In this article, we outline some common errors on a submitted super batch and how to rectify the issues.
ABN or USI incorrect
The ABN and/or USI does not match an APRA regulated super fund.
The ATO Super Fund Lookup provides publicly available information about superannuation funds that have an ABN. It includes funds regulated by the Australian Taxation Office and APRA.
To fix the error you will need to click on the spanner icon. This will list the number of employees (and their names) impacted by the invalid super fund. Please note the spanner icon will not show for a SMSF:
To correct the super fund, you can search directly from this page by entering the fund name, ABN or USI and click on ‘Search’:
You will need to select the correct fund from the list that populates and click 'update'. You can also click on the fund name which will take you to the detailed row view. The 'detailed row' view allows you to exclude the employee from the batch by clicking on the ‘exclude from batch’ text. You can also click on the ‘spanner’ icon which will allow you to switch the employee's fund as per instructions described above. Please note the spanner icon will not show as an option for a SMSF:
The employee will be excluded from the batch. If you exclude an employee from the batch by mistake you can click on the ‘Include’ text and the employee will be added back into the batch.
Once all errors have been fixed and/or employees excluded, the super batch payment screen will validate again and errors cleared from the listing.
Refund bank account
You will get a refund bank account error when there is no bank account identified in your Superannuation Settings page. A refund bank account is required in case contribution amounts need to be refunded back to your nominated bank account.
To add a refund bank account, go to Superannuation settings page, then to 'refund bank account' section. Click on the ‘add’ button. N.B. you can add as many refund bank accounts as you wish.
You'll need to then enter in the account name, BSB number and account number before clicking ‘save’.
Once saved, the refund bank account will be displayed and you will have the option to choose which refund bank account you wish to use each time you submit a super batch. You can delete the refund bank account if required by hovering mouse on the account where an ‘x’ icon will display, click on the ‘x’ icon on the right hand side to delete the account.
SMSF warning and error messages
There are multiple reasons why there might be a problem with a contribution to an SMSF, including:
- The SMSF may not be operating under a valid ABN (eg. regulation details may have been removed)
- The ESA that sends the electronic message that accompanies the contribution may not recognise the SMSF
- The ESA subscription may have expired (eg. some offer 1, 2 and 3 year subscriptions, others are free)
- The SMSF ABN is not that of a complying fund (reference https://superfundlookup.gov.au/)
An error flag cannot be lifted to let contributions through - if the message is an error (ABN is not complying fund) then the contributions cannot be paid to that SMSF, until the SMSF becomes compliant.
It is the responsibility of the employee and/or SMSF to make sure the ESA is both valid and appropriately linked to the SMSF - for information about ESAs click here:
https://www.ato.gov.au/super/self-managed-super-funds/setting-up/get-an-electronic-service-address/
Member not found with supplied information
This error means the super fund couldn't find a matching member account for the employee. This can happen for a few reasons:
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The wrong super fund was provided.
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The employee's member number is incorrect.
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Some super funds require the employee's name and date of birth to match their records exactly. If there's a mismatch—even if the member number is correct—the fund may not recognise the employee.
To resolve this, the employee should contact their super fund directly to confirm that all their details are correct.