The government gave a compliance warning for delinquent employers
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) revealed it returned over $1 billion in unpaid super to nearly one million Australian employees over the 2024-25 financial year.
The government body said it will be ramping up the pressure on employers who fail to meet their obligations.
A total of 208,950 compliance actions were raised with employers over the period, raising $795 million in super guarantee charges (SGC).
“We issued over 200,000 proactive reminders and prompts, helping more employers stay on track, as well as taking stronger action against those employers who failed to comply,” commented deputy commissioner Ben Kelly.
Super gap still in the billions
Despite the stepped-up enforcement, unpaid super remains a major problem.
Over the 2022–23 financial year, the ATO estimated a net superannuation guarantee gap of 6%, or $6.25 billion, indicating billions in entitlements are still not reaching workers’ super funds each year.
There are about 942,500 employers in Australia employing 14.9 million workers eligible for super, underscoring the scale and complexity of the compliance task.
In 2024–25, the ATO raised total SGC liabilities of $1.73 billion, covering approximately 855,000 employees.
Of that, $1.1 billion in SGC entitlements was actually distributed into the super funds of about 960,000 employees.
Kelly said the more than $200 million raised in penalties over the year should serve as a warning.
“The ATO works with employers to support their compliance with tax and super obligations, and takes non-compliance with super guarantee obligations seriously.”
“The ATO is committed to ensuring Australia’s workers receive their entitlements. Employers are required to pay superannuation for their eligible workers in full, on time and to the right fund,” said Kelly.
Employers also came forward on their own. Voluntary disclosures of unpaid super resulted in around $548 million in additional SGC liabilities.
While most businesses are paying super correctly and on time, the ATO data shows non-compliance is concentrated in a relatively small cohort.
Across the 942,500 employers, just 9.3% had a collectable SGC debt. Within this group, just 12% of employers owe 60% of the total SGC collectable debt.
As at the end of the year, $201.3 million of SGC debt was under a payment plan, representing around 9.4% of total SGC debt and involving about 7,600 employers.
More aggressive enforcement for those who don’t pay
The ATO has increasingly turned to stronger enforcement tools for employers who ignore warnings or fail to engage.
Over the past year, it took 22,550 “firmer and legal” actions against employers who failed to pay their SGC liabilities. These actions included issuing director penalty notices, garnishee notices, and initiating legal proceedings where necessary.
The ATO said it is now better equipped to detect unpaid super through improved access to near real-time Single Touch Payroll and superannuation fund data, allowing it to identify discrepancies earlier.
That capability will be further strengthened by the introduction of Payday Super, which will require employers to pay super at the same time as wages, rather than quarterly.
“The introduction of Payday Super will allow the ATO to detect unpaid super earlier and take action to help a business get back on track and stay on track,” said Kelly.
“For those businesses who don’t want to pay, the ATO will be able to take action faster to protect their employees’ super entitlements.”
