The super fund has thrown its support behind incoming payday super laws, but cautioned that some businesses could struggle with the compliance burden.

Payday super laws, due to take effect from 1 July 2026, will require employers to pay their workers’ super at the same time as their wages.

The changes would boost workers’ retirement savings and help them monitor their super payments, Rest Super said. However, it warned that the new laws would increase the compliance burden on payroll providers and intermediaries, underscoring the need for a smooth transition.

“The impact of this change on superannuation contributions infrastructure including employers, funds, payroll providers and transaction intermediaries should not be underestimated,” Rest Super said in a submission.

“The transition to Payday Super will need to be carefully planned and managed so as not to adversely affect members, and to provide employers with certainty and support to meet the new expectations.”

It said obtaining the correct member data before sending super contributions would be crucial to employers.

Super stapling, which keeps employees linked to the same super account when they move between employers, would be key in enabling employers to comply with the payday super requirements.

It added that improvements could be made to reduce the compliance burden on employers and enable them to quickly and accurately obtain an employees’ super details.

“The greatest challenge for employers in meeting the new 7-day contributions payment expectations will be managing the return of contributions from a fund (that is not a stapled fund) that has been unable to accept payment, and then making a new payment within the new timeframes,” Rest Super said.

“Employers and their service providers will need to have processes that support a quick turnaround in these circumstances.”

Their modelling found that the heightened frequency of super payments would boost workers’ retirement savings.

A worker with an average income of $36,000 at 20 years old, a 12 per cent super guarantee, 4 per cent average annual salary growth over their working life and a retirement age of 65 would be better off by $8,400 at retirement if they were paid monthly instead of quarterly, Rest Super found. Paid fortnightly, they would be better off by roughly $10,600.

Furthermore, the changes would enable workers in part-time or casual employment to track the contributions received into their superannuation account and verify that payments had come through as expected. This would empower workers to pick up on cases of super underpayment.

Rest Super also advised the government to engage with businesses to ensure the transition would be smooth and not overly punitive for businesses trying to do the right thing.

“It is our experience that the significant majority of employers seek to do the right thing and make superannuation contributions on time,” it said.

“We strongly encourage Treasury and the Australian Taxation Office to engage with employers and industry to facilitate a managed transition and provide guidance on implementation.”