Super plays a big role in your employees’ future and you have a legal obligation to make their super contributions at least quarterly.
Who do I need to make SG payments for?
You need to pay super for employees aged 18 and over who:
You also have to pay super for employees under 18 years of age who:
How much SG do you need to pay?
The SG legislation requires you to provide super contributions for your eligible employees. The amount you must contribute is a percentage of their ‘ordinary-time earnings’. The SG rate is currently 9.5% and will start increasing by 0.5% each year from 2021/22 up to a maximum of 12% in 2025/26.
| Year | SG rate % |
| 2016/17 | 9.5 |
| 2017/18 | 9.5 |
| 2018/19 | 9.5 |
| 2019/20 | 9.5 |
| 2020/21 | 9.5 |
| 2021/22 | 10.0 |
| 2022/23 | 10.5 |
| 2023/24 | 11.0 |
| 2024/25 | 11.5 |
| 2025/26 | 12 |
What are ordinary-time earnings?
Ordinary-time earnings are the salary or wages paid to employees for their ordinary hours of work. This excludes (among other things) overtime. It includes over-award payments, bonuses, shift allowances, commissions and paid leave.
What’s the maximum contributions base?
For any given quarter, there is a maximum limit on the SG contributions you’re obligated to make for an employee. For the 2016/17 financial year the maximum contribution in any quarter is $4,903.90 – which is 9.5% of the quarterly maximum contribution base of $51,620. For more, contact the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)