Short answer. The ATO runs a free online tool called "Report unpaid super contributions from my employer". Use it if your employer hasn't paid your super, paid it late, or paid it to the wrong fund. To lodge you need three things: your TFN, the period of concern, and your employer's ABN(it's on your payslip). Anyone can use it — including people on temporary visas.
Think your employer isn't paying your super, or is paying less than the legal 12%? You're not being paranoid — unpaid super has long been one of Australia's biggest wage-theft problems. Under the Payday Super rules from 1 July 2026 it's far easier to catch, because the money has to land in your fund within 7 business days of payday instead of once a quarter.
The steps below follow the order the ATO itself asks you to work through. Doing them in order matters: the referral form asks you to confirm you've already done the checks.
Step 1: Confirm you're actually entitled to super
Employees are entitled to compulsory super. So are independent contractors who are paid mainly for their labour. Being on a working holiday or student visa makes no difference — you get the same super as anyone else, and you can claim it when you leave Australia.
One warning if you invoice under an ABN: the ATO asks contractors to review their own tax returns first. If you've been claiming business income and deductions, that can affect whether you count as an employee for super purposes, and penalties can apply for deliberately misrepresenting what you put in a return.
Step 2: Work out what you should have been paid
Super is 12% of your qualifying earnings — broadly your gross pay minus overtime and expense allowances. Run each pay period through our super underpayment calculator, or do it yourself: (gross − overtime) × 0.12.
Work out a specific dollar figure for a specific period. "I think it's wrong" is much weaker than "I was short $412 across March and April".
Step 3: Check the money reached your fund
This is the step most people skip. A super line on your payslip proves nothing; only money that arrives in your fund counts.
- Check your member statements, or your fund's app, or phone the fund.
- Or log into myGov, link the ATO, and view the contributions your employer has reported — this also finds funds you'd forgotten about.
- Compare 2–3 months of payslips against fund transactions.
- Screenshot both sides. You'll want them later.
Also check the money went to the rightfund. Paying your super into a fund you didn't nominate is its own breach, and the ATO tool covers it.
Step 4: Ask your employer first (if you feel comfortable)
The ATO suggests asking payroll three specific questions: when they last paid, which fund they paid into, and how much. Do it in writing so there's a record. Payroll mistakes are genuinely common in the first months of the new rules, and this is often where it ends.
"Hi — I've been checking my super fund and can't see contributions matching my payslips for [dates]. By my calculation, 12% of my qualifying earnings should be about $[X] per pay. Could you confirm when these contributions were sent, to which fund, and for how much? Thanks!"
Give them a reasonable window — say two weeks. Keep every reply. If you don't feel safe raising it, skip straight to Step 5; you are not required to confront your employer first.
Step 5: Lodge the ATO referral
Search for the ATO tool by its exact name — "Report unpaid super contributions from my employer" — or find it under Calculators and tools on ato.gov.au. It's free, and the ATO states plainly that anyone can use it.
What you need to hand:
- Your personal details, including your TFN. If your TFN is lost or stolen, sort that out first.
- The period of concern — the pay periods you believe went unpaid.
- Your employer's details, including their ABN. It's on your payslip or last payment summary, on their letterhead, or searchable through ABN Lookup.
What happens after you lodge
You get an online notification confirming the ATO received your referral. After that, the ATO contacts you by letter or email if it manages to collect the money and pay it into your fund.
Be realistic about the timeline and the odds. In the ATO's own words, the process may take some time, and not every referral results in the collection of unpaid super. Reporting is still worth it — the ATO uses Single Touch Payroll and super fund data matching to find non-compliance, so your referral often adds to a picture it's already building.
If the employer can't pay in full, they may go on a payment plan. Payments go to the employer's oldest debt first, and what's collected is shared equally between the affected employees' super accounts. Where an employer simply won't pay, the ATO can issue director penalty notices making a director personally liable, garnishee money from their bank or their customers, report the debt to a credit bureau, or take legal action.
One thing to check before you lodge: your mail
ATO correspondence goes to your myGov Inbox or your postal address — and that can include the address of anyone you've nominated to act for you, such as a tax agent. If you don't want that person knowing about the referral, update your contact details or authorised contacts first. This catches people out.
Can I report unpaid super anonymously?
Not through the referral tool. When you lodge, the ATO asks for permission to use your name when it contacts your employer.
If you want your identity kept confidential, use a different channel: the ATO's online tip-off form(also in the Help & support section of the ATO app), or phone the tip-off line on 1800 060 062.
There's a real trade-off here, so decide deliberately. Tax whistleblower protection requires meeting certain conditions — including giving your name. Going anonymous protects your identity but gives up that protection. Separately, taking adverse action against an employee for asserting a workplace right is unlawful under the Fair Work Act.
ATO or Fair Work — who handles what?
People lodge with the wrong body all the time. The dividing line is the super guarantee rate:
- The ATO can only investigate shortfalls against the compulsory super guarantee rate (12%).
- The Fair Work Ombudsmanhandles anything you're owed above that rate — for example extra super promised under an award or agreement — along with unpaid wages and other entitlements. The FWO may ask you to complete a wages and conditions claim and can pursue it on your behalf, including in court.
If your employer was previously investigated, it's also worth searching the FWO's unpaid wages database — money recovered for workers sometimes sits there unclaimed. And if your pay itself looks wrong, not just your super, start with our minimum wage check.
You can also seek a court order. Employees under the national workplace relations system can apply to an eligible court under the Fair Work Act 2009; NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia each have state laws letting courts order an employer to pay the shortfall into your fund.
What if my employer goes bankrupt?
You're not automatically last in line. An insolvency practitioner is appointed and is required to report unpaid super to the ATO by lodging a super guarantee charge statement.
In insolvency, the super guarantee charge ranks ahead of ordinary unsecured creditorsand equally with employees' wage entitlements — so if there are funds or assets available, it gets paid before general creditors. Since 1 July 2024 the practitioner may also apply for funding through the Fair Entitlements Guarantee Recovery Program to chase unpaid super guarantee charge amounts, where the criteria are met.
What your employer ends up owing
Employers who miss the deadline owe the super guarantee charge: the shortfall itself, plus interest to compensate youfor the investment earnings you missed, plus penalties. The ATO pays the super and interest into your super account — it doesn't keep it.
Leaving Australia soon?
If you're on a temporary visa, chasing unpaid super matters more, not less — it's money you can claim back when you leave. Estimate it with our DASP refund calculator, and read the super guide for working holiday makers and visa holders. Chase the shortfall before you fly out — it is far harder to run from overseas.
Written and maintained by Jeongdo Kim, a working holiday maker in Australia. Not a licensed financial adviser — every figure is sourced from the body that sets it. Sources: ATO, "Unpaid super from your employer" (QC47931, last updated 4 June 2026) and "Report unpaid super contributions from my employer" (QC50278, last updated 29 April 2026). General information only, not financial, legal or tax advice. See our editorial policy.