Employing Aussies & Strengthening the Australian Economy: Why Smart Business Owners Are Considering a Race to Change Payroll System in 2026!

Australian businesses don’t just aim to generate profit for future business innovation, growth and success for humanity in some way or another – they keep families fed, mortgages paid, and entire communities alive and buzzing. Every job provided by an employer puts money straight back into local shops, schools, and sporting clubs. That ripple effect is how we’ve always built a stronger economy. But right now, thousands of committed employers are needing to choose between today's significantly increased payroll/business operating costs and letting go of good and highly experienced workers. For most businesses with 15+ employees, payroll and related overheads now swallow 60–80% of total operating costs¹ – by far the greatest expense on the books! This makes it unsustainable and practically impossible for business owners to remain in business today.

Payroll's Newest Game-Changer: Payday Superannuation (PDS) Starts 1 July 2026

What's happening and what you really must know right now:

• Super must be paid on your organisation's officially agreed payday (within 7 business days at maximum) instead of quarterly²;

• The free Small Business Super Clearing House shuts down forever on 30 June 2026²;

• Superannuation Guarantee rate will remain at the same rate of 12% from 1 July 2026³; and

• Penalties for late or missed super are brutal: missed amount + 10% p.a. interest + up to 200% of the SGC in Part 7 penalties + $20 admin fee per employee per quarter + possible personal Director liability⁴.

The new rules apply from 1 July 2026. While the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has signalled a practical, risk-based transitional approach is now currently underway, an exception to the set implementation cut-off date may be available for the first 12 months following, but only for businesses who face genuine system implementation challenges. It is always important to note though, sometimes penalties can still be applied from day one alongside inability to meet the decided cut-off date. So, if your current payroll system cannot automatically calculate and send super on your actual payroll disbursement date (payday) with clearing-house lodgement, you will be non-compliant from the very first pay run in July 2026.

Add the announcement of the 3.5% National Minimum Wage and Award increase taking effect from July 2025⁵ and state payroll tax rates up to 6.85% once thresholds are exceeded⁶, and it’s very clear: doing nothing is no longer an option for employers.

The hidden overheads and unfortunate legal costs raised in business today are evidently quietly killing cashflow...and as a business owner who is, more often than not, optimistic in looking at the greater picture i.e. our country and people, this is just no longer fair. Just think a little bigger for a second...

• Payroll tax up to 6.85% in some states⁶;

• Increased Workers’ compensation premiums and claims;

• Uniforms & PPE stock tying up thousands of dollars in unused sizes;

• Manual on-boarding/off-boarding and extravagantly very expensive training costs now for incredibly important lost knowledge and skill due to technology automations and AI;

• Often at least 5–10 hours a week wasted on additional manual payroll administration and business workarounds⁷; and

• Exploding insurance costs as insurers now price in the relentless stress and reputational risk good business owners live with every day — from workplace disputes to high-profile ATO or Fair Work investigations splashed across in the public media, giving no allowance that it has on the Privacy rights of an Owner's own families and children.

2026 is the Perfect Moment to Modernise Workplace Minds

Smart employers are already, seriously considering:

• Consolidating to one efficient payroll cycle that meet the new Payday Super rules;

• Switching to cloud platforms that auto-update Awards and/or Employment Agreements, employee super guarantee and send those contributions on payday; and

• Using data to cut out onboarding expense/waste and other operational costs that are no longer relevant to organisations today given significant changes in AI technology and it's increased output-efficiency ratio to currently existing payroll costs.

**Your 2026 Kickstart Action Plan:

1. Audit your current system and investigate any Vendor releases regarding the new Payday Super requirements and changes underway in their software.

2. Review and make business decisions around payroll cycles and your future business standing— one cycle will almost always save you money and time.

3. In the process of your review, be curious, and keep an open mind, seek Vendor support the best 'extra' optimisations and realisations are often found within the chaos of change, so look outside-the-box at other processes, supports and systems that may improve your overall system update(s) for little additional cost and effort for the long-term.

4. Choose your path —will it be a complete change to a new modern, Australian-compliant payroll system or will it be just another quick-fix payroll system update this time?

The Easiest First Step?

Head straight to the RUNPAY Marketplace. Our comparison database is your point of rescue to a high-level, independent and affordable starting point to compare critically key features, and pricing points of Australia’s leading payroll systems all-in-one place.

Start browsing your 2026 solution now → https://www.runpay.com.au/service-page/runpay-compare. Getting payroll right, means so much more to us than just money. We save jobs. We support families. We strengthen the entire economy. Change is actively and rapidly happening in the Payroll industry now (read our blog here on AI integration), so let’s make 2026 the year we all begin a journey of working more efficiently —smarter in time and output, not harder.

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics – Labour Account Australia, June 2025

   https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/labour-accounts/labour-account-australia/latest-release

2. Australian Taxation Office – Payday superannuation (updated November 2025)

   https://www.ato.gov.au/about-ato/new-legislation/in-detail/superannuation/payday-superannuation

3. Australian Taxation Office – Super guarantee percentage

   https://www.ato.gov.au/tax-rates-and-codes/key-superannuation-rates-and-thresholds/super-guarantee

4. Australian Taxation Office – The super guarantee charge

   https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/super-for-employers/missed-and-late-super-guarantee-payments/the-super-guarantee-charge

5. Fair Work Commission – Annual Wage Review 2025 (3.5% increase effective 1 July 2025)

   https://www.fwc.gov.au/hearings-decisions/major-cases/annual-wage-reviews/annual-wage-review-2025

6. Payroll Tax Australia – Current Rates & Thresholds 2025–26

   https://www.payrolltax.gov.au/resources

7. Australian Payroll Association & Xero Small Business Insights 2025 (average manual payroll time for SMEs)