Employer super contributions

Employers may make super payments to meet obligations under the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) scheme or under a salary sacrifice arrangement.

Employees of Queensland local government and some associated businesses may benefit from additional employer contributions.

Employer contributions are taxed at 15% when contributed to super. Higher-income earners (above $250,000) may be subject to higher rates of tax.

Superannuation Guarantee scheme

Most wage and salary earners are entitled to receive regular payments to their super fund under the SG scheme.

The current Superannuation Guarantee rate is 10.5% (for financial year 2022/2023) of ordinary time earnings, with employers penalised by the Australian Tax Office if they fail to make payments at least quarterly.

Under current rules, employers are not required to make SG payments for employees aged under 18 and working less than 30 hours in a month.

Superannuation Guarantee payments alone may not be enough to fund a comfortable requirement, so it’s worth considering a salary sacrifice arrangement or payment of additional personal contributions.