Payday Super

The Federal Government has changed how employers pay mandatory super contributions for their employees from 1 July 2026.

This means you’ll generally be required to pay Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contributions within 7 business days of an employee’s payday.

The Federal Government’s Payday Super legislation aims to create a fairer super system for employees and address the issue of unpaid super. Super Guarantee (SG) contributions made within 7 business days of payday will make it easier for employees to keep track of their super and quickly identify any missed payments.

Employees will also benefit from more frequent and earlier super contributions that will grow and compound over their working life, subject to market performance.

Payday Super commenced on 1 July 2026.

Yes, it applies to employers, as the rules cover anyone who is eligible to receive Superannuation Guarantee contributions.

No, Payday Super does not impact you if you’re self-employed with no employees as it’s generally not compulsory for you to contribute to your super.

However, it's important to recognise that your super will likely play a pivotal role in determining how comfortably you can enjoy your retirement. While the decision to contribute is entirely voluntary, it's an investment in your future well-being that shouldn't be overlooked.

The easiest way to contribute to your super if you're self-employed is to make an after-tax personal contribution. Depending on your circumstances you may also be eligible to claim some or all of those contributions as a tax deduction.

Learn more by heading to our personal contributions webpage.

No, Payday Super does not impact you if you’re a sole trader with no employees as it’s generally not compulsory for you to contribute to your super.

However, it's important to recognise that your super will likely play a pivotal role in determining how comfortably you can enjoy your retirement. While the decision to contribute is entirely voluntary, it's an investment in your future well-being that shouldn't be overlooked.

The easiest way to contribute to your super if you're a sole trader is to make an after-tax personal contribution. Depending on your circumstances you may also be eligible to claim some or all of those contributions as a tax deduction.

Learn more by heading to our personal contributions webpage.

You’re required to pay Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contributions on an employee’s payday, with contributions generally needing to successfully arrive at the employee’s super fund within 7 business days.

For a new employee, or an employee where this is your first contribution to a new super fund, the payment must be received by the fund within 20 business days of their first payday.

Super funds have 3 business days to refund a contribution if it can’t be accepted. If the super fund can’t accept the contributions, the ATO will consider the contribution not to have been made. This puts you at risk of non-compliance as an error doesn’t pause or reset the deadline and may result in penalties and interest charges from the ATO.

To reduce the risk of contributions being rejected, we recommend double-checking that your payroll data is correct before contributing.

If you need to make an out-of-cycle SG contribution as part of a bonus, commission, advances or back payment, this won’t be due until 7 business days after the next usual payday.

There are several exceptions to this new timeframe, including:

• A 20 business day deadline will apply to:
  • The first super payment for a new employee.
  • The first super payment to a new super fund if an employee elects choice of fund.
  • An employer who cannot pay to the employee’s stapled fund and must redirect the contribution elsewhere.
• If you need to make an out-of-cycle SG contribution as part of a bonus, commission, advances or back payment, this won’t be due until 7 business days after the next usual payday.
• The ATO may grant an extension to a class of affected employers when exceptional circumstances apply (examples noted include natural disasters or widespread information and communication technology outages).

If a super fund can’t accept an SG contribution from an employer, the super fund has 3 business days to refund the contribution.

As public holidays aren’t considered business days, they don’t count towards the contribution deadline.

A public holiday within the context of Payday Super is any day that is a public holiday for any Australian state or territory, including any nation-wide public holiday.

This means that if there is a state or territory-wide public holiday in any state or territory (even if it only applies to a single state or territory) then this doesn’t count as a business day. However, if a public holiday only applies to a part of a state or territory (e.g. Royal Hobart Show Day which does not apply to all of Tasmania), then this is still considered a business day and will count toward the contribution deadline.

Yes, it will. The new rules introduce the term ‘qualifying earnings’ (QE) which will be used to calculate how much Super Guarantee (SG) employers should pay. Qualifying earnings consists of:

• Ordinary time earnings
• Commissions
• Eligible salary sacrifice amounts
• Payments to some contractors paid mainly for their labour

You may hear references to ‘QE day’ meaning qualifying earnings day. This is the same as an employee’s payday, or the day that qualifying earnings are paid to the employee.

