Understanding qualifying earnings (QE)

Qualifying earnings (QE) is the new base the ATO uses to work out super from 1 July 2026. It’s a new term introduced under the the ATO's Payday Super reforms, and it covers the payments used to calculate both the super guarantee (SG) you pay and, where it applies, the super guarantee charge (SGC).

For most businesses, QE won’t change how much super you pay. It’s broadly the same as the ordinary time earnings (OTE) concept you already know – the ATO has confirmed there are no changes to what counts as OTE – so QE mainly brings the SG and SGC calculations onto one consistent base.

There’s nothing you need to set up for QE

MYOB already applies the QE rules against each pay item, using your existing super settings, and reports QE to the ATO from 1 July 2026. But you can check or adjust how a pay item is treated, if you ever need to.

What counts as QE?

Typically, most common payment types count as QE, like ordinary hours of work, paid leave, allowances and commissions. But some payments are more nuanced, so check the ATO’s full definition of qualifying earnings or your payroll advisor if you’re unsure about a specific payment type.

Checking your pay items for QE setup

Super keeps calculating automatically on every pay run, so there’s nothing extra to do. It’s still worth a quick check that your pay items are set up the way you expect – especially if you have custom pay items, or items you’ve previously excluded from super.

Checking how a pay item is treated

Each wage pay item has a setting that controls whether it’s included in super and QE calculations. To view or change it, open the pay item under Payroll > Pay items > click to open the pay item and look for the option Do not include in Superannuation Guarantee and Qualifying Earnings calculations.

Leaving this option unticked includes this specific pay item in super and QE. Ticking it excludes that pay item from both.

This is the same exemption system MYOB has always used for super, so existing setups carry across.

Seeing which pay items are excluded from QE

To see every pay item currently excluded from super and QE in one place, open the Superannuation Guarantee pay item under Payroll > Pay items > Superannuation tab > Superannuation Guarantee.

Scroll down to the Exemptions section for a single list of every excluded wage pay item.

Reporting on QE

To see the amounts behind each payment type for an employee, run the Payroll activity report (Reporting menu > Reports > Payroll tab). This shows the values for each pay item. Most businesses won’t need this – historically these figures only mattered as the total super being paid – but it’s there if you want the detail.

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