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What is AU Super?
Superannuation (Super) in Australia is a government-legislated and encouraged scheme designed to help Australians save for retirement. Its history and development reflect the country's evolving approach to social welfare, economic policy, and individual financial security.
There are many types of contribution, but the most common for payroll teams to manage are:
Super Guarantee (SG) contributions. Compulsory before-tax contributions employers make on behalf of all eligible employees as part of their salary package — a right of all Australian employees since 1992.
Salary sacrifice to Super. A voluntary arrangement where an employee agrees to forego a portion of their before-tax salary which their employer then contributes to their superannuation fund.
Personal contributions. Employees can also make after-tax contributions if they wish.
Employers are responsible for making sure that the details of all SG contributions are electronically transferred to their chosen Super clearing house via a SuperStream service like ClickSuper, on a time schedule mandated by the ATO (quarterly at minimum). The clearing house is then responsible for the disbursement of money into employee funds.
For all other contributions, these are treated as any other deduction from an employee's pay.