The SG rate of 12% remains the same.

Learn more about qualifying earnings on the ATO’s website.

Yes. The Maximum Contributions Base which limits Super Guarantee (SG) contributions for employees who earn above a legislated threshold moved to an indexed annual threshold calculated annually, meaning some employees may no longer require SG payments later in the year or risk exceeding concessional contributions caps.

As employers transition to more frequent payments under Payday Super, some employees may receive additional contributions in July 2026, as the final quarterly contribution is paid by the employer, in addition to the new Payday Super contributions.

Employees who are already close to reaching the 2026/27 concessional cap may exceed the limit during this transition.

The Government has confirmed relief will be provided to impacted employees to prevent them exceeding the concessional cap in these cases.

We will update this page as more information becomes available.

The ATO’s Small Business Superannuation Clearing House closed on 1 July 2026. The ATO published an alert for employers about the pending closure of the service, with new users unable to register from 1 October 2025.

If you used this service, you may wish to start looking at another SuperStream solution such as an enabled payroll software or speak to your default fund about their solution. If you use Mercer Super as your default fund, you may wish to use Mercer QuickSuper* to make SG contributions.

This can help future-proof your employer super contributions and ensure your systems are already set up for when Payday Super commences.

Learn more or sign up for Mercer QuickSuper on our website.

_{* The QuickSuper service is provided to you by © Westpac Banking Corporation ABN 33 007 457 141 AFSL and Australian credit licence 233714 (“Westpac”), at the request of Mercer Outsourcing (Australia) Pty Ltd (MOAPL) ABN 83 068 908 912, AFSL #411980. Westpac terms and conditions apply to the QuickSuper service which you will be asked to accept. MOAPL does not recommend, endorse or accept responsibility for this service. MOAPL does not accept liability for any loss or damage caused by use of the QuickSuper service. MOAPL does not receive any commissions from Westpac as a result of employers using this service.}

SuperStream updates include:

• Super funds must be able to receive real-time payments via the new payments platform (NPP) by 1 July 2026.
• Error messaging was made clearer and more meaningful in May 2026. You can find more information on these in the ‘Error messages – how to avoid and fix’ section.
• A new SuperStream Member Verification Request (MVR) service for employers to verify whether an employee is a member of a particular super fund, and the super fund can accept their contributions. This service will be available for Mercer Super accounts in the coming months. You can find more information on the MVR service in the ‘Member Verification Request’ section.
• Changes to Fund Validation Services (FVS) to increase the visibility of changes or closures to Unique Superannuation Identifiers (USI).

Visit the ATO’s website for more information on SuperStream changes.

Yes, as part of Payday Super, the ATO requires that the ABN you provide us must be the same as the one sent through Single Touch Payroll – this will be how the ATO confirms your contributions are being made on time.

If we receive a contribution that we can't allocate to an employee's account, we're legally required to refund it within 3 business days. This may occur for a number of reasons, including incorrect member details, an inactive account, or an incomplete new employee account registration.

We're no longer able to hold contributions while missing account registration information is obtained. Previously, if a new employee account registration was incomplete, we'd hold the contribution while we contacted you for the missing details. Under the new Payday Super rules, we must refund any contribution that can't be allocated within 3 business days.

If this happens, you'll receive an error message via your payroll provider and will need to resubmit the contribution with the correct information.

When submitting a request to create a new account as part of your default plan, please make sure you include the employee's:

• Full name
• Date of birth
• Postal address
• Email address (if available)
• Tax File Number (if available)
• Salary for insurance
• Fund registration date
• Benefit category
• Employment status
• Occupation code

Please note: We've become aware that some Digital Service Providers aren't sending all the above information on to us.

If you've supplied all the required information correctly and are still receiving error messages, please contact your Digital Service Provider and ask them to confirm they're passing on all the information.

Alternatively, you can create an account with our online clearing house, Mercer QuickSuper and use it to submit your requests for new employee accounts. This is a free service offered to employers who use Mercer Super as their default fund.

