Payday Super Qualifying Earnings

Many pharmacy and medical centre owners believe Payday Super only means paying super more often.

That’s not the whole story.

The bigger issue is understanding “Qualifying Earnings” (QE), which are the types of earnings that require super contributions under the new rules.

For healthcare businesses that have:

penalties
overtime
allowances
bonuses
casual staff
contractor arrangements

this can become complicated very quickly.

The risk is more than just making late payments.

There’s also the risk of classifying employee earnings incorrectly and accidentally underpaying super.

ABN Contractors

One area that many businesses might miss is this:

Contractors who are mainly hired for their labour may still need to receive super contributions, even if they have an ABN.

Since Payday Super is expected to start in July 2026, now is a good time to review payroll categories
✔ Check contractor arrangements
✔ Ensure payroll systems can handle QE correctly
✔ Move away from “quarterly super thinking”

Businesses that prepare early can avoid costly payroll surprises down the track.

For more information, check out ATO – Explaining Qualifying Earnings

Need Help?

We are currently helping clients:

Review payroll systems for Payday Super.
Implement payment and monitoring processes.
Set up error handling and compliance controls.

If you want help getting ready for Payday Super, get in touch with our team.