By Philippa Billings, Chief Advice Officer, Otivo
Two job offers land in the same week. One says $120,000 including super. The other says $110,000 plus super. The first number is bigger, and most people stop reading there. But the second offer pays $2,857 more in salary and $343 more into super — because those two little words at the end of a number change everything about how it's divided up. Here's how each structure works, how to convert one into the other in a single calculation, and where the difference actually shows up on your payslip.
Quick answer
A salary package that includes super is a total figure split between your wages and your employer's super contribution. A salary that adds super on top pays the stated amount as wages, with super calculated separately. As at August 2026, the superannuation guarantee rate is 12%, so a $112,000 package including super is equivalent to $100,000 plus super.
What does "including super" actually mean on a contract?
An inclusive package is one number covering both your wages and the super your employer is legally required to pay. Your contract might read "$110,000 total remuneration package, inclusive of superannuation". That figure is not your salary. It's a ceiling, and the super guarantee comes out of it before your salary is set.
The maths is straightforward once you know the trick. Divide the package by 1.12 and you have the ordinary time earnings (OTE) your salary is based on. The remainder is the super. A $112,000 inclusive package works out to $100,000 in OTE and $12,000 in super — which makes it exactly the same deal as an offer of "$100,000 plus super".
How does "plus super" work differently?
A plus-super arrangement treats the stated figure as your OTE and calculates super on top of it. The contract reads "$100,000 plus 12% superannuation". Your employer pays you $100,000 in wages, then pays a further $12,000 into your fund. Total cost to them is $112,000, but the $100,000 is yours to be taxed on and to live on.
The reason this matters is that only one of those two numbers reaches your bank account. Super is preserved — locked away until you meet a condition of release, which for anyone born on or after 1 July 1964 means reaching age 60 and satisfying the rest of the access rules. Your mortgage repayment, your rent and your groceries all come out of the other number.
Why can a bigger package be the worse offer?
Because the split, not the headline, determines your take-home pay. Run the two offers from the top of this article through the calculation.
The $120,000 inclusive package divides into $107,143 of OTE and $12,857 of super. The $110,000-plus-super offer pays $110,000 of OTE and $13,200 of super, for a total cost of $123,200. The smaller headline number is $2,857 better on salary, $343 better on super, and $3,200 better in total.
For a 34-year-old on a mortgage, that $2,857 is the part that matters this year, because it's the only part they can use. For someone at 58 with the house paid off, the extra super may be the more useful half. The structure isn't good or bad on its own — it just moves money between two buckets with very different rules attached.
The three-line payslip check
Contracts get filed and forgotten. Your payslip doesn't. Three lines on it tell you which structure you're on and whether it's being applied correctly.
- Find your gross earnings for the period. Multiply by the number of pay periods in a year. If that annual figure matches your contract number, super is being added on top. If it comes to roughly your contract number divided by 1.12, super is included.
- Find the super line. It should be 12% of your OTE for the period. Bonuses, commissions and overtime are treated differently depending on the payment, so check the classification rather than assuming everything counts.
- Check the payment date, not just the amount. Since 1 July 2026, employers must pay super within seven business days of each payday, so contributions should now be landing in your fund at close to the same rhythm as your wages.
Can your employer pay more than 12%?
Yes, and many do. The 12% super guarantee is a floor, not a fixed rate. An award, enterprise agreement or individual contract can require a higher percentage, and some employers use a more generous super contribution as a retention tool. Whatever your arrangement says takes precedence over the general rule, so the contract is the document to read.
There's also an upper limit worth knowing about at higher incomes. The maximum contribution base means that once an employer has paid $270,830 in qualifying earnings to an employee in the 2026-27 financial year, they aren't required to pay the super guarantee on any further qualifying earnings for the rest of that year. Awards and agreements can still require additional contributions above that point.
Frequently asked questions
Is a total remuneration package legal?
Yes. Employers can express remuneration as an inclusive total or as a salary plus super, provided the super guarantee obligation is met and the arrangement complies with any applicable award or enterprise agreement. The Fair Work Ombudsman publishes guidance on how pay and entitlements must be set out.
Does salary sacrifice change which structure I'm on?
No. Salary sacrifice sits on top of whichever structure your contract uses. It's a separate agreement to redirect some of your before-tax wages into super. One thing worth knowing is that employers can't reduce their super guarantee obligation because you've chosen to salary sacrifice — the sacrificed amount doesn't count toward their 12%.
How do I compare two offers with different structures?
Convert both to the same basis. Divide any inclusive package by 1.12 to get its salary component, then compare salary against salary and super against super. Comparing an inclusive number with a plus-super number directly will almost always mislead you.
What if my super doesn't match 12% of my earnings?
Contact your employer first, since payroll classification errors are common and usually easy to fix. Your fund and the ATO both hold records of what's been contributed, and the ATO has real-time visibility of late super payments under the payday super rules that began on 1 July 2026.
Working out which half of a package matters more to you is a question about your own position, not a question about the rules. Otivo's salary sacrifice module models what happens to your cash flow and your retirement outlook when you shift money between the two, and the retirement planning module shows what the super side is on track to become. Otivo Pty Ltd holds AFSL and Australian Credit Licence No. 485665.
Sources
- Australian Taxation Office, Super guarantee, August 2026.
- Australian Taxation Office, Maximum contributions base, 2026-27.
- Australian Taxation Office, Conditions of release and preservation age.
- Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Act 2025.
- Fair Work Ombudsman, Pay slips and record-keeping.
Disclaimer
The information in this communication is current as at August 2026 and has been prepared by Otivo Pty Ltd ABN 47 602 457 732, AFSL and Australian Credit Licence No. 485665. This content is general information only and has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. It is not personal financial or taxation advice and should not be relied on as such. Before acting on any information, you should consider its appropriateness having regard to your personal circumstances. This material must not be reproduced in whole or in part, or posted on any social media platform, without the prior written consent of Otivo Pty Ltd.