Live Music Sector Pushes for $5,000 Gig Threshold on Performer Super

UPDATE: The Australian Live Music Business Council (ALMBC) has released preliminary findings from its September 29 industry forum and survey, giving further detail on opposition to the current performer-super arrangements and how it plans to push for changes.

According to preliminary results published by ALMBC, 92% of respondents want sole-trader musicians treated like other sole traders, 83% support a hobby-style arrangement for occasional low-paid performers and 78% support a minimum threshold below which performer-super obligations would not apply. ALMBC also says 70% of respondents reported that the 12% super contribution is effectively being taken from existing musician fees rather than added on top.

The council also reported further examples of work being lost, saying one regional NSW venue had cancelled 150 gigs. During the forum, ALMBC Treasurer Kylie Thompson identified the Newcastle Hunter Jazz Festival as having cancelled engagements for 322 sole-trader performers. The regional venue was not identified.

ALMBC says it will finalise the survey after it closes on October 5, develop three or four joint industry asks, seek support from other music organisations and take those proposals to the ATO, Treasury, the crossbench and interested members of Parliament. The current survey figures are preliminary and should not be read as representative of the entire live music sector.

Australia's live music sector is pushing the federal government for a $5,000 minimum gig-fee threshold on performer superannuation obligations, arguing that the current rules create too much administration for smaller venues, festivals and performers.

ORIGINAL STORY:

The Australian Live Music Business Council (ALMBC) renewed its call after the Australian Taxation Office released new guidance for organisations hiring musicians and other performers.

Under Australian super law, musicians and other performers can sometimes be treated like employees for super purposes even when they work as sole traders and invoice using an ABN.

That obligation is not new. What changed from July 1 was the introduction of Payday Super, which generally requires super contributions to be paid much closer to the time a worker is paid and reach their fund within seven business days.

For venues, promoters and others hiring performers, that means super can now need to be calculated and processed much faster, including for relatively small or one-off gigs.

ALMBC argues that the system is too administratively burdensome at the lower end of the live music market. It wants performance engagements worth $5,000 or less to be exempt from the relevant performer-super obligation, with the existing rules continuing to apply above that threshold.

The council has stressed that it supports performers receiving super. Its concern is how the rules apply to smaller engagements and to performers working as sole traders.

According to the ATO’s updated guidance, super should generally be calculated on the relevant performance component of a payment rather than separately identifiable costs such as travel, accommodation, freight or equipment hire.

It has also provided guidance for some revenue-sharing arrangements, including gigs where performers are paid from ticket or door revenue.

However, ALMBC says some of those clarifications do not appear consistently across the ATO's newer fact sheets and communication material, which it argues could create further confusion.

The council has also raised concerns about how the rules work when a bandleader is hired for a gig and then pays other musicians.

In that scenario, a venue may have a super obligation when paying the bandleader, while the bandleader may separately have super obligations when paying the musicians they engage.

ALMBC argues this can effectively result in super being triggered twice as money moves through the same engagement.

The issue has already had practical consequences for parts of the live sector.

The Newcastle Hunter Jazz Festival and Inverloch Jazz Festival cancelled their 2026 events earlier this year, with organisers citing the administrative burden created by the new arrangements.

Newcastle organisers said the requirement to process super for hundreds of performers within the new timeframe had become unmanageable.

The federal government says Payday Super is designed to reduce unpaid super and ensure contributions are made closer to the time wages are earned.

The ATO has also adopted a transitional compliance approach for the first year of the new system. It says employers making a genuine effort to pay correctly each payday and quickly fix mistakes will not be the focus of its compliance activity.

ALMBC held a further industry superannuation session on Tuesday, September 29, drawing more than 280 participants to discuss the new guidance, remaining concerns and its proposed $5,000 threshold.