When are contributions due?
Employers are required to pay superannuation contributions for each eligible employee at least four times a year, within 28 days after the end of each quarter, as shown in the table below. Superannuation contributions tie-in with the quarters of the financial year.
|
Quarter |
Quarterly cut-off date |
|
Quarter 1 |
28 October |
|
Quarter 2 |
28 January |
|
Quarter 3 |
28 April |
|
Quarter 4 |
28 July |
Who must I contribute for?
You must pay super if your employee(s) earn at least $450 gross per calendar month. The main exceptions are employees who are:
- Under 18 years of age and working less than 30 hours per week.
- aged 70 years and over, or performing work of a private or domestic nature for not more than 30 hours a week for a non-business employer.
Please note: You may still be required by a Federal or State award, Industrial Agreement or Employee Contract to pay super for the above employees. Super Guarantee (SG) contributions do not need to be paid on the part of the salary that is over a specified level each quarter.
What is the current Superannuation Guarantee rate?
You are currently required to pay 9% of your eligible employee's salary into a complying super fund such as NCSF.
However, if your employees work under a specific industrial award or agreement requiring a larger superannuation contribution than the SG, you will generally be obliged to pay the higher amount.
What salary should be used to calculate SG?
You should use the employee's ordinary time earnings (OTE) when calculating the amount of super you have to pay. Where you have been making, or are obliged to make super payments under an award agreement, you can use the OTE defined in the relevant award. Otherwise you should use the OTE definition in the Superannuation Guarantee legislation, which includes employees' wages over-award payments bonuses and commissions.
Please note that you must determine an employee's eligibility to receive super for SG purposes (i.e. $450 per month) by reference to their gross earnings, which may be more than the OTE on which the calculation of their contribution is based. The maximum salary level on which contributions will be based is set each year by the ATO. No super contributions are payable on that part of the salary above this maximum level.
What if I don't pay enough or I am late paying?
If you choose not to pay super for your eligible employees or you do not pay enough super for your employees by certain prescribed dates, you will have to pay a charge called the Superannuation Guarantee Charge (SGC). This charge is payable to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) and is greater than the amount of super you are required to pay. It is not tax deductible.
Contribution advice schedule and remittance
You must complete a Contribution Advice Schedule and forward it to NCSF for processing with your payment. The following items should be forwarded with your schedule:
Cheque for total contributions due (as per the Contribution Advice Schedule)
Application for Membership or Deemed Membership form
Member Update form
Change Advice from Employer form
These will ensure that employee’s personal details are maintained, correct levels of insurance are provided and correspondence is correctly addressed.
Please note that you may use Contribution Remittance Forms generated by your own Payroll System or computer if data is provided as per our Contribution Advice Schedule.
Prior to remitting your contributions, please make sure you check the following:
The cheque amount equals the total amount of the Contribution Advice Schedule;
All Members appearing on your Contribution Advice Schedule have completed an Application for Membership form (or where required a Deemed Applicaiton form is attached),
All documentation has been signed where applicable by the Employer.
That you have not inadvertently remitted contributions on behalf of Members you no longer employ.
Please note that any contributions received that cannot be allocated (due to outstanding requirements such as Membership -Applications, Deemed Membership Applications or Change of Employer Forms will be refunded within 14 days.
How do I register new employees?
All of your employees (if eligible) under the age of 70, whether full time, part time or casual can become members of NCSF.
Your employees must complete a Application for Membership form. If an employee is already a member of NCSF all you need to do is provide their name, membership number and date of birth on your next Contribution Advice schedule. However, if the new employee was a member of NCSF and has claimed all of their benefits or the period between Employers exceeds 30 days, a new Application for Membership form will need to be completed for insurance purposes.
Your employees will receive the following when they join the Fund:
- A ‘Welcome to the Fund’ letter.
- Employer supported members will automatically receive 2 units of Death Cover and 2 units of income Protection Insurance
- A copy of the most recent NCSF Annual Report.
Membership numbers for new employees will appear on the next Contribution Advice Schedule sent to you. This number is unique to each member. You should quote the appropriate member number on any occasion when you need to contact NCSF about a member.
What happens if employees’ details change?
A 'Change Advice from Employer' form is to be forwarded with the monthly Contribution Advice Schedule following any changes to employees’ including:
- Change of name by marriage or deed poll.
- Change of address.
- Change of nominated beneficiaries
What happens if employees cease to be employed?
When any employee ceases employment, you must advise NCSF by completing a Termination Advice form and attaching it to your Contribution Advice Schedule.
A Member’s employment may cease for any of the following reasons:
- Retirement
- Resignation
- Redundancy/Retrenchment
- Dismissal
- Death
- Disability
A Termination Advice form will also be required in the event of an existing employee transferring their benefits from NCSF to another fund
What happens if an employee dies?
If a member dies whilst in your employ, the following information in addition to the Termination Advice form will be required:
- The name of the solicitor or legal personal representative dealing with the deceased’s estate.
- A certified copy of the Death Certificate.
- A certified copy of the deceased’s Full Birth Certificate.
Please contact our office immediately in the event of a Member’s death and we will deal with all entitlements promptly.