We've become aware that some Digital Service Providers (DSPs) aren't sending all required fields to us. If you've supplied all the required information and are still receiving error messages, please contact your DSP and ask them to confirm they're passing on all required information.

Alternatively, you can create an account with our online clearing house, Mercer QuickSuper and use it to submit your requests for new employee accounts. This is a free service offered to employers who use Mercer Super as their default fund.

No, a refunded contribution still needs to be resubmitted and received by the fund within the original deadline. The clock doesn't stop or reset. For standard contributions, the 7 business day deadline applies. For a new employee's first contribution, a 20 business day deadline applies.

If a contribution has been rejected and refunded, you’ll receive an email letting you know – this will be sent to the email address registered on the administration/employer contact page of the clearing house, so it’s important that you use an email address of a supervised email account.

For further information on why a contribution was rejected please refer to your clearing house.

You won’t receive any confirmation that a contribution has been successfully received. However, we’re required to refund a contribution within 3 business days of receiving it if we can’t allocate it to an employee’s account – this means that if you don’t hear anything you can assume that it has been successfully received.

If you don’t pay an employee’s super guarantee (SG) amount in full, on time and to the right fund, you may incur penalties and interest charges from the ATO. You may also face extra charges and fees if you don’t pay all super entitlements within 28 days of receiving a notice from the ATO.

To find out more about how the government may enforce compliance, visit the ATO’s website.

If super contributions are late, the ATO can apply the Super Guarantee Charge (SGC). Under Payday Super, the SGC been redesigned. It includes:

• the SG shortfall (the missing super),
• notional earnings (interest that compounds daily at the General Interest Charge rate),
• an administrative uplift (up to 60% of the SG shortfall and individual notional earnings for QE day, and it may be reduced if you voluntarily disclose the shortfall to the ATO within the required period), and
• any choice loading (a penalty for not following choice-of-fund rules), set at 25% of non-compliant contributions, capped at $1,200 per notice period.

If the amount is still unpaid 28 days after an ATO notice, extra penalties of 25% (or 50% for repeat non-compliance) may apply.

The SGC is tax deductible except for interest, and penalties are not tax deductible.

For 2026/27, the ATO has set a risk-based compliance approach, so in the first year of Payday Super it’s focusing on “high risk” employers first.

If you take reasonable steps to comply and fix issues quickly, the ATO may respond in a more supportive way.

Avoiding the error

Please ensure that you provide the correct:

• Unique Superannuation Identifier (USI)
• Account number
• Tax file number
• Date of birth
• Given name and surname

Fixing the error

Please check and update any incorrect information in your system, then resubmit the contribution.

Member Verification Request – coming soon

A Member Verification Request lets you send an online request to check that an employee is a member of a particular super fund and that the fund can accept a contribution for them, before you pay the contribution to the fund. Within 24 hours, the fund will respond to the request, confirming whether the details are correct and the account is active.

This means you can have confidence when paying a contribution, knowing there is a valid superannuation account for your employee at their nominated fund.

Transition period for super funds

Super funds have until February 2027 to fully implement MVR capability.

Like many funds, we’re still building out our MVR capability ahead of the industry deadline, so for the time being we won’t be able to respond to any requests submitted through your payroll software. Once our MVR system is ready, we’ll let you know and update this page.

Avoiding the error

• New employee: Please ask them to confirm they have an open Mercer Super account.
• Existing employee: Ensure that if they’ve requested you contribute their super to another fund, that your payroll records have been updated with these details.

Fixing the error

If your employee hasn’t asked you to contribute to another super fund, please:

1. Ask them to confirm their super fund details.
2. Update your payroll records.
3. Resubmit the contribution.

If your employee hasn’t changed super funds, please ensure the following details are correct and resubmit the contribution:

• Unique Superannuation Identifier for your employee
• Account number
• Tax file number
• Date of birth
• Given name and surname

Member Verification Request – coming soon

A Member Verification Request lets you send an online request to check that an employee is a member of a particular super fund and that the fund can accept a contribution for them, before you pay the contribution to the fund. Within 24 hours, the fund will respond to the request, confirming whether the details are correct and the account is active.

