What is superannuation?
Superannuation in Australia are the arrangements put in place by the Government of Australia to encourage people in Australia to accumulate funds to provide them with an income stream when they retire.
Super is important for you, because the more you save, the more money you will have for your retirement.
You can only withdraw your super money in certain circumstances – for example, when you retire or turn 65 years old.
How much super do I have to pay my employees?
The minimum super you must pay each quarter for each eligible employee is called the super guarantee (SG). Currently the SG is 9.5% of their ordinary time earnings (OTE).
OTE is usually the amount your employee earns for their ordinary hours of work. It includes things like commissions, shift loadings and allowances, but not overtime payments.
To work out what you must pay, multiply your employee’s OTE for the quarter by the SG rate (or the percentage you use if you’re paying super at a higher rate). For employees who started in the quarter, their earnings are calculated from the day they started.
If you make super contributions under an award, check that they are enough to satisfy both the award and the SG.
You can use our Superannuation guarantee (SG) contributions calculator to work out how much super you must contribute for your eligible workers.
Who don’t I have to pay super for?
If you’re a non-resident employer, you don’t have to pay SG for resident employees for work they do outside Australia.
Generally, if you don’t pay an employee $450 or more (before tax) in a calendar month and they are aged 18 years or more, you don’t have to pay super guarantee (SG) on top of their wages.
Generally you do not pay super for employee’s under the age of 18 years being paid $450 or more that work less than 30 hours in a week. (If they work more than 30 hours in a week then you need to pay super.
This applied regardless of whether you are casual, part time or full time.