Superannuation rate increased to 12% from 1 July 2025: what it means for working holiday makers

The 0.5 percentage point increase looks small but adds up across a working holiday year. On $40,000 of wages, the difference between 11.5% and 12% is $200 of additional super contributions that flow through to the eventual DASP payment.

What is the Superannuation Guarantee?

The Superannuation Guarantee is the minimum percentage of an employee's ordinary time earnings that an Australian employer must pay into a super fund. The rate is set by federal law and applies to almost every employee, including working holiday makers, regardless of visa status, length of employment, or whether the worker is casual, part-time, or full-time. See our article on how much super your employer should be paying for the underlying framework.

The full history of rate increases

The Superannuation Guarantee rate has stepped up over more than a decade:

• 2013-14: 9.25%
• 2014-15 to 2020-21: 9.5%
• 2021-22: 10%
• 2022-23: 10.5%
• 2023-24: 11%
• 2024-25: 11.5%
• 2025-26 onwards: 12% (final rate)

The rate now stays at 12%. There are no further increases scheduled, so a working holiday maker starting work in Australia from 1 July 2025 onwards receives the full 12% on every pay run.

What this means in dollar terms

The difference of 0.5 percentage points compounds across a working holiday maker's earnings:

• $20,000 of wages: 11.5% = $2,300 super, 12% = $2,400 super → $100 more
• $40,000 of wages: 11.5% = $4,600 super, 12% = $4,800 super → $200 more
• $60,000 of wages: 11.5% = $6,900 super, 12% = $7,200 super → $300 more

After the 65% DASP tax for working holiday makers, the worker receives 35% of the gross super. The net effect on DASP payment is therefore roughly:

• $20,000 of wages: $35 more in the pocket
• $40,000 of wages: $70 more in the pocket
• $60,000 of wages: $105 more in the pocket

The DASP tax of 65% is a much larger factor than the rate increase, but the rate increase still adds to the eventual payment.

When does the new rate apply?

The 12% rate applies to ordinary time earnings paid on or after 1 July 2025. The trigger is the date of payment, not the date the work was performed. This means:

• Work performed in June 2025 but paid in July 2025: 12% applies
• Work performed in July 2025 but paid in early August 2025: 12% applies
• Quarterly payment for the April-June 2025 quarter, paid by 28 July 2025: 11.5% applies (the rate at the time the earnings accrued)

Employers handling quarterly super payments need to apply the correct rate to each quarter, which sometimes leads to under-payment when employers default to the new rate for old earnings.

How do you check your employer is paying 12%?

The employer must show super accrual on your payslip and remit the contribution to your fund at least quarterly. To check the rate is correct:

1. Look at your payslip for the super amount shown
2. Divide that amount by your ordinary time earnings for the pay period
3. The result should be 12% (0.12) for any earnings from 1 July 2025 onwards

If the result is 11.5% or lower, the employer is using an outdated rate. Some payroll systems were slow to update and some employers manually set rates rather than relying on automatic updates. The underpayment is recoverable, and our team handles this as part of preparing the tax return or DASP application.

What if you have worked across multiple rate periods?

A working holiday maker who started work before 1 July 2024 (at 11%) and continued into 2025-26 (at 12%) has had super paid at three different rates over the journey:

• Work in 2023-24: 11%
• Work in 2024-25: 11.5%
• Work in 2025-26: 12%

Each rate applies to the period when the wages were earned. Tracking the correct rate across rate changes is one of the technical issues that our team handles when reconciling super contributions during a DASP application. See our article on unpaid super and what to do.

Does the rate increase change anything else?

The 12% rate is the only number that changed. The other parts of the super system stayed the same:

• Super must still be paid at least quarterly
• Super must be paid on ordinary time earnings (not overtime, in most cases)
• The DASP tax rate of 65% for working holiday makers is unchanged
• The threshold rules for contributions (the old $450 monthly minimum was removed in 2022 and remains removed)
• The choice of super fund still rests with the employee through a Standard Choice form
• Super stapling still applies for new employment relationships

What about the threshold change in 2022?

A related change worth knowing about: before July 2022, employers only had to pay super on monthly wages above $450. Since 1 July 2022, that threshold has been removed, and super is payable on every dollar of ordinary time earnings, no matter how small. This was a significant change for working holiday makers in casual hospitality, retail, and similar roles where individual pay periods were often below $450. Every dollar earned now generates super at 12%.

How does our service handle the rate change?

When you lodge a DASP or tax return through our service, our team:

• Reconciles super contributions across rate change boundaries (10.5% to 11% to 11.5% to 12%)
• Identifies any pattern of under-rate payments by individual employers
• Pursues unpaid super through the ATO Superannuation Guarantee Charge process where contributions are missing
• Calculates the expected gross and net DASP payment based on the correct rates
• Lodges DASP applications with each fund holding contributions

The 12% rate is now the final settled level for the Superannuation Guarantee. Every working holiday maker working in Australia from July 2025 onwards should see this rate applied correctly. Get in touch with our team to make sure your super contributions reflect the rate that should have applied across every pay period of your time in Australia.