This means you can have confidence when paying a contribution, knowing there is a valid superannuation account for your employee at their nominated fund.

Transition period for super funds

Super funds have until February 2027 to fully implement MVR capability.

Like many funds, we’re still building out our MVR capability ahead of the industry deadline, so for the time being we won’t be able to respond to any requests submitted through your payroll software. Once our MVR system is ready, we’ll let you know and update this page.

Avoiding the error

• New employee: Please ask them to confirm they have an open Mercer Super account.
• Existing employee: Ensure that if they’ve requested you contribute their super to another fund that your payroll records have been updated with these details.

Fixing the error

If your employee hasn’t asked you to contribute to another super fund, please:

1. Ask them to confirm their super fund details.
2. Update your payroll records.
3. Resubmit the contribution.

If your employee hasn’t changed super funds, please ensure the following details are correct and resubmit the contribution:

• Unique Superannuation Identifier for your employee
• Account number
• Tax file number
• Date of birth
• Given name and surname

Member Verification Request – coming soon

A Member Verification Request lets you send an online request to check that an employee is a member of a particular super fund and that the fund can accept a contribution for them, before you pay the contribution to the fund. Within 24 hours, the fund will respond to the request, confirming whether the details are correct and the account is active.

This means you can have confidence when paying a contribution, knowing there is a valid superannuation account for your employee at their nominated fund.

Transition period for super funds

Super funds have until February 2027 to fully implement MVR capability.

Like many funds, we’re still building out our MVR capability ahead of the industry deadline, so for the time being we won’t be able to respond to any requests submitted through your payroll software. Once our MVR system is ready, we’ll let you know and update this page.

Avoiding the error

If an employee has asked you to make extra contributions on top of the Superannuation Guarantee payments, such as salary sacrifice or a personal contribution, please ensure they meet the eligibility requirements, available on the ATO’s website.

You should also check that you’ve provided us with their tax file number.

Fixing the error

If this type of contribution can’t be accepted, we’ll return it for you. You should then pass it onto the employee as it wasn’t a mandatory Superannuation Guarantee contribution.

If the employee believes that they should be eligible to make this contribution, please have them review the criteria on the ATO's website, and contact us to update their account if required.

Avoiding and fixing the error

Check that the payment you’re sending to us matches the contribution value in the contribution file – even if the payment is a single cent less we’ll need to refund the contribution.

What happens if I overpay?

If you’re using a SuperStream enabled payroll system to submit your data files and making the payment directly to us, we’ll allocate the amount included in the contribution file to the employee’s account and refund the difference.

If you’re using a clearing house, you’ll need to resolve the overpayment with the clearing house. Please contact your clearing house directly for this.

If you use Mercer QuickSuper or the Mercer Employer Portal as your clearing house, please see How do I avoid making unmatched payments? in the Employer top tips section of this page.

A Member Verification Request lets you send an online request to check that an employee is a member of a particular super fund and that the fund can accept a contribution for them, before you pay the contribution to the fund. Within 24 hours, the fund will respond to the request, confirming whether the details are correct and the account is active.

This means you can have confidence when paying a contribution, knowing there is a valid superannuation account for your employee at their nominated fund.

Once the Member Verification Request functionality becomes available for the relevant fund, you submit one prior to contributing to an employee's chosen super fund for the first time, unless you're contributing to your nominated default fund.

While it’s not required, you have the option to submit a request after an employee's personal details have changed, or after a contribution has been rejected, just to make sure the next contribution will land in their super account safely.

Please note, these requests cannot be used for the purpose of regular/ongoing contributions.

No, Member Verification Requests can't be used for regular or ongoing contributions. They're designed for specific situations, such as contributing to an employee's chosen fund for the first time, following a change to personal details or a rejected contribution.

Member Verification Requests are submitted through your payroll software or clearing house. We recommend checking with your payroll provider or clearing house to understand when their Member Verification Request functionality will be available and how it will work within your existing systems.

Your clearing house or payroll software will show whether a super fund is able to accept Member Verification Requests. If it isn't, you won't be able to send a request to that fund.

