Super Guarantee Obligations

Posted 1 Apr '19

Super Guarantee Obligations

By D'Lene Browning

Are you meeting your Super Guarantee Obligations?

New legislation will give the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) additional powers in relation to penalties for employers who fail to comply with Super Guarantee requirements.

Employers need to:

1. Pay super contributions for eligible employees to their superfund by the quarterly due date; 28 January, 28 April, 28 July, 28 October
2. Pay at least the minimum 9.5% contribution of the employees ordinary time earnings
3. Check if employees are eligible for a choice of super fund
4. Provide eligible employees with a Standard choice form
5. Pass on employee tax file numbers (TFN) to their superfund
6. Pay super contributions for eligible contractors
7. Keep records of super contribution payments and that a choice of superfund has been offered to eligible employees
8. Keep employees informed of their contributions. You are obliged to include super contributions amounts on employee payslips.

The ATO can issue a direction to an employer to pay an outstanding super guarantee liability, with failure to comply possibly resulting in criminal penalties, including up to 12 months’ imprisonment.  Employers who receive direction from the commissioner must also complete an approved education course.

The Commissioner’s power to issue these directions and the penalty provisions take effect on 1 April 2019 and will apply to all outstanding SGC liabilities that became payable from 1 July 2018.

Employers should also be aware that the ATO will now have additional tools available to closely monitor superannuation compliance. This includes Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting for all employers from 1 July 2019. STP will give the ATO up to date information about the amounts of superannuation that employers owe to their employees.

If you would like to discuss your employer super obligations with us, please contact our office.

Below is some additional information available on the ATO website

Australian Taxation Office (ATO) superannuation resources

Read the ATO's guide to superannuation for employers for more details on:

• Working out if you have to pay super
• Setting up super for a worker
• How much to pay and when to pay
• What you must do if you haven't met your obligations
• Records you need to keep.

Use the Super obligation employer's checklist to check you are meeting all your super obligations as an employer.

The ATO also provides useful tools for employers, including:

• Find out if your worker is considered an employee or contractor for super purposes
• Check if your employee is eligible for super contributions at Superannuation guarantee eligibility
• Calculate how much super you need to contribute for your eligible employees at Superannuation guarantee contributions. It will take you just a few minutes to calculate contribution amounts. You can also print a copy of the calculations for your records.

Read Independent contractors to find out more about employing contractors.