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What to do if your employer doesn’t pay your super

Under the current super rules, your employer is required to make contributions into your super account on a regular basis to help you save for your retirement.

So, what can you do if they don’t pay?

The short answer is report them to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), but it’s worth understanding a bit about the problem and who can help before you hit the phone or the keyboard.

How big is the Super Guarantee (SG) problem?

Usually the first thing to do if you think your super contributions are not being paid is talk to your employer. Most employers do the right thing so simply asking how often they pay your super, how much is being paid and the fund into which it’s being paid often solves your concerns.

According to a 2022 report by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) into the ATO’s efforts in ensuring compliance with SG contribution rules, around 95% of SG contributions are paid by employers without the tax regulator needing to get involved. Which is a good thing, as the report found the ATO’s work in achieving greater employer compliance with their SG obligations was only partly effective.

To encourage employers to get their super affairs in order, the government introduced a one-off SG Amnesty in 2020. The six-month amnesty period was aimed at giving employers a chance to correct past SG non-compliance without paying penalties. It applied to missing SG contributions for any quarter from 1 July 1992 to 31 March 2018.

Following the SG Amnesty, the ATO held back from chasing up employers failing to meet their SG obligations due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses. In early 2022, however, the ATO announced it would begin taking more forceful action in relation to unpaid SG obligations and start debt collection actions with employers.

What contributions should my employer be making?

The main super contribution your employer should be paying to your super fund is the Superannuation Guarantee (SG).

Every employer must pay this contribution for their eligible employees as part of their wages and salary package. The current SG rate is 11.5% (in 2024–25).

Following changes to the SG rules, from 1 July 2022 almost all employees are eligible for SG contributions from their employer regardless of their employment status (full time, part time or casual). The main exception to eligibility is if you are aged under 18 and working less than 30 hours each week for your employer. 

Learn more about the SG rate and rules.

In addition, if you have set up a valid salary-sacrifice arrangement with your employer, regular salary-sacrifice amounts should also appear in your super account from your employer.

Learn more about salary sacrificing super.

If you’re uncertain about whether you’re entitled to SG contributions, or if your employer is paying the correct amount, you can use the ATO’s Am I Entitled to Super? and Estimate My Super online tools to check your eligibility and SG entitlement.

Part of your SG entitlement is also Choice of Fund, which allows most employees to choose the super fund into which their employer’s SG contributions are directed.


Need to know

If you’re not receiving regular SG contributions from your employer, not only will you have less in your super account for retirement, but you could also lose the insurance cover provided by most super funds as part of your fund membership. This means you could miss out on valuable insurance benefits if illness or injury forced you to leave the workforce.

The loss of your insurance benefit occurs because super funds are required to stop providing insurance cover if a member’s account doesn’t receive super contributions for more than 16 months. Some super funds cancel insurance cover before this time, or if your account balance remains low. Your fund will contact you before cancelling your cover to give you the opportunity to choose to keep your insurance.


When should SG payments be made?

Your employer must pay their SG contributions at least four times a year in line with the quarterly due dates. Some employers choose to make super contributions more regularly.

QuarterPeriodSG contribution due dateSG statement and charge due date
11 July – 30 September28 October28 November
21 October – 31 December28 January28 February
31 January – 31 March28 April28 May
41 April – 30 June28 July28 August

How do I check my SG is being paid?

The simplest way to check whether your employer has paid your SG contributions into your super account is to contact your super fund. Your super fund can provide you with updated information on all the payments made into your super account.

Alternatively, most super funds allow you to check the latest transactions in your super account online or in their app. Simply log into your super account and check to see if regular or quarterly SG contributions are appearing in your transaction list.


Good to know

From 1 July 2026, employers will be required to pay their employees’ super at the same time as their salary and wages, rather than quarterly.

For example, if employees are paid weekly, then super must also be paid weekly.

When this change is implemented, the due dates for SG payments will change in line with your pay cycle.


What can I do if my employer is not paying SG contributions?

If you believe your employer has not made contributions on your behalf or has not been paying enough SG, you can use the ATO’s web tool Report Unpaid Super Contributions From My Employer to let it know. The situation will then be investigated by the ATO based on the information you provide.

