New super rules push compliance into payroll platforms

Payday Super regulations are pushing compliance features deeper into Australian payroll platforms, a trend highlighted by recent integrations announced by SuperAPI.

Reg-tech provider SuperAPI has expanded its payroll and workforce management network through integrations with Access Group and Affinity. The company said the agreements added to its existing integrations with Xero, Deputy and Tanda, with its infrastructure now serving more than 20,000 employers and over two million employees.

SuperAPI’s employer footprint has been growing at more than 10 per cent a month, while the provider also partners with 10 superannuation funds, including five of Australia’s six largest funds by membership.

The expansion followed the introduction of Payday Super on 1 July, which required employers to pay superannuation with each pay cycle and generally ensure contributions reached an employee’s fund within seven business days.

Shorter contribution timeframes have increased the need for payroll providers, human resources systems, super funds and SuperStream infrastructure to identify and address incorrect information before payments are processed.

SuperAPI co-founder and chief executive Riley James said the reforms had placed greater responsibility on payroll technology. “Payday Super has changed the role payroll technology plays in the superannuation system. When contributions were made quarterly, there was considerably more room to identify and correct problems after payroll. That margin has now been compressed,” James said.

“What we’re seeing now is the infrastructure between employers, payroll platforms and super funds becoming much more important. The industry needs to identify the right fund, validate the member and resolve issues as early as possible, ideally before incorrect information ever reaches payroll.”

“Integrating SuperAPI directly into enterprise platforms such as Access Group and Affinity means employers don’t need to build a separate super compliance process around their payroll. The verification and compliance infrastructure can operate inside the workflow they already use.”

Specialist compliance partnerships

Business software firm Access Group’s general manager of APAC recruitment Chris O’Meara said automating super requirements during employee onboarding could reduce employers’ administrative workload.

The founder and chief executive of payroll business Affinity, Bruce Sullivan, said the company’s partnership with SuperAPI reflected a decision to leave super compliance to a specialist provider.

“The hands-on approach they take to getting employers properly activated with the ATO, making sure they’re not just connected but genuinely ready, reflects the same standard we hold ourselves to. When you’re choosing a compliance partner, that alignment matters as much as the technology,” Sullivan said.

Alongside its enterprise integrations, SuperAPI said it had continued expanding among small businesses through XOnboard, its employee onboarding product integrated with Xero.

SuperAPI co-founder, chief commercial officer and head of compliance Ben Styles said the combination of enterprise and small-business adoption was extending the network across different parts of the employer market.

“The same infrastructure can sit behind a large enterprise workforce platform and a small business onboarding an employee through Xero, creating consistency across a super system that has been highly fragmented. For funds, it is an opportunity to connect with employers and members through the software where employment and payroll decisions are actually being made,” Styles said.

SuperStream data standards have historically been difficult for smaller businesses to handle, but XOnboard aims to simplify the process.