What Replaced the SBSCH for Small Builders?

The SBSCH was not replaced by another free ATO clearing house. Small builders now need payroll software, a super fund clearing service or a commercial SuperStream clearing house to send contributions to workers’ funds.

What happened to the SBSCH?

The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House, usually called the SBSCH, closed on 1 July 2026. It had allowed eligible small employers to make one payment covering multiple workers and super funds.

As at September 2026, the service is closed and cannot accept super payments. New registrations had already stopped on 1 October 2025.

Before closing, the SBSCH generally served businesses with either 19 or fewer employees or annual aggregated turnover below $10 million. There was no automatic transfer to a new provider when it closed. Builders had to choose and set up their own replacement.

This change happened alongside the start of payday super on 1 July 2026. The timing matters. Employers now need a payment method that can handle frequent contributions and get money into each worker’s fund on time.

Our payday super guide explains the wider rules and what they mean for payroll.

What can a small builder use instead?

There is no single replacement that suits every builder. Your main options are payroll-integrated super payments, a clearing service offered by a super fund, or an independent commercial clearing house.

Some businesses can also pay funds directly. However, ordinary internet banking transfers are not enough on their own. The payment and employee data must meet SuperStream requirements.

Payment method	How it works	Useful for	What to check
Payroll-integrated payments	Payroll creates the contribution data and sends it through a connected provider	Builders wanting less manual entry	Fees, processing time, failed payment alerts and whether all funds are supported
Super fund clearing service	A participating fund processes payments for multiple employee funds	Builders already using a fund with an employer clearing service	Eligibility, cut-off times, file format and payment frequency
Commercial clearing house	You upload a contribution file or enter details in an online portal	Businesses whose payroll does not include super payments	Transaction fees, direct debit timing, support and SuperStream compliance
Direct SuperStream payments	Payments and data go separately to each employee’s fund	Very small teams with only a few funds	Data matching, bank details, payment references and administration time

A fund’s clearing service may appear free, but check the conditions. Some require registration as a participating employer. Commercial providers may charge per business, per worker, per payment or by subscription.

Do not choose on price alone. A cheap provider that takes several business days to process a payment could make payday super difficult.

The deadline is based on fund receipt

As at September 2026, the super guarantee rate is 12% of an employee’s eligible earnings.

As at September 2026, ordinary payday super contributions generally need to reach the employee’s super fund within 7 business days of payday. Sending the file or starting a bank transfer within 7 business days is not necessarily enough. The money needs to be received by the fund.

For example, suppose your weekly payroll is paid on Friday 4 September 2026. With no relevant public holiday, the seventh business day is Tuesday 15 September 2026. Your provider may need the approved file and cleared money several days earlier.

That is a big change from treating super as a quarterly job. Weekly payroll could mean weekly super processing. Fortnightly payroll could mean fortnightly processing.

Use the payday super calculator to estimate contributions and map payment dates before setting your payroll calendar.

What to check before choosing a provider

Have a straight conversation with the provider. Ask these questions:

1. When is a contribution treated as received? Find out how long it normally takes for money to reach each fund.
2. What is the payroll cut-off? A provider may require approval one or more business days before its processing run.
3. How are rejected payments reported? Wrong member numbers, closed accounts and mismatched names can cause delays.
4. Does it support all employee funds? Workers can choose different complying funds and may have an existing stapled fund.
5. Can it handle weekly and off-cycle payroll? Construction payroll often includes corrections, back pay and termination runs.
6. Who fixes an error? Confirm whether your bookkeeper, payroll person or provider deals with rejected contributions.
7. What does it cost? Check subscription fees, transaction charges and fees for corrections or returned payments.

Also confirm that your bank account has enough cleared money. A contribution file can be correct and still fail because the direct debit is dishonoured.

Get the construction payroll details right

Choosing a clearing house is only half the job. The payroll figures feeding it must also be right.

Construction pay can include ordinary hours, overtime, site allowances, fares, travel payments, bonuses, leave and back pay. Awards and enterprise agreements can describe these items differently. Do not assume every allowance is included for super, or that every payment labelled overtime is excluded.

Check how each pay item is mapped in payroll. The super treatment should follow the legal character of the payment, not just the account name chosen when the payroll system was set up.

Pay close attention to:

• apprentices moving between pay stages
• workers changing classifications or ordinary hours
• leading hand, tool and site allowances
• rostered days off
• back pay after a rate change
• bonuses linked to ordinary work
• termination payments
• employees covered by different awards or an EBA

Keep the calculation record, contribution file, provider confirmation and any rejection notice together. That gives you a clear trail if a worker asks where their super went.

Do not confuse STP with paying super

Single Touch Payroll reporting does not transfer super money. STP tells the ATO about payroll amounts. Your clearing provider or payment process sends the contribution to the worker’s fund.

You can lodge a correct STP report and still pay super late. You can also pay the correct amount but create trouble by using an old member number or the wrong fund details.

Reconcile three things after every pay run:

• the super calculated in payroll
• the amount taken from the business bank account
• the amount accepted by employees’ funds

Do not stop at the clearing house receipt. Look for rejected or returned contributions and fix them quickly.

What happens if a payment is late?

Late or missing super can create a super guarantee shortfall and require an ATO super guarantee statement. Additional amounts can apply, and directors may face personal exposure for unpaid super guarantee liabilities.

A failed direct debit, rejected member record or slow clearing house does not automatically remove the employer’s responsibility. That is why processing time and error alerts matter when selecting a replacement for the SBSCH.

If you discover a late payment, do not quietly add it to the next run. Confirm what reached the fund, correct the records and get advice on any ATO reporting required.

A practical changeover checklist

As at September 2026, SBSCH has been closed since 1 July 2026, so any builder still relying on an old SBSCH process needs to act now.

Use this checklist:

1. Choose a SuperStream-compliant payment provider.
2. Register the business and complete bank verification.
3. Confirm each worker’s fund, member number and unique superannuation identifier.
4. Review super settings for allowances, overtime, back pay and leave.
5. Set an internal approval date earlier than the 7 business day deadline.
6. Run a small test payment if the provider permits it.
7. Check that the fund accepted each contribution.
8. Record who follows up failed or returned payments.
9. Reconcile payroll, bank withdrawals and fund confirmations every pay run.

The main point is simple. The government clearing house is gone. Your replacement needs to work with your pay cycle, leave enough processing time and show you when a contribution has actually reached the fund.