Understanding your legal obligations as an employer is an important part of running a business. When it comes to paying employees’ super, employers need to abide by the requirements set out by the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992.
What you need to do
Make super contributions
As an employer you are legally required to make Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contributions on behalf of employees who are:
- Aged 18 years or over
- Employed on a full-time, part-time or casual basis (including those who are working in Australia temporarily).
- Earn $450 or more (before tax) in a calendar month, or earn $350 or more in a calendar month if they are under the Hospitality Industry (General) Award (HIGA) 2010 or Restaurant Award1. Or are
- Under the age of 18, work 30 hours or more in a week and earn $450 or more (before-tax) in a calendar month.
Provide Tax File Numbers (TFNs)
If your employee gives you their tax file number (TFN) you must provide this to Hostplus when you begin to make your SG contributions. Failing to provide an employee’s TFN may result in a fine of up to $2,100 from the ATO.
In addition to the 15% tax on employer contributions, employees without a TFN attached to their super are taxed at an additional rate of 32% on ‘No TFN’ contributions paid into the fund on their behalf.
Furthermore, without a TFN, personal contributions made to the fund by the employee are unable to be accepted. Be super smart and include your employees’ TFNs today.
What you need to know
How much super to pay
The current SG law requires you to pay a minimum of 9.5%2 of an employee’s ordinary time earnings (OTE). For most employees, this simply means their normal working hours (excluding overtime).
For more information contact us or the ATO.
When to pay
Contributions must be paid on a quarterly basis. However, employers may also choose to pay monthly or fortnightly. When you've decided on the easiest way to pay all you need to do is ensure you meet your payment deadline.
| Financial year quarters | Payment period dates | Hostplus due date | Australian Tax Office (ATO) legislative due date | Late payment - SG Charge due date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarter 1 | 1 July to 30 September | 14 October | 28 October | 28 November |
| Quarter 2 | 1 October to 31 December | 14 January | 28 January | 28 February |
| Quarter 3 | 1 January to 31 March | 14 April | 28 April | 28 May |
| Quarter 4 | 1 April to 30 June | 14 July | 28 July | 28 August |
If you don’t need to make a payment (i.e. you have no eligible employees during a particular period), contact us to let us know. We’ll add a note to your account so we know not to expect your payment for that period.
Suspending your payments
If your business is seasonal, or you’re taking a break and not keeping any employees, you can suspend your employer account for up to 12 months. If you get back up and running at any time during the 12 months, just submit your payment and contact us to reactivate your account. After 12 months your suspended account will reactivate automatically.
How to close your account
If you've sold your business, closed down or no longer have employees, you can contact us to permanently ‘cease’ or close your account. If you’d like to make payments to Hostplus again in the future, you’ll need to re-join.
1 Pursuant to clause 28.2 ‘Employer Contributions’ of the Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2010.
2 The Superannuation Guarantee contribution percentage. Rates are scheduled to gradually increase to 12% by 30 June 2026.
