Unpaid superannuation

Behind on employee superannuation

Superannuation paid late is not simply late — it converts into the superannuation guarantee charge. For quarters up to 30 June 2026 that charge was calculated on total salary and wages rather than ordinary time earnings and was not deductible at all; payday super replaced it from 1 July 2026. Either way it can be recovered from directors personally. HomeSec funds the amount owing against property equity, paid directly to the Australian Taxation Office.

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Why unpaid super is the worst debt on the balance sheet

Business owners routinely rank super below the ATO's other balances and below trade creditors. That ranking is backwards, for three reasons that compound each other.

The base widens. For quarters up to 30 June 2026, the shortfall is calculated on total salary and wages, not on ordinary time earnings. The amount owing is larger than the super you failed to pay. Under the charge that replaced it from 1 July 2026, the calculation moved to qualifying earnings.
Deductibility depends on which side of 1 July 2026 the arrears sit. The old quarterly guarantee charge is not deductible at all — being late converted a deductible cost into a non-deductible one. Under the new charge, the ATO's position is that the main components are deductible, while general interest charge on the balance and late payment penalties are not. Most arrears we are asked to fund are old quarters, which is the harsher treatment.
It reaches you personally. Superannuation guarantee charge is one of the three obligations a Director Penalty Notice can be issued for, and where the required statement has not been lodged in time, the notice can be a lockdown notice — meaning administration or liquidation will not remove the liability.

Payday super changed the timing, from 1 July 2026

Superannuation is now tied to the pay run rather than to the quarter. The reform arrived through the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Act 2025 and the Superannuation Guarantee Charge Amendment Act 2025, with the ATO's first-year compliance approach set out in PCG 2026/1.

The rule is often described as "pay super at the same time as wages", which is the intent rather than the test. The enforceable test is receipt: the contribution must reach the employee's fund within 7 business days of the employee being paid, with a longer allowance for new employees and newly nominated funds. Clearing houses and processing time come out of that window, not out of the ATO's patience.

The practical consequence for a business under cash-flow pressure is that the quarterly buffer is gone. Super used to be the payment you could quietly defer for up to three months while waiting on a debtor. It is now a weekly or fortnightly obligation, and Single Touch Payroll reporting makes the gap between what was reported and what was received visible almost immediately.

Confirm the detail with your accountant

Which charge applies, how it is calculated, what is deductible and what the statement deadlines are all turn on the specific quarters involved and on facts we do not hold. We are not tax advisers, and the first year of payday super has transitional treatment of its own. What we can do is fund the payment quickly and pay the ATO directly.

What we can and cannot fund

We fund the amount owing to the ATO — the guarantee charge and the shortfall behind it — remitted directly using your payment reference number. Where contributions are still payable to the funds themselves rather than to the ATO, that is a different payment path and your bookkeeper should confirm which applies before we settle, because paying the wrong destination does not discharge the liability.

We do not require SGC statements to be lodged, tax returns to be current, or a clean credit file. We lend against equity in real property: to 80% of value on residential security, 70% on commercial, from $20,000 to $5,000,000.

If you have employees and you are weighing up what to pay first

Super is the one to fix. Trade creditors negotiate. The guarantee charge grows, carries components you cannot deduct, and can be pursued against you personally in a form that surviving an insolvency process will not clear. If the choice is between paying a supplier and paying super, and you can only do one, this is the one.

How much you can borrow

Take the property's value, multiply by 80% for residential security or 70% for commercial, and subtract what is already owing on it. What is left is roughly what is available, between $20,000 and $5,000,000. Several properties can be added together, and the borrower does not have to be the owner — companies, trusts and sole traders — including start-ups, with everyone on title signing. Up to 80% on residential and 70% on commercial. Lower on large acreage, and LVRs may reduce on properties worth less than $800,000.

From the call to the money

Tell us the deal

Amount, purpose, timing, the property and how the loan gets repaid. A Lending Manager gives you an indicative answer on that call — usually in minutes.

Minutes

Conditional approval

Photo ID, a rates notice and your most recent mortgage statement. That is the whole list, and it takes about fifteen minutes.

About 15 minutes

Funds released

As little as 24 hours from a clean, complete scenario. Paid where you tell us — to your account, or straight to the ATO.

As little as 24 hours

What it costs

Priced per file, on the property, the position, the amount and the exit. No rate is published, because a rate with "from" in front of it is the best file's number. How it is priced, and every fee that exists.

✓Upfront: a small commitment fee, payable only once your loan is conditionally approved

✓Valuation fee: none — we don't use valuers

✓Monthly or line fees: none — no monthly, line or account-keeping fees

✓Fee to extend: none — no rollover fees, legal fees or rewriting the loan to extend

Questions we get on the phone

Can I borrow to pay unpaid superannuation?

Yes. HomeSec funds superannuation guarantee amounts against property equity, from $20,000 to $5,000,000, paid directly to the Australian Taxation Office and generally settled within 24 hours. Outstanding SGC statements and lodgements do not affect the assessment.

Am I personally liable for my company's unpaid super?

You can be. Superannuation guarantee charge is recoverable from directors through a Director Penalty Notice, and where the statement was not lodged within the required period the notice can be a lockdown notice, which appointing an administrator will not remit.

Is it cheaper to pay the super or to keep owing it?

Run the after-tax comparison with your accountant, and tell them which quarters the arrears relate to — the deductibility treatment differs either side of 1 July 2026. Interest on business borrowing used for a business purpose generally remains deductible. For most profitable businesses carrying old quarters, the comparison is not close.

Do you pay the fund or the ATO?

The ATO, using your payment reference number, where the liability has become a guarantee charge. Where contributions are still owed directly to the funds, confirm the correct destination with your bookkeeper before settlement — paying the wrong one does not discharge the debt.

How long can I keep the loan?

As long as the business purpose and the exit remain sound. The term is open — no minimum, no maximum, no fee to extend. Interest is prepaid for the period you choose, so nothing falls due while it runs.

Can I borrow to pay unpaid super?

Yes, and it is one of the files where borrowing is clearly the right call: unpaid super becomes a director's personal liability through the director penalty regime, and the superannuation guarantee charge is not deductible. A loan secured by property, paid direct to the ATO, closes the exposure on one day. $20,000 to $5,000,000, no repayments for up to 6 months.

Does unpaid super affect my credit file?

Not directly — it is an ATO matter, and the ATO reports business tax debts to credit bureaus only above a threshold and after engagement fails. What it affects is the director personally, which is worse than a credit file: a director penalty notice makes the company's super debt yours.

How fast does it need to be paid?

Faster than it used to. 1 July 2026 brought payday super — a contribution is on time if the fund receives it within 7 business days of the employee being paid. Arrears accumulate quickly under that rule, and the director penalty regime does not wait.

Related situations

Five different problems sit under “ATO debt”, each with its own deadline and its own exposure. If yours is not the one on this page, start here.

Clearing an ATO tax debt Payment plan defaulted Director Penalty Notice Garnishee notice Tax returns not lodged

Talk to a Lending Manager

Tell us the amount owing, how many quarters it covers and what property is available. 1300 93 83 87, Mon–Fri, 8:30am – 5:30pm Melbourne time. More on ATO and tax debt funding.

Sixty seconds, no documents

See if you qualify in sixty seconds

Three short questions, no credit check to apply and no financial statements. A Lending Manager reads it and calls you back with a real answer — not a call centre, not an algorithm.

That's the HomeSec Advantage.

See if you qualify Call 1300 93 83 87Mon–Fri, 8:30am – 5:30pm Melbourne time

Reviewed by Catriona Anderson, General Manager