Pay calendar for residential builders: wages, super, BAS, and TPAR

TL;DR

The pay calendar every residential builder needs: wages weekly, super quarterly (monthly from July 2026), BAS quarterly, TPAR annually. Miss a super payment by even one day and the SGC debt lands on your desk: non-deductible, with a penalty loading on top. Four super due dates a year (28 Oct, 28 Jan, 28 Apr, 28 Jul) are the dates your employees’ fund must have the money, not the date you send it. From 1 July 2026 that shifts to payday-aligned super: every payday triggers a contribution that must reach the fund within 7 business days. Budget your cashflow around these dates now. BAS and TPAR are administratively painful but do not carry the same sting: late BAS accrues FTL penalties, late TPAR accrues a different penalty regime, but neither creates a non-deductible debt the way late super does.

When you do this

Running a pay calendar is an ongoing obligation from the moment you hire your first employee or engage a subcontractor. It runs in parallel with your project cashflow, not separate from it. The construction industry compounds the pressure because:

On-site workers covered by the Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020 (MA000020) must be paid at least weekly under the award’s payment of wages clause (verified 2026-05-11, Fair Work Ombudsman, Building and Construction Award summary).
At a minimum, the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) s 323 requires all national system employees to be paid at least monthly (verified 2026-05-11).
Super is quarterly until 30 June 2026, then payday-aligned from 1 July 2026.
BAS is typically quarterly for small residential builders.
TPAR is annual, due 28 August.

Who’s involved

Role	Obligation
Builder (employer)	Pay wages on time per award/Act, remit super to fund, lodge BAS, lodge TPAR
Payroll software (Xero, MYOB, etc.)	STP Phase 2 reporting to ATO on or before each payday
Registered BAS or tax agent	Optional but reduces lodgement risk; some deadlines extend for agent clients
Super fund or clearing house	Receives super contributions; clearing house receipt counts as fund receipt for ATO purposes

Steps

1. Set up your pay cycle

Under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) s 323, employees must be paid at least monthly (verified 2026-05-11). Where a modern award applies, the award term overrides the Act minimum. For on-site construction workers covered by the Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020 (MA000020), the award requires weekly payment (verified 2026-05-11, Fair Work Ombudsman, Building and Construction Award summary). Check the award that covers each worker before setting a fortnightly cycle.

Practical default for residential builders: weekly pay on Thursdays aligns with the Building Award and avoids cashflow surprises at end of month.

2. Report each pay run via STP Phase 2

Every time you pay employees, your payroll software must report the pay event to the ATO on or before the payday. This is a Single Touch Payroll Phase 2 (STP2) requirement, mandatory for all employers since 1 January 2022 (verified 2026-05-11, ATO, Single Touch Payroll Phase 2 employer reporting guidelines). Your payroll software handles this automatically if set up correctly. Xero, MYOB and KeyPay all support STP2.

3. Super guarantee: quarterly payments (until 30 June 2026)

The current super guarantee rate is 12% of ordinary time earnings for the 2025-26 financial year, up from 11.5% in 2024-25. This is the final legislated increase; 12% applies from 1 July 2025 onwards with no further increases scheduled (verified 2026-05-11, ATO, How much super to pay; Digit Business, Super Guarantee Rate 2025-26).

Contributions must be received by your employees’ super fund (not just sent) by the quarterly due dates:

Quarter	Period	Fund must receive by
Q1	1 Jul to 30 Sep	28 October
Q2	1 Oct to 31 Dec	28 January
Q3	1 Jan to 31 Mar	28 April
Q4	1 Apr to 30 Jun	28 July

(verified 2026-05-11, ATO, Quarterly super payment due dates)

If a due date falls on a weekend or public holiday, the contribution must be received by the next business day. Aim to send contributions at least 5 to 7 business days before the due date to allow for clearing house processing. Using the ATO’s Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH) counts as payment on the date you submit, provided you have sufficient cleared funds (verified 2026-05-11, ATO, Quarterly super payment due dates).

Late super is not just a fine. If contributions are not received by the fund on time, you must lodge a Superannuation Guarantee Charge (SGC) statement and pay the SGC. The SGC is non-deductible for income tax purposes and includes nominal interest plus an administration component. Missing the 28-day due date by even a day converts a deductible expense into a non-deductible liability.

4. Payday super from 1 July 2026 (plan now)

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Act 2025 received Royal Assent and abolishes the quarterly payment system from 1 July 2026 (verified 2026-05-11). Under payday super:

Super contributions must be received by the employee’s super fund within 7 business days of each payday.
The SG base shifts from ordinary time earnings (OTE) to “qualifying earnings” (QE), which captures more payment types.
Penalties under the revised SGC are calculated daily using the General Interest Charge and can be substantial.

