Superannuation
Employer retirement contributions calculated on ordinary time earnings and paid to employee-nominated funds.
Workflow
- 01Contribution Calculation
- 02Fund Validation
- 03Clearing House Submission
- 04Reconciliation
Data in and out
- OUT Contributions to SuperStream gateway and funds · at least quarterlyWithout it: Superannuation guarantee charge, and it is not tax deductible.
If you change this
It implies 11 topics across 2 modules, including Financial Accounting which you might not expect.
See the path ahead →Why it matters
Underpaid super does not bounce. The pay run completes, staff are paid, and the shortfall surfaces later as a superannuation guarantee charge — which includes interest, an administration fee, and is not tax deductible.
- It is calculated, not entered: On ordinary time earnings, which is a defined term and not the same as gross pay.
- It is time-bound: Contributions must reach the fund by the quarterly deadline, not leave the organisation by it.
- It compounds: A wrong OTE rule applied every fortnight is a liability that grows for as long as nobody checks.
Ordinary time earnings is where the errors live. Overtime is generally excluded; many allowances, loadings and bonuses are not. Each exclusion decision should be recorded against the pay code, with the reason.
The workflow
- 01
Earnings classification
Each pay code is marked as OTE or not, deliberately and with a recorded reason.
- 02
Contribution calculation
The guarantee rate is applied to OTE, alongside any salary sacrifice or additional employer contribution.
- 03
Fund and member matching
Contributions are matched to the employee's chosen fund and member number, or the stapled fund.
- 04
SuperStream submission
Contributions and data are sent in the required format through a compliant gateway.
- 05
Payment and confirmation
Funds clear, and confirmation is reconciled against what was submitted.
- 06
Exception handling
Rejections — wrong member number, closed fund — are worked before the deadline, not after.
What you need in place
- Pay code classification: Every code marked for OTE treatment, reviewed when a new code is added.
- Stapled fund handling: A process for employees who do not choose a fund.
- SuperStream capability: Through the payroll provider, a clearing house, or a gateway.
- Deadline monitoring: Alerting before the quarterly date, not reporting after it.
- Rejection queue: Owned by a person, because a rejected contribution is an unpaid one.
Questions to ask
01OTE rules
Which pay codes are treated as ordinary time earnings, and who decided?
Ask to see the list with reasons. If nobody can produce it, that is the finding.
02Timing
Does our deadline mean leaving us, or reaching the fund?
Reaching the fund. Clearing house lag is the organisation's problem, not the fund's.
03Rejections
Who works rejected contributions, and within what window?
A rejection sitting in a queue past the deadline is a guarantee charge.
04Choice of fund
How do we handle an employee who makes no choice?
Stapled fund rules apply; the default fund route is no longer automatic.
05Back-pay
When we correct an underpayment, does super follow?
It should, on the original earning period, not the period of correction.
Metrics and KPIs to track
On-time contribution rate
Contributions reaching funds by the statutory deadline.
Rejection rate
Contributions rejected by a fund, by cause.
OTE classification changes
Pay codes reclassified per period, a proxy for how settled the rules are.
Guarantee charge exposure
Value of any identified shortfall, including interest.
Australian specifics
The superannuation guarantee rate is legislated and has been stepping up; the rate applied must match the period the earnings relate to. Contributions are reported through SuperStream in a prescribed format — this is not optional, and it is separate from the ABA payment file used for net pay. Shortfalls are reported to the ATO on a superannuation guarantee charge statement, and the charge is calculated on total salary and wages rather than on ordinary time earnings, which makes it more expensive than the contribution would have been.
Alongside this