Super vs KiwiSaver: what employers pay on each side

If you employ people in Australia, New Zealand or both, retirement savings are one of your biggest fixed costs after wages. And in 2026 both countries moved the goalposts. Australia changed when employers pay super. New Zealand changed how much employers pay into KiwiSaver. Mr has the side-by-side.

How do super and KiwiSaver compare for employers?

	Australia: superannuation guarantee	New Zealand: KiwiSaver
Employer rate (2026)	12%	Minimum 3.5% of gross wages, since 1 April 2026
Next scheduled change	None to the rate; Payday Super started 1 July 2026	Rises to 4% from 1 April 2028
Calculated on	Qualifying earnings	Gross salary or wages
When it’s due	In the employee’s fund no later than 7 business days after payday	Paid to IRD with your payday filing cycle
Extra tax on top	No separate employer tax on the contribution	Employer superannuation contribution tax (ESCT)
Who it covers	Eligible employees	Employees who are KiwiSaver members

What changed in Australia with Payday Super?

Since 1 July 2026, the ATO requires super guarantee contributions to land in each employee’s fund no more than 7 business days after payday. The rate is still 12%, but it now applies to “qualifying earnings” rather than only ordinary time earnings.

For most employers the rate isn’t the shock. The timing is. Before Payday Super, many small businesses paid super once a quarter, which meant up to three months of super sat in the business account doing useful things. Now that buffer is gone. A fortnightly payroll means a super payment every fortnight too.

Mr’s tip: treat super like wages. When you budget a pay run, budget the super that goes with it, and make sure your payroll software and clearing arrangements can actually get the money to funds within the window.

What changed in New Zealand with KiwiSaver?

IRD’s KiwiSaver changes page sets out the steps. On 1 April 2026, the default employer rate went from 3% to 3.5%. From 1 April 2028, it rises again to 4%. If an employee is granted a temporary rate reduction, the employer’s contribution drops to match it.

Two more things catch employers out:

• ESCT. Employer contributions attract employer superannuation contribution tax. IRD says you pay it on all your employer contributions unless you and your employee have agreed to treat some or all of the contribution as salary or wages under PAYE.
• Younger workers. IRD notes that from 1 April 2026, members aged 16 and 17 qualify for employer contributions at 3.5% too, with no action needed on their part.

The New Zealand change is a straight cost increase. For a business with a sizeable payroll, half a percent of gross wages each year adds up, and it does so again in 2028.

Payroll costs squeezing you? Mr’s people on each side look at cash flow and growth funding case by case, and asking leaves your credit file untouched. Choose your country and start a 60-second enquiry.

What does this mean for cash flow?

Here’s an illustrative way to think about it. Illustrative only.

A café group pays $40,000 in gross wages each fortnight in Sydney and another $40,000 in Auckland.

• Sydney: super at 12% is roughly $4,800 per fortnight, and under Payday Super it leaves the business with each pay run instead of in one quarterly lump.
• Auckland: the employer KiwiSaver contribution at 3.5% is about $1,400 per fortnight for employees who are members, plus ESCT, and that figure rises when the rate goes to 4% in 2028.

Neither number is a surprise on its own. The surprise is the pattern. Australian owners lose a timing buffer; New Zealand owners carry a higher ongoing cost. A business running in both countries gets both effects at once. Our 2026 payroll changes guide walks through a month-by-month plan.

How do lenders view super and KiwiSaver arrears?

Seriously, on both sides. Unpaid employee entitlements suggest a business is using staff money to stay afloat, and it can lead to stronger action from the tax office. In Australia, unpaid super can have personal consequences for directors. In New Zealand, PAYE and KiwiSaver deductions are money held for employees and IRD treats them accordingly.

That said, lenders consider each case on its merits. What helps:

• A clear figure for what’s owed, from ATO online services or myIR.
• An arrangement with the tax office, and evidence you’re keeping to it.
• A believable reason (a lost contract, a big customer paying late, a seasonal trough).
• A loan purpose that fixes the problem: clearing arrears and building a buffer, rather than more of the same.

Property-secured options (between $20,000 and $5,000,000) can give room to tidy up several obligations at once. Unsecured options, usually between $5,000 and $500,000, depend more on current trading and bank statements. The New Zealand site has a deeper answer on being behind on PAYE and KiwiSaver.

What should employers do now?

1. Recalculate your payroll budget with the 2026 settings for each country.
2. Check your systems can meet the 7-business-day window in Australia.
3. Set aside ESCT as well as the contribution in New Zealand.
4. Forecast the 2028 KiwiSaver step now, so it’s in next year’s pricing.
5. If you’re already behind, contact the ATO or IRD before they contact you.

See what Mr’s people can do

Retirement contributions are good news for staff and a planning job for owners, and 2026 made that job bigger on both sides. If you want breathing room, start with a short enquiry: it won’t leave a mark on your credit file, it won’t be forwarded to a queue of lenders, and a real human in your country will read it. Be straight about any arrears on the form and you’ll be matched properly. Choose Australia or New Zealand and see what’s possible.