For a builder paying weekly, this means 52 super transactions per employee per year instead of 4. The cashflow impact is significant: super can no longer be batched and deferred to the end of the quarter. Budget for super as a weekly outgoing from July 2026.

The ATO has announced a risk-based compliance approach for the first year (1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027), rewarding employers who make prompt payment attempts with reduced scrutiny even if early technical errors occur (verified 2026-05-11, Pitcher Partners, Payday Super 2026).

5. PAYG withholding: when and how to remit

Every time you pay wages, you withhold tax and remit it to the ATO. How often you remit depends on your annual withholding amount:

Category	Annual withholding	Remittance frequency
Small withholder	$25,000 or less	Quarterly (with BAS)
Medium withholder	$25,001 to $1 million	Monthly (activity statement)
Large withholder	Over $1 million	Near-real-time (electronic, within days of payment)

(verified 2026-05-11, ATO, When to pay and report PAYG withholding)

Most small residential building businesses start as small withholders and remit quarterly. Growth into the medium category (e.g. adding more site staff on a larger project) shifts the obligation to monthly. The ATO will notify you if your category changes.

6. BAS lodgement

Quarterly BAS is the norm for residential builders with GST turnover below $20 million. The standard due dates are:

Quarter	Period	Self-lodger due	Tax agent extension
Q1	Jul to Sep	28 October	25 November
Q2	Oct to Dec	28 February	No extension
Q3	Jan to Mar	28 April	26 May
Q4	Apr to Jun	28 July	25 August

(verified 2026-05-11, ATO, Due dates for lodging and paying your BAS)

Q2 is the trap: there is no extension for lodging through a registered agent. Lodge and pay Q2 by 28 February every year.

Online lodgement via the Business Portal or your accounting software may attract an additional 2-week extension. Check the ATO’s current position with your accountant.

7. TPAR: Taxable Payments Annual Report

If your business makes payments to contractors or subcontractors for building and construction services, you must lodge a TPAR by 28 August each year covering the previous financial year (verified 2026-05-11, ATO, Taxable payments annual report).

The TPAR covers payments to subbies including labour-only subcontractors, trade contractors, and any individual or entity engaged to perform building work. You report each contractor’s ABN, name, address, gross amount paid, and tax withheld. The ATO cross-matches TPAR data against contractor income tax returns and BAS.

From 28 August 2025, paper TPAR lodgement is no longer accepted. All TPARs must be lodged electronically via the ATO’s Business Portal or through your accounting software (verified 2026-05-11, Macro Group, TPAR what you need to do by 28 August 2025).

Documents needed

Document	Purpose	When
Payroll records / STP reports	Employee pay records, ATO reporting	Each payday
Super payment confirmation	Evidence contributions received by fund	Each quarter (or payday from July 2026)
Activity statements (BAS/IAS)	GST, PAYG withholding remittance	Quarterly (or monthly for medium withholders)
TPAR	Contractor payment reporting	Annually by 28 August
SGC statement and payment	If super paid late	When applicable (avoid)

Common holds

Problem	What it costs you
Super paid late	SGC: non-deductible, plus nominal interest and admin component
No payment schedule served on a subbie progress claim	Full claimed amount immediately due and payable (SoP Act)
PAYG withholding not remitted on time	Failure to Withhold (FTW) penalty; GIC interest
TPAR not lodged	Failure to Lodge (FTL) penalty; scaled to number of statements
Clearing house used too late	Fund doesn’t receive contribution before due date; SGC applies anyway
Wages below award rate	Fair Work Ombudsman can recover back pay plus penalty per contravention

References

Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) s 323, Method and frequency of payment (verified 2026-05-11)
Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020 (MA000020), Fair Work Ombudsman (verified 2026-05-11)
ATO, How much super to pay (verified 2026-05-11)
ATO, Quarterly super payment due dates (verified 2026-05-11)
ATO, About Payday Super (verified 2026-05-11)
Pitcher Partners, Payday Super 2026: what Australian employers need to know before 1 July (verified 2026-05-11)
ATO, When to pay and report PAYG withholding on activity statements (verified 2026-05-11)
ATO, Due dates for lodging and paying your BAS (verified 2026-05-11)
ATO, Taxable payments annual report (verified 2026-05-11)
ATO, Single Touch Payroll Phase 2 employer reporting guidelines (verified 2026-05-11)
Digit Business, Super Guarantee Rate 2025-26 (verified 2026-05-11)
Australian Taxation Office