Payday Super: What Employers Got Wrong and How to Fix It

Description

A timely post‑commencement briefing for employers, CFOs, payroll and HR leaders, and their advisers — focused on early issues emerging after 1 July and the actions you need to take now. Attend online from anywhere in Australia and submit your real compliance issues in advance to have them addressed live.

About

Payday super commenced on 1 July 2026. For many employers, the first payroll cycle has already surfaced issues including timing mismatches, clearing-house delays, cash-flow pressure and remuneration calculations that don’t sit neatly within the new framework.

This briefing is not a pre-commencement explainer. It is a practical, post-1 July fix-it session for organisations that are already in the thick of it.

Led by Elizabeth Lucas, Partner at Grant Thornton Australia and one of Australia’s leading employment solutions specialists, the session works through the most common compliance failures emerging in practice, and what employers need to do to correct them before the ATO comes looking.

Before the session, registered attendees are invited to submit real issues and questions via a short pre-session survey. These feed directly into the closing Q&A block.

What you'll leave with

  • Clarity on how to correctly identify the qualifying event (QE) day and handle off-cycle payments

  • Practical steps to stabilise cash-flow and resolve clearing-house timing mismatches

  • Confidence in YTD earnings base transitions and above-cap remuneration calculations

  • Understanding of how payday super applies to contractors outside your payroll system

  • Ability to identify and correct super obligations hidden in enterprise agreements and swing-shift arrangements

  • Answers to your specific compliance issues, submitted ahead of the session

 

Who should attend

This session is designed for anyone responsible for payroll, super compliance or employment tax obligations.

  • Employers and business owners

  • CFOs and finance managers

  • Payroll and HR leaders

  • Tax advisers and accountants

Agenda

Key modules include:

Timing: where employers are getting caught

 

  • Identifying the qualifying event (QE) day and the inconsistencies in ATO guidance.

  • Handling off-cycle payments including bonuses, back-pay and termination payments.

  • The seven-business-day rule in practice: common miscounts and edge cases.

 

Cash-flow and clearing-house pressure

 

  • Why cash-flow is tighter than employers expected in months 1–4.

  • Clearing-house timing mismatches: what’s going wrong and how to resolve them.

  • Remuneration complexity including YTD earnings base transitions, above-cap spread calculations, and contractors sitting outside your payroll system.

 

Industrial instruments and hidden exposure

 

  • When enterprise agreements and awards create super obligations outside the standard payroll run.

  • Swing-shift and roster-based arrangements.

  • EBA super clauses that interact with payday super requirements.

 

 

+ Live Q&A drawing on issues submitted by attendees ahead of the session.

Speakers

Elizabeth LucasElizabeth Lucas, Partner, Employment Solutions, Grant Thornton Australia
Elizabeth Lucas is a Partner in Grant Thornton's Employment Solutions practice and one of Australia's most experienced advisers on employment tax and superannuation compliance. She specialises in superannuation guarantee compliance and remediation, fringe benefits tax, salary packaging and remuneration structuring — advising employers across government, manufacturing, mining, retail, finance and not-for-profit sectors.Over the years, Elizabeth has served on several professional body committees and participated in a number of ATO and government consultations, including the ATO's FBT Stakeholder Group and the National Tax Liaison Group. She is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and a Fellow of the Tax Institute. Elizabeth has written extensively on payday super and is a trusted voice for employers navigating the practical implications of the 1 July 2026 commencement.

Ticketing

Payday super is live, and the compliance gaps are already emerging. Don't wait for the ATO to find them first. Join us on 27 August and leave with the practical tools to identify your exposure and fix it fast.

Register today for $399 + GST