We're building out our Member Verification Request capability ahead of the industry deadline of the end of February 2027, and expect to begin rolling it out across our employer plans over the coming months. 

If a fund isn't yet ready to receive Member Verification Requests, you won't be able to initiate or receive responses to any such requests for that fund. The usual contribution deadlines still apply in the meantime, so it's important to ensure your employee details are accurate before submitting contributions.

Yes. While Member Verification Request capability is being rolled out across the industry, you remain responsible for ensuring contributions are received by the fund within the required timeframe. Ensuring your employee details are accurate before submitting contributions is the best way to reduce the risk of rejections during this period.

We suggest reviewing your payroll system configuration for super and Single Touch Payroll reporting practices to help keep on top of Payday Super:

• Data: Ensure your data is accurate. Make sure your data is clean and complete and look for any missing SuperStream data points that could delay contribution allocations. Often when we’re unable to allocate a contribution to an employee’s account, it’s due to a mismatch in personal details.
• Processes and technology: Assess your current payroll systems and processes to identify if any updates are needed to meet the new requirements, including clearing houses. Check how your current processes will cope with more frequent contributions.
• Cashflow: Plan for the new payment frequency and consider the impacts on your business cashflow of super being paid at the same time as your regular pay cycle.
• Governance: Review how you record, report, and prove compliance for SG contributions.
• New employee onboarding: Update any onboarding documents that mention super payment timeframes and update your onboarding process to capture super choice early and check employee data.

To help stay on top of things, complete our Payday Super readiness checklist.

There is further information available on the ATO’s website. If you have any further questions, please call our Employer Support team on 1800 682 525 (option 4), Monday to Friday, 8am-7pm (AEST/AEDT).

A defined benefit super account provides benefits calculated using a specific formula. This is typically based on considering factors including the employee’s salary and years of service with benefits not directly affected by market performance. Contributions you make to defined benefit members are pooled and invested in a diversified portfolio.

In contrast, the most common type of employer plan arrangements are ‘regular’ accumulation style super accounts, where you make contributions on an employee’s behalf invested in their chosen investment option(s) and the balance depends on the total contributions plus investment returns, minus fees and taxes.

If a section of your plan provides benefits based on a formula considering factors related to an employee’s salary and service history, then your plan has a defined benefit section. Most plans though consist solely of employees with standard accumulation super accounts – where you make mandatory SG contributions of 12% on an employee’s behalf.

From 1 July 2026, contributions must be successfully received by the employee’s super fund within 7 business days after payday.

Defined benefit contributions

For employees with a defined benefit, your employer contributions are already automatically meeting the 7 business day deadline. This is because they’re notional (records that confirm the value allocated to an individual’s defined benefit), and aren’t actual payments.

So, while there’s nothing you need to do to meet the deadline, we still encourage you to send us your contribution files for defined benefit members each payday. This will ensure that your employees are always set to receive their full entitlement.

Standard super contributions

Super contributions that are made as actual payments to member accounts will need to be successfully received by the super fund within 7 business days from payday. These include:

• Employees with a defined benefit component where you’re required to make additional contributions to their account.
• Employees that don’t have a defined benefit component and you make the mandatory 12% Super Guarantee contributions.

Your plan's benefit certificate shows the notional employer contribution rate that can be included for each plan member as you meet your SG obligations. For most members this will be 12%.

To obtain a copy of your latest benefit certificate, please contact your Mercer Super Client Executive or our administration team at employer.support@esuper.com.au.

Updated benefit certificates will be prepared by the Plan Actuary between 1 July and 15 November 2026. Our team will provide a copy once it’s ready.

Your new benefit certificate will reflect two changes:

• Use of Ordinary Time Earnings Base (in most circumstances) → Qualifying Earnings.
  
  
• The removal of non-defined benefit members from the certificate in most circumstances – these members only remain covered by the certificate if you are using defined benefit plan assets to meet their contributions.

To ensure that employees are set to receive their full entitlements, please contact your Mercer Super Client Executive or our administration team at employer.support@esuper.com.au, if either of the following apply:

• You have any employees that require additional super compared to what they were receiving under the Ordinary Time Earnings Base definition. 
• You are planning to use defined benefit plan assets to meet contributions for non-defined benefit members.

