Guide
Does annual leave loading attract superannuation?
Updated
The default is that super is payable on leave loading. The exception is narrow and needs paperwork you either have or do not.
Talk to a specialist Set your own loading percentage and see what the leave period is worth.
The ATO's rule
The ATO states that annual leave loading is included in ordinary time earnings unless it is clearly linked to lost overtime (ATO: superannuation on annual leave loading). The same treatment carries into the qualifying earnings framework that applies from 1 July 2026: the ATO's list distinguishes annual leave loading clearly linked to a lost opportunity to work overtime, which is excluded, from annual leave loading of every other kind, which is included (ATO: what payments are qualifying earnings).
What written evidence the ATO accepts
To omit annual leave loading from the calculation, the ATO says an employer needs written evidence showing the loading is linked to a lost opportunity to work overtime. It accepts either the relevant award or agreement, or a documented policy, understood by employer and employees, that states the reason for the leave loading entitlement.
The ATO's own example shows a company whose policy stated that the entitlement to annual leave loading under a specified clause compensates for the lost opportunity for overtime, except where the award indicates otherwise, and which then confirmed that reading with union representatives before treating day workers differently from shift workers.
What this means for your figures
- If nothing in writing links your loading to lost overtime, assume super is payable on it.
- A verbal understanding is not enough. The ATO asks for the award, the agreement, or a documented policy.
- The exclusion is not all-or-nothing across a workforce: the ATO's example applies it to day workers but not shift workers.
- Super on loading is calculated at the superannuation guarantee rate, 12% for 2026-27, alongside the rest of the employee's qualifying earnings.
| Treatment | Loading amount | Super at 12% on the loading |
|---|---|---|
| Loading is qualifying earnings (the default) | $931 | $112 |
| Loading clearly linked to lost overtime, with written evidence | $931 | $0 |
The loading figure comes from this site's calculator at $35 an hour, 38 ordinary hours and four weeks. The super column is 12% of it, at the superannuation guarantee rate the ATO publishes for 2026-27.
Getting this wrong is expensive in one direction only. Under-paying super attracts the superannuation guarantee charge; over-paying it does not. If your evidence is thin, the safe treatment is to include the loading.