More than one in four Victorian workers have been underpaid their super - missing out on a total of $1.3 billion in a year, new research shows.
Victorians accounted for a quarter of Australia's unpaid super, but an Australian Government pledge to pay super on payday from 1 July 2026 is the key to dramatically stem those losses.
Super Members Council analysis of tax file data shows more than 755,000 Victorian workers were short-changed an average of $1,740 each in 2021-22. Over five years, Victorian workers lost almost $6 billion – highlighting payday super laws need to start urgently.
Unpaid super is a breach of the law which denies many Victorians workers the right to save for retirement and can cost the average worker more than $30,000 from their final retirement nest egg.
The Australian Government has promised reforms that would mean super must be paid in sync with a worker's wages – instead of at least once a quarter.
This crucial reform - to be introduced from July 2026 and long-championed by the profit-to-member super sector - will modernise the super payment system and dramatically help to stem unpaid super.
Payday super will lead to almost 9 million Australians getting their super contributions more frequently throughout their working life. SMC analysis shows the average worker could be $7,700 better off in retirement with payday super because the investment returns accrue and compound sooner.
Super Members Council CEO Misha Schubert said payday super laws would help all Australians get the full benefits of Australia's transformative retirement system.
"Paying super on paydays will modernise the super system to stem underpayments for Victorian workers. This urgently needed reform will be fairer for both workers and employers," she said.
"Unpaid super makes people poorer when they retire. Passing payday super laws to start in July 2026 is key to ensure Victorians currently being short-changed are paid their super on time and in full."
"Hundreds of thousands of Victorian workers are paying the price every single day their super goes unpaid – and cannot afford any delay to the introduction of payday super."
Shifting to payday super will level the playing field for all businesses – so employers who pay their workers super on time and in full are not undercut by those who have not.
It also creates smoother cashflow management for small business. Quarterly super payment allows large super liabilities to accrue and creates an administrative burden from time-consuming reconciliations, which can be prone to miscalculations leading to incorrect payments.
"We urge all Parliamentarians and stakeholders to work together to pass payday super legislation this term. The reform is long overdue and by the time payday super is introduced from 1 July 2026, business and the industry will have had more than three years to prepare."
"We owe it to all Australians to work collaboratively to deliver this much-needed reform."
New SMC analysis released in a report on unpaid super in Australia in August found:
- In one year, 2.8 million Australians missed out on $5.1 billion in legal super entitlements (2021-22)
- Over 9 years, Australians have missed out on $41.6 billion in unpaid super
- The average affected worker missed out on $1,800 in super in a year.
Unpaid super in Victoria by federal electorate during 2021-22
Electorate |
People underpaid |
Average underpayment |
Percentage of people underpaid |
Total ($M) |
Melbourne |
24,850 |
$1,820 |
25% |
$45.2 |
McEwen |
25,050 |
$1,780 |
31% |
$44.7 |
Lalor |
29,000 |
$1,520 |
29% |
$44.1 |
Gellibrand |
22,850 |
$1,830 |
28% |
$41.7 |
Macnamara |
21,350 |
$1,870 |
25% |
$40.0 |
Isaacs |
20,450 |
$1,880 |
29% |
$38.5 |
Holt |
24,950 |
$1,490 |
29% |
$37.3 |
Chisholm |
19,900 |
$1,870 |
25% |
$37.2 |
Gorton |
22,650 |
$1,640 |
29% |
$37.1 |
Dunkley |
18,900 |
$1,940 |
27% |
$36.7 |
Bruce |
21,550 |
$1,680 |
27% |
$36.2 |
Jagajaga |
17,200 |
$2,080 |
25% |
$35.7 |
Hotham |
22,800 |
$1,570 |
27% |
$35.7 |
Higgins |
21,100 |
$1,670 |
28% |
$35.2 |
Maribyrnong |
18,750 |
$1,870 |
26% |
$35.1 |
Casey |
17,150 |
$2,040 |
26% |
$35.0 |
Menzies |
20,800 |
$1,670 |
27% |
$34.7 |
Mallee |
16,050 |
$2,150 |
25% |
$34.5 |
Goldstein |
18,950 |
$1,810 |
28% |
$34.4 |
Aston |
17,900 |
$1,890 |
26% |
$33.9 |
Wannon |
17,950 |
$1,860 |
28% |
$33.4 |
Deakin |
19,950 |
$1,660 |
27% |
$33.1 |
Calwell |
19,800 |
$1,670 |
26% |
$33.0 |
Corangamite |
19,550 |
$1,670 |
29% |
$32.7 |
Fraser |
20,200 |
$1,580 |
27% |
$31.9 |
Kooyong |
18,600 |
$1,700 |
25% |
$31.7 |
Wills |
19,350 |
$1,610 |
27% |
$31.1 |
Corio |
17,050 |
$1,800 |
25% |
$30.7 |
Cooper |
18,150 |
$1,670 |
26% |
$30.3 |
La Trobe |
18,000 |
$1,670 |
27% |
$30.0 |
Bendigo |
17,250 |
$1,720 |
27% |
$29.7 |
Nicholls |
16,850 |
$1,720 |
27% |
$29.0 |
Gippsland |
15,650 |
$1,850 |
27% |
$28.9 |
Scullin |
18,250 |
$1,580 |
26% |
$28.9 |
Indi |
16,400 |
$1,720 |
27% |
$28.1 |
Monash |
15,000 |
$1,850 |
26% |
$27.7 |
Flinders |
15,300 |
$1,780 |
26% |
$27.2 |
Ballarat |
17,250 |
$1,500 |
27% |
$25.8 |
Hawke |
12,850 |
$1,440 |
26% |
$18.5 |
Vic total |
755,600 |
$1,740 |
27% |
$1,314.8 |
Source: Super Members Council analysis of ATO 2 per cent sample file, 2021-22, and ABS data.