New laws now restrict how super products can be advertised to new employees during onboarding. These include:

• Non-MySuper products cannot be advertised.
• Eligible MySuper products (that are not your default super product) can be advertised once you’ve requested the employee’s stapled fund details from the ATO, and if they exist, provided them to the employee.

An employer’s default super product is specifically excluded from these restrictions. If you use Mercer Super as your default super fund you can continue to share information about Mercer Super and its benefits with your new employees as you normally would.

An employer’s default super product is specifically excluded from the advertising restrictions. If you use Mercer Super as your default super fund you can continue to share information about your Mercer Super plan and its benefits with your new employees as you normally would.

MySuper is a type of super product authorised by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). MySuper products are designed to be a simple and cost-effective option for members, and are subject to strict rules around fees, investment options and insurance.

A default product is the super fund that you offer to new employees. Employees may join the default fund or nominate another super fund. If they don’t make a choice, and don’t have a stapled fund, then you may create an account for them in the default fund and pay super contributions into it.

To qualify as a default fund, the super product must be MySuper-authorised.

New laws now restrict how super products can be advertised to new employees during onboarding. These include:

• Request the employee’s stapled fund details from the ATO.
• If stapled fund details exist, you must inform the employee of these details before advertising the MySuper product.

Importantly, the obligation to ensure that employee onboarding advertising is compliant falls to the employer. If you’re unsure whether your current processes meet these new requirements, you may wish to consider obtaining professional advice specific to your circumstances.

Please note, default super products are specifically excluded from these advertising restrictions. If you use Mercer Super as your default fund you can continue to share information about Mercer Super and its benefits with your new employees as you normally would.

Non-MySuper products can no longer be advertised to new employees as part of the onboarding process.

If you’re unsure whether a current product you offer to employees is MySuper or not, you can find this information on the APRA website under 'Superannuation'.

Please note, default super products are specifically excluded from these advertising restrictions. If you use Mercer Super as your default fund you can continue to share information about Mercer Super and its benefits with your new employees as you normally would.

If you have any questions about how these new rules apply to those arrangements we suggest seeking professional advice specific to your circumstances.

A stapled fund is an existing super account that is linked, or ‘stapled’ to an employee, following them from job to job.

When a new employee doesn’t choose a super fund, rather than creating an account with your default fund and contributing there, you are generally required to check with the ATO whether they have a stapled fund and contribute to that instead.

You can find out more about stapling on the ATO’s website.

You can now request the details of an employee’s stapled fund from the ATO as soon as they formally accept an offer of employment.

Previously you had to wait for the employee to decline to elect a choice of fund before making the request.

Under Payday Super rules, a new employee’s first super contribution must be successfully received by their super fund within 20 business days of their first payday. Obtaining the stapled fund details earlier provides you with a better opportunity to meet this deadline.

When an employee selects your default plan via a Choice Form, you’ll need to submit a Member Registration Request (MRR) with all of the relevant information to establish their account.

Incorrect information may result in the MRR being rejected or the account creation being delayed.

Benefit categories ensure employees get the right insurance and contributions, so it’s important to include the correct benefit category when you set up your employee in the system or upload their employee/member file.

If your employee prefers to use another super fund, simply enter ‘ACCUM’ in the benefit category field when you create their profile.

For new employees, please follow the steps in How do I create a Mercer Super account for a new employee?

To update the benefit category for an existing employee, please follow the steps below.

Not sure which benefit category to choose?

No worries. Reach out to our Employer Support team on 1800 682 525 (option 4) or your Client Executive if you have one.

You can also find this information in your welcome communication from when you first joined Mercer Super.

Once you have set up a default fund membership for an employee, the member number is then returned to you via SuperStream.

For employers using the Mercer Employer Portal, these will update on the employee record automatically.

For Mercer QuickSuper users, these automatic updates can be turned on by heading to Preferences in the Administration menu and turning Apply member ID updates to ‘Yes’, then clicking Save.

For all future members joining your default fund, you can then view their member number on their records by heading to the Employees menu and then selecting View Employees.

