Insights
The EOFY cash crunch just changed. Here’s what’s landing when
Super used to be part of the pile-up at end of financial year. From 1 July 2026 it isn’t anymore. Here’s what’s overlapping now, and how to plan for it.
The EOFY cash crunch has always meant several obligations landing in the same narrow window. That window just got a real structural change: Payday Super started on 1 July 2026, replacing the old quarterly super system, and it removes one of the biggest lump-sum pressure points from the EOFY pile-up entirely. What’s left still matters. It’s just a different crunch than it used to be.
What changed with super?
Under the old system, employers paid super guarantee once a quarter, and the April to June quarter’s payment fell due on 28 July, landing squarely inside the EOFY squeeze. Under Payday Super, employers now pay super with every pay run instead, with contributions required to reach the employee’s fund within 7 business days of payday. The final quarterly payment under the old system was for the April-June 2026 quarter, due 28 July 2026. After that, super stopped being a quarterly lump sum.
In practice, super is now spread across the year instead of bunched at EOFY, so less lands in the same six-week window.
So what’s still overlapping at EOFY?
BAS and PAYG instalments still land close together. Quarterly BAS for a business reporting on that cycle covers the April-June quarter and is generally due around late July. For many businesses, PAYG income tax instalments are part of that same BAS lodgment, not a separate payment. For businesses with employees, PAYG withholding obligations also continue on their normal cycle straight through EOFY.
The crunch now is really two things landing close together instead of the old four. It’s still a timing squeeze, just a smaller one than the EOFY story most business owners grew up with.
We’re filming a segment on how lenders think about EOFY timing gaps now that super’s moved off the quarterly cycle. Once it’s up, it’ll sit here.
Does this mean EOFY cash flow planning matters less now?
No. The planning question changed rather than went away. Payday Super adds a new, ongoing cash flow discipline of its own: super now has to be found every pay cycle rather than budgeted for once a quarter. That suits some businesses’ cash flow better and doesn’t suit others, particularly if wages and revenue don’t land in the same rhythm.
If the answer is to bridge it rather than absorb it, the two options are priced very differently now. The RBA business lending series for July 2026 put new small business variable loans at 7.07% p.a. and new fixed at 8.11%, and the RBA lifted the cash rate to 4.60% on 29 September 2026. An ATO payment plan is the other route, and since 1 July 2025 its interest is no longer tax deductible. So the comparison isn’t just headline rate against headline rate. It’s a deductible cost against one that isn’t. For a business that will clear the gap inside a few months, that difference often decides it.
Businesses with seasonal trading, a large supplier payment due after 30 June, recent payroll growth, or slower-paying customers on top of BAS timing can still feel a real squeeze. It’s just a different shape of squeeze than the old four-obligations story.
A timing gap needs a different product than a shortfall
If the issue is timing (obligations landing before revenue catches up), an overdraft or line of credit is built for that: draw what you need to cover the gap, repay it once cash comes back in, and stop paying interest the moment you don’t need it anymore. A lump-sum term loan is the wrong tool for a timing problem. It adds a fixed repayment on top of a squeeze rather than smoothing it. If the real issue is an ongoing shortfall, say so on the call. That’s a different conversation and a different fix. Either way, set the facility up before June, not in the week the BAS falls due. The worst time to borrow is when you need it.
Feeling the EOFY squeeze this year?
Tell us what’s overlapping and when, and we’ll tell you whether an overdraft, a line of credit or something else fits the gap.
Frequently asked questions
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