a payment left the bank account. What they are missing is that it was not received by the fund in time, or that it was short.
The check is a bank-side reconciliation, not a payroll report:
- Reconcile the super clearing account for the June quarter. A residual balance means something did not land.
- Confirm the sweep dates against the 28 July 2026 due date. A payment initiated on 26 July that reached the fund in August was late.
- Read the clearing house exception reports for the quarter. Failed transactions — closed member accounts, wrong USI, fund mergers — are the single most common cause of an unnoticed shortfall.
- Recalculate the shortfall on salary and wages, not OTE, if you find one.
- Compare STP-reported liability for the quarter against contributions actually received.
If your client files are reconciled continuously, that sweep takes an hour across a portfolio. If they are not, this is the second time in one article that a quarterly reconciliation habit turns into a compliance exposure — and with Payday Super now running on a seven-business-day clock, it will not be the last.
That is the honest argument for continuous reconciliation, and it is the reason ReconLink exists: current bank feeds and coded transactions mean the super clearing account is already reconciled when a deadline like this arrives. Weigh our interest in saying so accordingly — but do the 28 August check either way.
Frequently asked questions
When is the SGC statement due? One calendar month after the SG due date. For the April–June 2026 quarter, the SG was due 28 July 2026, making the SGC statement and payment due 28 August 2026.
What is included in the super guarantee charge? The SG shortfall, nominal interest of 10% per annum accruing from the first day of the quarter, and an administration fee of $20 per employee per quarter.
Can the nominal interest be reduced or waived? No. The ATO states that nominal interest is part of the SGC and by law cannot be reduced or waived.
Is the SGC tax deductible? No. Unlike an on-time superannuation contribution, the super guarantee charge is not deductible.
Why is the shortfall higher than the contribution we missed? Because the SGC shortfall is calculated on salary and wages, whereas an on-time contribution is calculated on ordinary time earnings. Salary and wages is a broader base and can include amounts such as overtime.
We paid the super late — does that help? Possibly. A late payment to the employee's fund may be offset against the shortfall component if the SGC statement is lodged and conditions around timing are met. Nominal interest and the administration fee remain payable regardless.
Does Payday Super change this? Payday Super applies from 1 July 2026. The June 2026 quarter is still governed by the quarterly rules, so the 28 August 2026 SGC obligation stands.
The short version
For the June 2026 quarter, 28 August is the deadline and the charge is deliberately punitive: a broader shortfall base, interest that cannot be waived, $20 per employee, and no deduction. Reconcile the clearing account and read the exception reports this week — not after the date passes.