The short version
Payday super is live. Since 1 July 2026, super is payable every pay run and must reach each employee's fund within seven business days of payday. The quarterly cycle, which let a business hold up to three months of super in its cash, is gone.
That float was real money. Employment Hero's modelling puts the average hit at $124K of extra working capital for an SME with around 20 staff, and 40% of businesses surveyed expect to need a line of credit just to pay super on time. Below is what changed, where it hurts, which finance fits, and the one product that makes it worse.
What changed
Until June 2026, super was due 28 days after the end of each quarter. An employer with a weekly payroll could hold as much as thirteen weeks of super before it had to be paid. Plenty of businesses treated that float like supplier terms: free working capital that had been part of how they ran for so long nobody thought of it as borrowing.
From 1 July 2026, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Act 2025 says the fund must receive contributions within seven business days of each payday. The fund has to receive it, not just have it sent. A weekly payroll now means 52 super payments a year instead of four. Miss the deadline and a redesigned superannuation guarantee charge applies, which adds interest and an admin charge on top of the unpaid super. The ATO has published a lighter-touch compliance approach for the first year (PCG 2026/1), but you owe the money from day one.
The float is gone: a worked example
Take a business with $1.5M in yearly wages, paid weekly. At the 12% guarantee rate that's $180K of super a year, or about $3,460 each pay run.
Under the quarterly system, that super built up in the business's account over the quarter and could then sit for up to another 28 days before it was due. On average the business held $25K to $30K of super at any time, peaking around $45K just before each quarterly deadline. Under payday super, the same business holds almost nothing. Every Thursday, wages and super go out together.
Nothing costs more. The same dollars go to the same funds. What's changed is when they leave, and that timing is what working capital is about.
Where the pressure lands first
The 28 October BAS comes first. The July to September quarter was the first one fully under the new rules. Businesses that used to pay GST, PAYG withholding and quarterly super from the same pool of cash will reach this BAS with the super money already gone. For a lot of business owners, October is when this stops being a forecast and starts being real.
Then comes summer. Christmas trading brings holiday loadings and casual hours, and super is due on all of it in the same week it's paid. After that comes December to January, when many businesses trade slowly or close. December was already the worst quarter for insolvencies before this change.
Your industry matters more than your size. Businesses with weekly payroll have 52 super payments a year, while a professional services firm on monthly payroll has 12. So construction, hospitality and transport feel it most. If you bill customers for your staff's work on 30 to 60 day terms while the super on those wages goes out weekly, the gap is now built into how you run.
Which finance fits a payroll timing problem
A line of credit or overdraft is the natural fit. You draw on it on payday and pay it back as customers pay you, and you only pay interest on what you've used. That's why 40% of businesses surveyed named it.
Invoice finance fits when the real problem is slow-paying customers. A labour-hire firm or subcontractor paying super weekly on wages it billed 45 days ago doesn't have a super problem. It has a problem with money owed to it (receivables), and borrowing against those invoices fixes the actual cause. Our guide to working capital finance options compares the two.
A term loan doesn't suit an ongoing timing gap, but it does suit a one-off reset: clearing super you've fallen behind on and starting fresh, then using one of the options above for the ongoing cycle.
One product doesn't fit at all: a merchant cash advance with daily repayments on top of a payroll timing problem. It helps this week and makes every week after it tighter. No lender will tell you that about its own product, which is a big part of why you'd ask a broker instead.
The director angle
Unpaid super isn't like an ordinary supplier debt. Under the superannuation guarantee charge rules, directors can be personally liable through director penalty notices, and that doesn't go away because the business plans to catch up next quarter. This is general information, not advice, but the practical point holds. If you're skipping super to keep trading, fix the setup now while you still have options. Lenders treat unpaid super the same way they treat ATO debt, so finance arranged before you fall behind is cheaper and easier to get than finance arranged after.
How to go about it
Put the new cycle on a real calendar: 52 super payments, four BAS lodgements, wages and rent. The tight weeks stand out once it's all laid out. Work out an honest buffer for those weeks, then set up the finance while your record is clean. A business asking for a limit it doesn't need yet gets better pricing than one already behind on tax and super payments, and an unused limit costs little to keep.
We arrange lines of credit, overdrafts and invoice finance with 130+ lenders. The right choice depends on whether your pressure comes from timing, slow-paying customers or seasonal trade. If you'd like a view on which fits your cycle, the application form takes under a minute, and most enquiries get a reply within four business hours.