Key Highlights

  • Employers have until 28 October 2026 to clear any super still owing for the July–September quarter before they land in the ATO's "high-risk" zone under Payday Super.
  • The date is drawn from Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2026/1, which the ATO issued on 28 January 2026.
  • PCG 2026/1 applies only to qualifying earnings days from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, so it covers the first year of Payday Super.
  • The guideline sorts employers into three risk zones.

Employers have until 28 October 2026 to clear any super still owing for the July–September quarter before they land in the ATO's "high-risk" zone under Payday Super. The date is not a payment deadline: since 1 July 2026, super guarantee must reach an employee's fund within seven business days of payday. But under the ATO's first-year compliance guideline, 28 October is when unpaid amounts for that quarter move employers into the group the Tax Office says it will pursue first.

Where the 28 October date comes from

The date is drawn from Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2026/1, which the ATO issued on 28 January 2026. A practical compliance guideline is ATO guidance on how the Tax Office will apply its compliance resources. It is not legislation.

PCG 2026/1 applies only to qualifying earnings days from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, so it covers the first year of Payday Super.

The guideline sorts employers into three risk zones. The test for the higher zones is whether super shortfalls remain "after 28 days following the end of the quarter". For the July–September 2026 quarter, 28 days after 30 September is 28 October 2026. Commentators have described this as the "28 October risk line", but the ATO itself does not present the date as a deadline.

The three risk zones explained

Low risk applies where an employer tried to pay on time and any late contributions were received "as soon as reasonably practicable", so final super guarantee shortfalls are nil. For this group, the ATO says: "We will not have cause to review the employer's actions."

Medium risk covers employers who are not low risk but where "the individual final SG shortfalls for all their employees are nil by the end of 28 days after the end of the quarter". The ATO says "compliance resources may be applied to investigate."

High risk is where an employer has "one or more individual final SG shortfalls greater than nil for their employees after 28 days following the end of the quarter." The ATO's position is blunt: "High-risk arrangements will be given the highest priority resourcing."

Why paying quarterly is no longer enough

Some businesses have kept paying super on the old quarterly timetable. PCG 2026/1 deals with them directly.

Employers who keep paying "by the quarterly due dates that applied prior to 1 July 2026" and make no attempt to pay more often "cannot be considered to fall into the low-risk zone", according to the guideline. Two of its worked examples place quarterly payers in the medium-risk zone if their shortfalls are cleared within 28 days of the quarter's end, and in the high-risk zone if not.

The zones describe how the ATO intends to prioritise its compliance work. They do not change the legal obligation, which under the enacted Payday Super law is to pay super guarantee of 12% of qualifying earnings so that it reaches the fund within seven business days of payday.