You can also use the web tool to let the ATO know your employer has paid your super late or has paid your super into the wrong super fund.


Need to know

The ATO can only investigate problems with unpaid super after the lodgement due date to the ATO has passed. So, if you think your employer has not paid your SG contributions in a particular quarter, the ATO will not investigate until after the lodgement deadline for that quarter (see table above).

For example, if you are checking on contributions for the period 1 July to 30 September, the ATO cannot investigate this until after the lodgement due date of 28 November.

Generally, the ATO will not pursue unpaid super enquiries relating to contribution periods that ended more than five years ago.


To report unpaid super contributions by your employer, you will need to provide your personal details (including your Tax File Number), the period you are checking and your employer’s details, including their Australian Business Number (ABN).

Your employer’s ABN is usually on your last payment summary or payslip, or on your employer’s letterhead. If you don’t have these documents, you can use the government’s Australian Business Register ABN Lookup tool to search for your employer’s ABN.

You will also be asked how much you were paid (before tax) in a calendar month and whether you have checked with your employer or super fund if super contributions have been paid. If you’re being paid as a contractor but believe you’re an employee for super purposes, you will need to provide a copy of the invoices you issued to your employer.

Learn about being an employee for super purposes.

When you lodge your unpaid super enquiry, the ATO will ask for permission to use your name when contacting your employer. In some situations there may be delays or the ATO may not be able to proceed with your enquiry if you don’t give permission.

You can use the ATO app or call the ATO on 1800 060 062 to make a confidential tip-off if you want to keep your identity confidential.


Need to know

Contractors who are considered employees for super purposes are entitled to employer SG contributions in the same way as other employees. If your employer fails to make contributions because they have incorrectly classified you as not being an employee, the ATO will generally take compliance action.

The regulator may, however, decide not to act if both parties have had a mutual understanding about the nature of the working relationship, or if you presented yourself as a contractor (such as claiming large business deductions or claimed the entrepreneur’s tax offset). For more details, see the ATO website here.


How does the investigation process work?

Once you lodge an enquiry with the ATO about unpaid super, there is a five-step investigation process:

  1. Query received
  2. Investigation progressing
  3. Employer debt established
  4. Debt collection process
  5. Query closed

During its investigation, the ATO will keep you updated about the progress of your case by letter or email via your myGov account. If you don’t have a myGov account, a letter will be sent to your postal address.

Why can’t the ATO get my money?

If your employer has not paid your SG entitlements the ATO may not be able to recover your money.

The ATO will not be able to recover your unpaid super contributions or provide Choice of Fund if:

  • You are not eligible for super contributions
  • Your employer is not required to offer you Choice of Fund
  • A relationship between you and the employer was not confirmed by the ATO
  • Your employer provides information proving it has contributed the minimum super for you
  • Your employer is bankrupt, in liquidation or under administration (in this situation you need to contact the company’s administrator or liquidator)
  • Your employer’s company is deregistered
  • The ATO decides the debt is not recoverable.

Other ways to obtain your unpaid super

If you lodge an enquiry with the ATO, it will take action based on the information you provide.

There are other steps you can take, however, to try to get unpaid super contributions from your employer, including:

  • Seek a court order under the Fair Work Act 2009 – If you are employed under the national workplace relations system, you can seek an order from an eligible court.
  • Talk to the Fair Work Ombudsman – The Ombudsman may be able to pursue your entitlements on your behalf, including going to court.
  • Check your state industrial relations laws – If you are employed under the state industrial relations systems in NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia or Tasmania, these states have laws enabling the courts to order your employer to pay the shortfall amount to your super fund.

Good to know

Industry Fund Services, which provides services to many of the large industry super funds, has specialist teams that work with super funds to actively follow up outstanding super contributions from employers. They contact employers about unpaid super contributions, establish tailored payment agreements with employers and even take legal action where required.

If you’re a member of an industry super fund and you believe you’re not being paid your super entitlements, you should contact your super fund for assistance. However, it’s good to know there are specialists working with your super fund to recover missing employer contributions.


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