Josh Dolega (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak in strong support of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025 and related bill. This is a reform that is long overdue and essential. The bill delivers on a simple but powerful principle: when Australians are paid their wages, they are paid their superannuation at the same time—no delays and no excuses. For too long, our system has tolerated a gap that has allowed billions of dollars in super to go unpaid, disproportionately affecting young workers, low-income earners and women. These are the Australians who can least afford to fall behind, yet they have borne the brunt of a system that hasn't kept pace with fairness.

Superannuation is one of Labor's proudest legacies, a world-leading system that has transformed retirement for millions. But its promise is only as strong as its delivery. If super isn't paid on time, Australians are left worse off. This bill fixes that. It ensures super is paid alongside wages into workers' accounts, where it belongs, compounding for their future and not sitting on someone else's ledger. It's fair, it's practical and it's long overdue.

Every week, Australian workers are short-changed by a mere hundred million dollars in unpaid super. It's not just a number; it's money that people have earned but never received. In total, the ATO estimates that $5.2 billion in super went unpaid in just one year. It was really telling to hear my colleague Senator Dowling talk about the Tasmanian figures. We know that Tasmanians are quite often underpaid compared to colleagues on the big island.

Payday super is a generational reform to end this injustice, because super isn't a bonus; it's a right. It's just like your wages. It's part of what workers are owed in exchange for their labour, and, when it's withheld, it's theft, plain and simple. This bill will put a stop to that. (Quorum formed) As I was saying, payday super is a generational reform to end the injustice, because super isn't a bonus; it's a right. Just like our wages, it's part of what workers are owed, and, when it's withheld, it's theft, plain and simple, and this will put a stop to that. It's important to note that workers' super was never intended to be a part of your boss's cash flow. Super is part of your pay, and now it will be paid when you get paid.

Let's be clear: many employers do the right thing and pay superannuation on time. This law closes the gap with the shonks and reduces the risk for workers. The impact on workers who have their super delayed is real and lasting. For a 35-year-old worker, failing to recover this money could reduce their retirement savings by around $32,000 in today's dollars. And, when businesses collapse, the damage is even worse. Missing super from a liquidated business could leave a 35-year-old more than $90,000 worse off in their retirement. That's why, from 1 July 2026, employers will be required to pay super at the same time as paying wages, instead of paying it quarterly. It means that workers will receive their super in their funds within seven business days of payday. It ensures that workers will receive what they are legally owed, which will add strength to the entire super system. This will make it easier for workers to track their super and for the ATO to detect missed payments earlier.

Then there's the superannuation guarantee charge, which is a penalty that employers face when they fail to pay super on time. The new framework makes sure that your employer pays your super on time every payday. If they don't, they have to pay that penalty, the super guarantee charge. The charge includes a penalty for missed investment earnings, to make up for the money a worker could have earned if they had had their super paid on time; an extra admin fee to cover the cost of enforcing the framework and to encourage employers to voluntarily rectify these missed payments; and a penalty for an employer not using a worker's chosen super fund.

If an employer still doesn't pay super after the ATO gets involved, they could face even bigger penalties—up to 50 per cent of the unpaid amount. However, if the employer owns up to their mistakes and has a good track record, they may get a good penalty, as you would expect. These changes are meant to ensure that workers are properly compensated when their super isn't paid. It's not the employee's fault; it's the employer's responsibility.

These are new changes, and it's fair for Australians to ask how, practically speaking, they will be implemented. To enforce these changes, the ATO will use their Single Touch Payroll data, which employers already report, and match it with data from super funds to detect missed payments in near real time. This data-matching capability ensures the ATO can intervene earlier, reducing the risk of large debts building up and increasing the chance of recovery for workers who aren't getting paid their fair share of super. To support employers to meet their obligations in the first year of this legislation being implemented, employers who make a genuine attempt to comply, even if they face technical issues, will not be targeted by the ATO for compliance.

This reform really is good for everyone. It helps reduce the administrative pressure and the risk of large liabilities for employers. This is because the reform aligns super with payroll, meaning there's pressure taken off end-of-quarter paperwork. When you're talking about the practicalities, this legislation needs to pass through our parliament now. The longer we wait, the more workers miss out and the harder it becomes to recover all the super that is unpaid. That's why we're introducing the legislation now and trying to pass it now, because we know the importance of building a fairer, better system, and we know the impact that a better system will have on the lives of everyday Australians.

Labor is the party of superannuation. We built it, we believe in it and we will always fight to strengthen it. It was Labor that introduced compulsory superannuation. In 1983 the Hawke Labor government, in partnership with the ACTU, laid the foundation for a universal super system to ensure that all Australian workers could benefit. Then, in 1992, the Keating Labor government introduced the superannuation guarantee, giving workers a minimum superannuation rate of three per cent for the first time. We've backed compulsory super from the beginning and we continue to do so for a simple but powerful reason—to ensure that every Australian can retire with dignity and financial security. That's the purpose of super. That is the principle that we support and the intent we continue to support.

Today, working people hold $4.1 trillion worth of investments thanks to Labor and superannuation. This drives the far right and the superwealthy crazy. It keeps them up at night. These are the types who grew up with a silver spoon in their mouth, the types who claim they are for Australians but through their actions try to divide us at every chance they get. They can't stand working people holding so much collective wealth. That's why on the right they keep peddling scams trying to disrupt the super system—scams like super for housing deposits. These scams have drastic long-term negative impacts on retirement savings for workers.

Those opposite attack workers rights at every chance they get. There hasn't been a workplace right or entitlement they wouldn't have cut given the opportunity, so of course they would go for super too. Workers should always scrutinise and question when these grifters and scammers try to encourage use of your super for other purposes, like house deposits or COVID relief money, because their intentions are never in the interests of working people. There's always that agenda. They're all about keeping wealth at the top end of town because they can't stand it when the working class rises.

At the centre of Labor's economic plan is a simple objective: more Australians earning more and keeping more of what they earn. That's the driving force behind this legislation. Our reforms to super reflect our belief that Australians should have access to funds that allow them to have that dignified retirements. Labor governments have raised the superannuation guarantee so it's finally reached 12 per cent. We've boosted the low income superannuation tax offset, which is the payment the government makes to your super if you're a low income earner. It repays the tax paid on low income workers' super contributions so they can get more in their super accounts. This year, we've have raised the income threshold to $45,000 a year and increased how much you can get back through the low income super tax offset to $810, increasing the number of people getting this offset to 3.1 million. We've ensured that parents now get paid super on paid parental leave, ensuring that parents do not miss out on superannuation payments when they spend those critical years out of the workforce, often caring for their children.

Reforming super is by no means the whole story when it comes to Labor and protecting Australian workers. It's the tip of the iceberg. This bill is about fairness, it's about respect for workers and it's about making sure every Australian is paid what they earn in real time every time they get paid. Labor is the party of working people. We are the party of super, and, with this bill, we're strengthening super and we're protecting workers for generations to come. I commend this bill to the Senate.