News

29 October 2025

Thank you, Madame Deputy Speaker. Australia's superannuation system is one of our great national achievements and ensuring confidence in the system is essential to our economy and way of life. This bill, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025, presents an important and overdue step to strengthen the integrity of our superannuation system. The bill will help ensure that Australians receive what they are owed, when they are owed it, helping their superannuation balances grow through compounding interest and giving workers greater transparency and trust in the system. I welcome this reform but I do urge the government to ensure that small businesses are properly supported through its implementation because there is no doubt, and many have raised concerns with me, that it will be in some situations difficult to manage.

Small businesses must not be an afterthought in this process, it must be integral to it. From the cafes and surf-shops of Manly, to the tech start-ups in Brookvale, and the innovation hub of North Sydney, Warringah is full of small businesses as many other areas around Australia. They are the employers, innovators and community builders who drive our local economy. And so I speak regularly with business owners across the electorate and they care deeply about their employees and are committed to paying fair wages and superannuation. But many are struggling under the weight of rising costs from rent, insurance, energy prices, ongoing challenge of finding and retaining staff. That is the reality they must consider, and these small businesses are not resisting reforms, they simply need adequate time, guidance and support to implement it properly. They also need to make sure that, for example, the ATO is not overly aggressive in pursuing them from a regulatory point of view.

Under current arrangements, employers can pay superannuation up to three months after wages are paid and this delay has created confusion, reduced transparency and often resulted in unpaid entitlements, sot is right that this is rectified. The Australian Taxation Office estimates that over five billion in superannuation goes unpaid each year. And we know who is hit the hardest: young people, women and those in casual and insecure jobs. These are the people who already face barriers to building financial security, so it is good that from now on that this delay in payment of super is going to be closed. From 1 July 2026, this bill will require employers to ensure that super contributions reach employees' funds within 7 business days of pay day. This will align superannuation payments with wage payments, making the system more transparent, easier to track, and fairer for workers. It will also allow issues with nonpayment to be identified and resolved much more quickly before they grow to being problems that are unsurmountable. So I welcome this bill is a necessary reform that will help protect Australians' retirement savings.

The government must work closely still with the business community, accountants and software providers to ensure that payroll systems and compliance frameworks are ready in time. Small and medium businesses make up, up to 97 per cent of Australian businesses, they employ around 70 per cent of private sector workers and contribute more than half of Australia's GDP, yet many are facing serious financial pressures. A recent MYOB business monitor found that one in three small businesses reported a fall in revenue at the end of 2025, and a quarter said they were struggling to maintain cash flow. For these businesses, the move to payday super will require new systems, new processes, cash flow adjustments and in some cases may actually put their businesses' viability in question. For some it may be the largest administrative change since the introduction of the GST and that is why the rollout must be handled carefully and with supports. The Australian Taxation Office should provide clear, accessible guidance, online tools and targeted education. I also encourage the government to consider a longer transition period or a staged implementation for small businesses to allow a smooth and successful transition; or at the very least, ensure the ATO has a process that is going to work with small business rather than just a big stick.

The superannuation system is one of Australia's great social and economic achievements, ensuring people can retire with dignity and maintain independence. This bill strengthens that achievement. It promotes transparency and accountability in how superannuation is paid and managed. But I urge the government to walk alongside small businesses to make it work and ensure this reform delivers for both, protecting workers futures while supporting small businesses that keep our community strong.

Now, we can't talk about superannuation without acknowledging the ongoing gender pay gap when it comes to superannuation balances. While the government has moved when it comes to superannuation on paid parental leave for example, there is still a complete lack of policy when it comes to carers, older generation. I am classic case, I don't have to experience it myself at this point, but the sandwich generation caring for children and now caring for elderly parents. There is nothing in the system that supports those women, and we know women over the age of 55 are the fastest group facing homelessness and do not have superannuation parity. There is a system in relation to sports people and artists, for example of special occupations where there is provision to average out income and tax rates and - again, super contributions up to a period of time of up to five years to allow for fluctuating incomes. I have put to the women's economic task force when it was led by our now Governor-General, that such a scheme should be considered those with caring responsibilities. So when someone of a certain age takes time out of employment to care for relatives, that they have an opportunity in returning to the workforce to make up for that time, in particular in relation to their superannuation balances through an averaging capacity as is allowed in certain occupations. So, I urge the government to start thinking outside the box of how are we going to fix the superannuation inequity and imbalance between genders. Whilst I hope that in the future the inequity isn't so stark because of changes that have occurred gradually, we cannot forget the generation that is caught with that gap and that is facing great disadvantage. So, I urge the government to keep looking at those questions of financial gender equity especially in retirement. Thank you.