Payday super is the most significant change to superannuation administration in decades, and from 1 July 2026 it reshapes how super flows for anyone who works shifts as a healthcare locum in Australia. Whether you are a GP, pharmacist, physio, psychologist, OT, dentist, nurse, specialist, or paramedic, this reform affects either how your hirers pay super to you or how you think about building your own super balance as a sole trader. This post explains the change, who it applies to, and what you should be doing before 30 June.
What Payday Super Actually Changes
Under the current rules, employers pay superannuation guarantee (SG) quarterly. From 1 July 2026, employers must pay SG at the same time as each salary or wage payment, with contributions required to land in the employee's super fund within 7 business days of payday. The legislation, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Act 2025, is already law.
The SG rate remains 12% of qualifying earnings for 2025-26 and stays at 12% into 2026-27. The new concept of "qualifying earnings" replaces "ordinary time earnings" as the calculation base, and is broader: it includes salary sacrifice amounts that would have been earnings had they not been directed to super.
The key discipline change is timing. If super is not received by the fund within the 7 business day window, the new super guarantee charge kicks in automatically. The ATO estimates over $6 billion per year in super goes unpaid under the current quarterly system. Payday super closes that gap.
Does This Apply to Locums Working Under ABN?
This is the question that trips up most healthcare contractors, and the answer depends on how your engagement is structured.
If you are a genuine sole trader working under your own ABN, running your own clinical business, supplying equipment or premises, and bearing commercial risk, you have no SG obligation from your hirers for your own super. You are not an employee. The payday super rules are aimed at employers paying employees and do not change that position.
However, if a hirer engages you primarily for your labour (rather than for a business outcome), the ATO treats you as an employee for SG purposes regardless of whether you hold an ABN or have signed a contractor agreement. This is not a new rule: it predates payday super. What changes from 1 July 2026 is that hirers who do owe you SG must now pay it on each payday, not quarterly. If you are in this category and your hirer has been paying SG quarterly, expect the timing to change.
Many locum engagements through agencies sit in a grey zone. If you are unsure which category applies to your arrangement, the ATO's "work out if you have to pay super" tool is the starting point. For clinicians working across multiple workplaces and agency arrangements, the status can differ engagement by engagement.
What Sole Traders Should Focus On: Personal Deductible Contributions
If you are a genuine sole trader, payday super does not change your obligations. What it should do is prompt you to review your own super strategy before 30 June 2026.
Sole traders can make personal super contributions and claim a tax deduction, provided you lodge a valid notice of intent to claim with your fund before lodging your tax return. These contributions count as concessional contributions and are taxed at 15% inside the fund, compared with your marginal rate outside it. For a locum earning above $120,000, the saving is material.
The concessional contributions cap for 2026-27 is $32,500. This includes any employer SG contributions you receive. If your total super balance was below $500,000 on 30 June 2025, you may also be able to use unused cap amounts carried forward from earlier years, potentially allowing a larger deductible contribution in a single year.
Contributions must reach your fund by 30 June to count in the 2025-26 year. With the financial year ending in three weeks, this is time-sensitive. Procrastinating past 30 June forfeits the current year's cap.
The Contractor Test: Payday Super and Labour-Hire Arrangements
The ATO has been explicit that the payday super rules extend to independent contractors who are paid mainly for their labour. If a labour-hire agency or direct workplace engages you and your contract is for your personal clinical skills with no significant capital or business input, the agency or workplace is likely obligated to pay SG on your behalf.
For locums working through agencies that currently pay SG quarterly, from 1 July 2026 those payments must be made at each pay cycle and received by your fund within 7 business days. You should expect to see super arriving more frequently in your fund statements from the new financial year. If it does not appear on that schedule, the hirer is non-compliant.
This is worth knowing because unpaid or late super has historically been difficult to detect between quarterly lodgement dates. The new timing makes gaps visible much sooner.
Before 30 June: A Short Checklist for Locums
For sole traders making a personal deductible contribution: transfer funds to your super account before 30 June and lodge the notice of intent form with your fund promptly. Check you have not already exceeded the $32,500 concessional cap including any SG received this year.
For locums engaged as employees or labour-hire workers: confirm with your agency or workplace that they are set up to comply with payday super from 1 July. Review your current SG payment schedule so you have a baseline to compare against once the new rules apply.
For locums who are unsure of their status: document your engagement terms now. The ATO's contractor determination and safe harbour provisions matter more once payday super is in force and penalties are sharper.
How Sessional Helps
Sessional's super tracker lets you log and reconcile SG received from all workplaces and agencies in one place, so you can see at a glance whether contributions are arriving on the new payday schedule. The earnings and tax-reserve dashboard helps sole traders estimate how much of their ABN income to set aside for a personal deductible super contribution before 30 June. You can also use the invoicing tools to track which engagements are ABN invoiced versus payroll, making it easier to categorise super obligations correctly across a mixed working pattern. Explore the full feature set at pricing or visit the help centre for guides.
This post is general information only and does not constitute personal financial or tax advice. Speak with a registered tax agent or financial adviser about your specific circumstances.
Sources
- ATO - About Payday Super
- ATO - Payday Superannuation legislation detail
- ATO - Payment deadlines for Payday Super
- ATO - Super for independent contractors
- ATO - Super for sole traders and partnerships
- ATO - Concessional contributions cap
- ATO - Super guarantee rate
- Fair Work Ombudsman - Payday Super new rules starting 1 July 2026