New super clearing house for small business

A free (and optional) super clearing house service is now available to small businesses with less than 20 employees to help them meet their super guarantee obligations.

The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House is administered by Medicare Australia and lets employers pay their super contributions to a single location in one simple electronic transaction.

Small businesses that register to use the service will have their super guarantee obligation discharged, as long as all of the following apply:

• they pay the correct amount;
• they pay by the super payment cut-off date;
• the payment is accepted by the clearing house; and
• the payment is not rejected by the super fund.

Employers who receive an employee's choice of fund nomination will have their choice obligation discharged if they pass the information to the clearing house within 21 days of receiving the choice of fund nomination.

Small businesses can register online for the service by:

• visiting the Medicare website at www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/super; or
• phoning Medicare Australia on 1300 660 048.