For new employees, you must provide a Superannuation Standard Choice Form within 28 days of their start date. They have the option to nominate their own fund. If they do not choose one, you must check for a Stapled Super Fund via the Australian Taxation Office before defaulting them to your business’s designated fund. [1, 2]
Under Payday Super rules, super contributions must reach the employee’s super fund within 7 business days of each payday. However, you are granted an extended timeline of up to 20 business days for the very first eligible contribution you make for a new employee. [1, 2]
The step-by-step super onboarding process generally breaks down as follows:
- Provide Choice of Fund: Present your employee with the Choice Form, usually alongside standard onboarding documents like the Tax File Number Declaration and Fair Work Information Statement. [1, 2, 4]
- Review Nominations: If the employee chooses their own fund, you have 2 months to begin making contributions into it. [1]
- Check for Stapled Funds: If no choice is made, log in to Online services for business to see if the ATO has an existing “stapled” account tied to the employee from a previous job. [1]
- Pay to Default Fund: If the employee doesn’t have a chosen fund or a stapled fund, you can use your business’s default superannuation fund
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