Including the Fund Registration Date (also called ‘Date Joined Fund’) when you register your employees in your default superannuation plan is important, as it ensures their member benefits start from the right date and their insurance coverage is accurate.

For example, if an employee started work on 1 May 2025 and joined your default super fund on that day, their Fund Registration Date should be 1 May 2025.

For new employees, please follow the steps in How do I create a Mercer Super account for a new employee?

To update the Fund Registration Date for an existing employee, please follow the steps below.

If you need to review the contribution history of an employee, you can do this by following the steps below.

Within the super industry it’s common for people to proactively change super funds, for funds to merge, or for Unique Superannuation Identifiers (USIs) to close.

When this happens, it’s typically your employee’s responsibility to let you know about any changes to their super fund details.

If you use Mercer QuickSuper or the Mercer Employer Portal, you’ll also receive notifications of any mergers or closures the clearing house has been notified of.

For Mercer QuickSuper users, you can find this by heading to Notifications within the Administration menu, and for users of the Employer Portal, these will automatically pop up when you log in.

Updating details

Once you’re aware of the change, it’s important to update your system to avoid errors when you submit contributions for those employees.

Sometimes, a super fund may reject a contribution you’ve submitted for an employee. When this happens, you’ll receive an email letting you know that the contribution has been refunded – this will be sent to the email address registered on the administration/employer contact page of the clearing house.

You can find details such as the refund reason by following the steps below.

Once you know why the contribution was rejected, update the information in your system and resubmit the contribution for your employee.

When using Mercer QuickSuper or the Mercer Employer Portal, sometimes payments may not match the contribution file you’ve created. This is called an unmatched payment, so the contribution can’t be processed to the super fund.

To avoid unmatched payments, we’ve got three things you can check beforehand:

1. Has the contribution batch been fully submitted?
   If your contribution batch isn’t fully authorised and submitted, the payment can’t be allocated. If you’ve already submitted it, try going back in and submitting it again to allow the payment to be processed.


2. Has the right amount been paid?
   Overpaying or underpaying causes the clearing house system to fail matching your payment to the batch. Always make sure the payment amount matches the batch total exactly – down to the cent.


3. Has the correct payment reference number (PRN) been used?
   The PRN links your payment to your contribution submission. If you forget to include it, the payment won’t match. If you realise you’ve made a payment without the PRN, email our team at employer.support@esuper.com with a screenshot of your payment confirmation. We’ll help get your payment processed correctly.

When an employee is no longer employed by the business, it’s important to let us know so we can move them out of your employer plan and into the Retained or Individual Section of Mercer Super.

If we aren’t told, they’ll remain listed as active in your employer plan and may continue paying for insurance, they’re no longer eligible for.

This could cause problems for them later – eroding their balance and potentially leaving them without insurance cover if they try to make a claim.

Updating their employment status helps avoid unnecessary stress and financial hardship when they need support the most.

How to let us know

Once you’ve made any final contributions for the employee, you can let us know they’ve left via your normal SAFF file by updating columns BD and BE (Employment End Date and Employment End Reason) with their termination details.

You can also let us know by following the steps below.

When an employee gives you their self-managed super fund (SMSF) information, we suggest adding it to the system before linking it to their profile. This means if any SMSF details change you can update them in one place without creating duplicate records.

Adding an SMSF to the system

Linking the SMSF to the employee’s profile

Once you’ve added the SMSF information, you should link it to the employee’s profile by:

If you have employees with a self-managed super fund (SMSF), you might get error messages saying the Electronic Service Address (ESA) has rejected the contribution message.

Here’s what you need to know:

• This error doesn’t mean the contribution itself was rejected – only the data message (the remittance advice) was rejected by the ESA provider.
• To fix this, talk to your employee and ask them or their accountant to double-check the ESA details they gave you for their SMSF.
• If the ESA details are correct, the employee or their accountant should contact their ESA provider to make sure their registration is still active, valid, and up to date.

When a new colleague needs access to Mercer QuickSuper or the Mercer Employer Portal, you can set them up yourself – no need to wait for the Employer Support team.