With Payday Super compliance changes taking effect 1 July 2026, we investigated how often Aussie workers opened their payslips and really looked at their pay. Reckonโs Payslip Errors report had some concerning results, to say the least: three-quarters of Aussies don’t regularly check their payslips, and the hidden costs stack up.
Whatโs Included?
In Reckonโs 2026 Payslip Errors report, we surveyed 1,000 Australians and analysed data from the Fair Work Ombudsman and the Australian Tax Office. We looked at who isn’t checking their payslips, the industries most affected by incorrect payments, and the most common mistakes. We broke up our data into four factors:
- How many Aussies check their payslip by employment type
- Most common payslip mistakes
- Main reasons Aussies aren’t checking their super
- How much money are Aussies losing to payslip errors
How many Aussies check their payslip by employment type
By employment type, we looked at casuals, part-timers, and permanent workers. Permanent workers came out on top as the most diligent when it came to checking their payslips, at 28%. Casual workers, on the other hand, checked their payslips the least, with over 39% rarely checking and almost 9% never checking.
Most common payslip mistakes
Of those who noticed a mistake on their payslips, the most common issues were incorrect pay amounts and missing overtime and penalty rates. While mistakes can be corrected, if workers aren’t diligent, missing dollars can compound, leading to holes in bank accounts.
Main reasons Aussies aren’t checking their super
Any superannuation guarantee contribution that is underpaid or missing can have big implications for a worker’s retirement nest egg. So, what are the main reasons that workers arenโt checking their super? The number one reason: assuming that it’s being handled correctly, as reported by over 37% of respondents.
How much money are Aussies losing to payslip errors?
Payslip errors arenโt rare, but how much can they cost? In 2024-2025, the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) repaid over 353 million to Australian workers, with the Education and Training industry leading with $68.7 million
To understand what super was missing, we investigated, using data from the Australian Tax Office (ATO), how much super should have been paid in a financial year and how much was unpaid. This gave us the super guarantee gap. In 2022-2023, over 1 million workers were affected with a $6.24 shortfall of the $104.8 billion of super owed.
Payslip Errors Key Takeaways
The biggest takeaways from our research are:
Three-quarters of Aussies donโt check their payslips regularly
Checking payslips isnโt common among Aussie workers, as workers across all employment types either check somewhat or never check at all.
Incorrect pay amount is the most common payslip mistake found by workers
For those who noticed a mistake, almost half (46.7%) found that incorrect pay โ whether hours, rate, or salary-related โ was the biggest culprit. Casual workers reported this the most, at 64.3%. This could be due to their flexible hours and pay.
Superannuation is often overlooked
Superannuation is important in retirement, but when it comes to checking, Aussies rarely do so, with only 15% checking every pay cycle.
Whatโs next?
Aussie workers and businesses should work together to ensure that every payslip that comes in is error-free and that bank accounts reflect the correct pay. You can check out the full results and download the Payslip Errors report.
