Superannuation guarantee changes from 1 July 2023

The mandatory superannuation guarantee rate increases from 10.5% to 11% from 1 July 2023. Find out how easy it is to stay compliant.

To check that the superannuation category is set up correctly

1. Go to the Payroll command centre and click Payroll Categories.
2. Click the Superannuation tab then click the zoom arrow next to the Superannuation Guarantee category. This category usually relates to the compulsory superannuation required to be paid by employers. If you have multiple funds, you'll need to check each fund in turn.

3. Check the details of the category based on the following example.
   This is an example only based on the Superannuation Guarantee category that exists in your software by default. Your business circumstances and current legislation may require different setup. Speak to your accounting advisor or the relevant wage authority.
   

   Linked Expense Account	Usually set to an expense account of your choice. Check with your accounting advisor if unsure.
   Linked Payable Account	Usually set to a liability account of your choice. Check with your accounting advisor if unsure.
   Contribution Type	This is the type of superannuation, such as Superannuation Guarantee or Salary Sacrifice. This selection determines whether the contribution is paid in addition to gross pay, or deducted from gross or net pay.
   Calculation Basis	We recommend setting this to Minimum Required Rate to automatically apply the minimum legislated super rate for your employees. Learn more about staying compliant with super guarantee rate increases.
   Exclusions	This is for amounts that should be excluded from the calculation.
   Limit	Used to set a limit (or cap) for super contributions. This is usually set to No Limit., but check with the ATO if unsure.
   Threshold	Used to set a monthly wage threshold before super will be calculated. UI Text Box size medium type note From 1 July 2022, the Australian Government has removed the $450 per month threshold for super guarantee eligibility. This means superannuation must be paid on all ordinary times earnings for pays dated 1 July 2022 or later. For pays dated 1 July 2022 or later, this field will be ignored. Learn more about the removal of the $450 earnings threshold for super.

4. Click Employee and select all employees entitled to this superannuation.
5. Click OK to return to the Superannuation Information window.
6. Click Exempt and ensure only the appropriate categories have been made exempt. In other words only select a category if you don't want superannuation to calculate on that particular wage category.
7. Click OK to return to the Superannuation Information window.
8. Click OK and exit to the Payroll command centre.
9. Click Process Payroll to test whether this category is working. Ensure the date of the pay is the 1st of the following month as no pays will have been written for that month. This way any prior pays will not influence superannuation calculations.

To check that previous superannuation calculations were correct

1. Go to the Reports menu and choose Index to Reports.
2. Click the Payroll tab.
3. Select the Register Detail report (under the Employees heading) then click Advanced Filters.
4. Select All Employees and select Year-to-Date as the period.
5. Click Run Report.
6. Check that the superannuation amounts are correct for each employee. 

How is superannuation calculated?

Superannuation guarantee contributions are calculated each pay run on the wage categories that are not exempt from super calculations. It's calculated based on the Calculation Basis set in the superannuation guarantee pay item (Payroll > Payroll Categories > Superannuation tab > Superannuation Guarantee). We recommend setting this to Minimum Required Rate so the correct rate will always be used – even when the government change the super rate. Tell me more...

Due to the removal of the $450 super threshold, the super calculation no longer needs to take into account previous pays in the same calendar month.

Also see Paying super for employees aged under 18.

To fix a super payment

1. Start a new pay run for the employee.
2. Enter the pay Memo as "Super adjustment" or similar. The date should be entered as the last day of the month.
3. Enter wage amounts as zero.
4. Enter the super adjustment amount.
5. Zero out all sick leave and holiday pay accrual amounts. This means the net pay will be $0.00

See our example below.

<h2><i class="fa fa-comments"></i>&nbsp;&nbsp;Super calculation FAQs</h2><br>

Why is an employee earning zero super?

Make sure the superannuation category has been assigned to the employee (Payroll command centre > Payroll Categories > Superannuation tab > open the applicable super category > Employee > make sure the employee is selected > OK).

Also, the Limit in the superannuation category might be set to zero. See To check that the superannuation category is set up correctly above for more details.

The Payroll History in an employee's card shows that some superannuation has already been calculated. Will this affect the calculation of superannuation?

Yes. If the superannuation history for an employee has been previously adjusted, your software will calculate less or more superannuation to ensure that the amount being calculated is 10.5% of the gross amount of salary/wages.

To check this:

1. Go to the Card File command centre and click Card List.
2. Click the Employee tab and click the zoom arrow next to one of the employees whose superannuation is not calculating.
3. Click the Payroll Details tab.
4. Click Payroll History and view the amount allocated to superannuation for the month. For example, an employee earned $1000 for the month, but the superannuation calculated on the current pay is $45, not $105.00 ($1,000 x 10.5%). When you check the payroll history for the employee, you see that $60.00 has already been allocated to superannuation. As such, only $45 is calculated on the employee's pay to bring the total superannuation amount to $105.00.

How do I exempt a wage category from accruing super?

Super might not be payable on certain wage categories. If you're unsure about whether a wage category should accrue super, check with the ATO.

To prevent super accruing on a wage category:

1. Go to the Payroll command centre and click Payroll Categories.
2. Click the Superannuation tab then click the zoom arrow next to the Superannuation Guarantee category.
3. Click Exempt.
4. Select the wage category to be exempted from accruing super.
5. Click OK.

Why isn't super being calculated on a wage category?

If you've set up a wage category which isn't accruing super, check the following.

1. Go to the Payroll command centre and click Payroll Categories.
2. Click the Superannuation tab then click the zoom arrow next to the Superannuation Guarantee category.
3. Click Exempt.
4. Ensure all wage categories which should be accruing super are not selected (super will not be calculated on any wage category selected here).
5. Click OK.

Why is my salary sacrifice super calculating incorrectly?

If you have set up salary sacrifice to use a fixed percentage, the calculation will look at the total pay for the month and work out the amount to sacrifice. So, if your salary sacrifice is set up mid-month there may be previous pay amounts used in the calculation.

In these cases, manually enter the correct salary sacrifice amount when recording your pays. The following month the calculation will correct.