- April 8, 2026
- Posted by: Walshe Clancy O'Neill Financial Group
- Category: Superannuation
Qualifying earnings: the new way to calculate super
From 1 July, you’ll need to calculate super contributions based on qualifying earnings instead of ordinary time earnings.
As an employer, you currently have to calculate and pay super based on your employees’ ordinary time earnings (OTE).
However, from 1 July, super and the super guarantee charge will be calculated based on your employees’ qualifying earnings (QE) instead.
For most employers this doesn’t change the way you pay super or the amount you need to pay. However, it may require updates to payroll software configuration and reporting.
While you don’t need to use QE just yet, take action now to review your pay codes to see which codes need to be mapped to QE.
For more information, check our factsheet explaining QE.
This article is provided courtesy of ato.gov.au and was originally published on 2 April 2026.