Individual employers and companies face penalties of up to $54,000 if they fail to promptly send employees’ funds to the nominated super account.  That’s a new rule outlined in a circular issued by APRA and the Australian Tax Office. 

Under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993, employers are obliged to submit employee contributions within 28 days of the end of the calendar month.  Recent changes treat a failure to comply as a strict liability offence – there must be proof that a particular outcome occurred – or as a fault liability offence, where intent must be proved. 

If they are proven on a strict liability basis, individual employers face fines of up to $5,500, and companies $27,000. The penalty is twice that if it’s proven on a fault liability basis.