Administrative Penalties for Employers Who Fail to Pay Unpaid Superannuation Guarantee Charges
Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025
House of Representatives
Senate
Assent
Introduced by: The Hon Dr Daniel Mulino MP (ALP)
Links to official parliament websites
Effects of this bill
If this bill passes, it means that:
The Debate
What different members said when this bill was debated:
Dr Jim Chalmers ALP
“I move: That this bill be now read a second time. Today we are really proud to introduce the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025. This bill reforms our superannuation system to help ensure that more Australians get the secure retirement that they need and deserve.”
Susan Templeman ALP
“I want to talk about the problem that we’re tackling here, and I want to give an example that Debbie, in my electorate of Macquarie, shared with me. She wrote to me a few months ago about a situation that faced her husband. They worked out last year that her husband’s workplace had not been paying any contributions into his super account for some time.”
“The older you get, the more you find in your Facebook algorithms suggestions for how much retirement savings, how much superannuation, you will require when you call it a day from your work. The probable answer, ignoring what AI might suggest, is that it’s not enough. Whatever they suggest is never really enough.”
“This is yet one more plank in the platform to enable Australians to earn more and keep more of what they earn: payday superannuation. Being paid your super when you get paid, not months later, seems like such a simple change, and yet it is so powerful. It will mean that more Australians will receive the retirement savings that they are owed sooner and more reliably.”
Pat Conaghan NAT
“I am pleased to rise to speak on the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025. Before I do, I want to say that it was disappointing to hear the member for Boothby say that those on this side hate superannuation.”
Anne Stanley ALP
“This side of the chamber has always been the friend and champion of superannuation. We introduced it, grew it and protected it, and now we’re going to strengthen it. We are always looking for ways to make improvements. For sure, our super system is not perfect, but it is the envy of the rest of the world. The fathers of our modern-day superannuation system are Bob Hawke and Paul Keating.”
Shayne Neumann ALP
“I’ve never heard such tosh and nonsense from those opposite. The member for Goldstein thinks he’s a member of the modern and moderate Liberal Party.”
“The $4 trillion Australian superannuation system is, overall, I think, a success. It covers around 90 per cent of workers, allowing them to plan for financial independence in their retirement; it makes financial capital available for large-scale investment in Australian infrastructure and enterprise; and it reduces some of the costs of age pensions for taxpayers.”
Carina Garland ALP
“I rise today to speak proudly in support of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025. From 1 July next year, 2026, employers will be required to pay superannuation guarantee contributions at the same time as wages instead of quarterly. Payday super is a once-in-a-generation reform to fix unpaid super. It will be good for workers, good for business and good for our economy.”
Alison Penfold NAT
“These two bills, the Superannuation Guarantee Charge Amendment Bill 2025 and the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025, introduce the government’s payday super reforms, announced way back on 2 May 2023. Why there has been such delay in bringing these effective and relatively simple changes to this place is something for this government to answer.”
Sarah Witty ALP
“I rise to speak in support of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025 and the Superannuation Guarantee Charge Amendment Bill 2025. This is a once-in-a-generation reform to fix a longstanding problem in our superannuation system: unpaid super. In 2021-22 alone, the Australian Taxation Office estimated that $5.2 billion in super went unpaid.”
Andrew Willcox LNP
“The coalition has always believed that superannuation isn’t a gift; it’s your pay—earnt and owed. Every dollar in a worker’s super account is money they’ve already worked for, not a bonus, not a tip, not a token of appreciation; it’s their money. Too often, they don’t see it.”
Jo Briskey ALP
“The superannuation legislation before this parliament today—the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025 and the Superannuation Guarantee Charge Amendment Bill 2025—is a once-in-a-generation reform that will finally ensure that working Australians receive the super they’ve earned when they’ve earned it. This is not a minor tweak to the system.”
Zali Steggall IND
“Australia’s superannuation system is one of our great national achievements, and ensuring confidence in this system is essential to our economy and our way of life. This bill, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025, presents an important and overdue step in strengthening the integrity of our superannuation system.”
Ash Ambihaipahar ALP
“One of the most common questions I was asked during my decade as an employment lawyer was this: ’How can my employer get away with not paying me what I’ve earned?’ It wasn’t always about wages. Often it was also about something far less visible: unpaid superannuation.”
Barnaby Joyce PHON
“The member for Barton spoke about people who’ve missed out on super and people who don’t know that their super has been paid. In line with that, I’d like to talk about people who have been paid their super and have had it stolen. That is one of the big issues before us today.”
“Globally, twice the rate of international peers, super is a great Australian success story. It gives millions of everyday Australians the chance to live the life they want in retirement, while saving the budget money over the long term. It’s a win-win. I am incredibly proud to be part of a Labor government that continues to bolster it and make it fairer for hardworking Australians.”
Matt Gregg ALP
“The amount of unpaid super owed to workers in my electorate of Deakin was $31.4 million, according to analysis by the Super Members Council in 2022-23. The analysis also highlighted that that’s $1.4 billion of lost super for workers in my home state of Victoria and a whopping $5.7 billion for workers across Australia.”
Lisa Chesters ALP
“The Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025 has been a long time coming for people on my side of politics. This bill is common sense. This bill will be welcome news to all Australian workers. For businesses doing the right thing: keep doing what you’re doing.”
Ged Kearney ALP
“I rise to speak in support of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025. This is a bill that represents the Labor Party and the union movement at its best. It’s a bill that supports working people, women and older Australians. It’s a bill that builds a system and a country that is fair, that is just and that supports people to live a life of dignity.”
Dr Daniel Mulino ALP
“Firstly, I would like to thank all those members who have contributed to this debate. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025 and related bill reflect the government’s commitment to a stronger superannuation system, which will ensure a dignified retirement for all Australians.”
Katy Gallagher ALP
“I table an addendum to the explanatory memorandum relating to the bills and move: That these bills be now read a second time. I seek leave to have the second reading speeches incorporated in Hansard. Leave granted. The speech es read as follows — TREASURY LAWS AMENDMENT (PAYDAY SUPERANNUATION) BILL 2025 Today I am proud to introduce the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025.”
James Paterson LIB
“I rise to speak on the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025 and the Superannuation Guarantee Charge Amendment Bill 2025. At the outset, let me make clear the coalition strongly supports the principle of payday super. In that spirit, we will support the passage of these bills through the Senate.”
Ellie Whiteaker ALP
“Labor created our superannuation system following hard-fought campaigns by union members right across the country. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025 delivers on once-in-a-generation reforms to the superannuation system led by this government. It ensures that superannuation is paid at the same time as wages.”
“Superannuation is one of Australia’s greatest nation-building achievements. It ensures that every Australian, not just the wealthy, can retire with dignity and security, and, of course, it is a signature policy that was introduced by Labor. After a lifetime of work, every Australian should be able to retire with independence and less reliance on the age pension.”
“The Superannuation Guarantee Charge Amendment Bill 2025 and the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025 penalise employers who do not pay their employees’ superannuation guarantee contributions at the same time as salary and wages. The payment must reach the employee’s super account within seven business days of the employee’s payday.”
Lisa Darmanin ALP
“I rise to support the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025 and the Superannuation Guarantee Charge Amendment Bill 2025, and I will attempt to address some of the wild misconceptions we’ve heard about what this legislation seeks to do. Quite simply, if you earn it you should be paid it, on time, every time.”