The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has announced the recovery and return of almost $1.1 billion in unpaid superannuation to nearly one million employees during the 2024-25 financial year, an outcome that reinforces the increasing scrutiny on employer compliance.
Across the year, the ATO applied a range of compliance measures to identify and address unpaid super guarantee (SG) liabilities. This included:
These efforts resulted in $795 million in Super Guarantee Charge (SGC) being raised. An additional $209 million in penalties were issued, underscoring the ATO’s commitment to ensuring employees receive their full entitlements.
ATO Deputy Commissioner Ben Kelly reiterated the agency’s firm stance:
“Paying correct super entitlements on time is not optional.”
Where employers failed to rectify issues, the ATO escalated its response. In 2024-25, it undertook approximately 22,550 ‘firmer actions’, including:
These steps reflect a broadening toolkit designed to address unpaid employee entitlements and deter recurring breaches.
With around 942,500 employers responsible for super payments for 14.9 million eligible workers, the ATO emphasised that super must be:
Kelly noted that enhanced access to near real time Single Touch Payroll (STP) and super fund data is significantly improving the ATO’s ability to detect irregularities sooner.
The rollout of Payday Super, requiring employers to pay super at the same time as salary and wages, is expected to further reduce unpaid super and allow the ATO to intervene earlier when issues arise.
According to Kelly, this shift will help compliant businesses stay on track while enabling faster action against those who continue to disregard their obligations.
“For those businesses who don’t want to pay, the ATO will be able to take action faster to protect their employees’ super entitlements.”