Superannuation

Superannuation advice for musicians, performers, venues and creative businesses. Since 1 July 2026, Payday Super means super has to be paid at the same time as wages, and many performers and crew who invoice with an ABN are still owed super. Sorrento Strategic helps you get it right, every gig and every payday.

Katy Steele
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John Butler
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Super for the Creative Industries, Made Clear

Super in the creative industries rarely fits neatly into a box. A musician can be an employee one night and a contractor the next. A venue might book twenty acts a month, each paid a different way. For over two decades Sorrento Strategic has specialised in accounting for music and the creative arts, and we work with artists, venues, agents, festivals and production companies to make sure super is paid correctly, on time and with the right records.

What Is Payday Super?

Payday Super is the change to Australia's superannuation guarantee (SG) rules that started on 1 July 2026. Employers now have to pay super at the same time as wages instead of quarterly, and contributions generally need to reach the worker's super fund within 7 business days of payday. The SG rate is 12%. For anyone who pays performers or crew, super now needs to be built into every gig payment, not caught up at the end of the quarter.

Do Performers and Crew Get Super If They Have an ABN?

Often, yes. Under section 12(8) of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992, an individual paid to perform or present music, entertainment, theatre, dance or similar activities can be treated as an employee for super purposes, even if they work as a contractor and invoice with an ABN. The same can apply to individuals providing support services for those performances, and to contractors paid wholly or principally for their labour. See the ATO guide to super for performers, film makers and related activities.

That means super may need to be paid by:

  • Venues, pubs, clubs and RSLs booking individual performers
  • Booking agents and act owners paying players
  • Bandleaders paying session musicians and crew
  • Festival and event organisers
  • Film, TV and production companies engaging cast and crew

When Super May Not Apply

Common exceptions include:

  • Company, trust or partnership: if the contract is with an entity and not the individual performer, the payer generally does not have SG obligations for that individual. The entity may have its own obligations.
  • Private or domestic engagements: where the work is private or domestic in nature and the person works 30 hours or less in the week for that hirer.
  • Under 18: where the performer is under 18 and works 30 hours or less in the week.

The ATO's work out if you have to pay super guide covers the full rules. Super rules are complex, and each engagement needs to be checked on its own facts. If you are not sure, talk to us.

How Sorrento Strategic Can Help

  • Super health check: we review how you engage performers, crew and contractors and work out where super is owed.

  • Payday Super ready: we set up payroll and payment processes so super is paid on time with every gig and every pay run.

  • Structures and contracts: we look at how acts and businesses are set up (sole trader, partnership, company or trust) and what that means for super.

  • Artists and performers: we help you understand and check your super entitlements, so you know what you should be receiving.

  • Fixing the past: if super has been missed or paid late, we help you work out the shortfall, make catch-up payments and make a voluntary disclosure to the ATO.

  • Long term planning: year round advice on contributions, tax and building wealth for retirement as a creative.

Trusted Superannuation Resources

We work alongside industry bodies and platforms that help the creative sector get super right.

Creative Workplaces logo

Australian Government guidance for artists and arts organisations, including who gets super and how it applies to creative work.

Visit Website
The ALMBC logo

The Australian Live Music Business Council, the national voice of the live music industry, with events and resources for venues, promoters and artists.

Visit Website
Hot Giggity logo

A live entertainment platform for artists, agents and venues. HG Super Pay calculates and pays super per player on every gig.

Visit Website

Superannuation FAQs

Straight answers to the questions we hear most from artists, venues and creative businesses.

Payday Super started on 1 July 2026. From that date employers have to pay super at the same time as they pay wages, instead of quarterly.

Super contributions generally need to reach the worker’s super fund within 7 business days of payday. This includes when you pay an eligible contractor’s invoice, such as a performer’s gig invoice.

The super guarantee rate is 12%.

Often, yes. Individual performers can be treated as employees for super purposes under section 12(8) of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992, even if they have an ABN. Super generally does not apply if you contract with the performer’s company, trust or partnership instead of the individual. Check each engagement or ask us.

It depends on who you pay. If you pay each player as an individual, super may be owed to each of them. If you pay a band’s company, trust or partnership, the hirer generally does not owe super to the players, but the band entity may have its own obligations to anyone it pays.

No. The $450 a month threshold was removed on 1 July 2022. Super applies regardless of how much an eligible worker earns.

If super is not paid in full and on time, the super guarantee charge applies. It is made up of the unpaid super, interest and an administrative uplift. For paydays from 1 July 2026 you no longer lodge a super guarantee charge statement. The ATO works out the charge from your Single Touch Payroll data and sends you a notice of assessment (ATO guidance). Making a voluntary disclosure before the ATO contacts you can reduce the uplift, so the sooner it is fixed, the better. Super missed for quarters before 1 July 2026 still falls under the old rules, where an SGC statement is lodged.

No. The ATO’s Small Business Superannuation Clearing House closed on 1 July 2026, when Payday Super started. Businesses now need to pay super through their payroll software, a commercial clearing house or a platform built for the purpose.

Yes. We can work out what is owed, help you make catch-up payments and a voluntary disclosure to the ATO, and set up processes so it does not happen again. Contact us for a confidential chat.

This page is general information only and is not personal financial or tax advice. Contact Sorrento Strategic for advice about your circumstances.

Downloadable Resources

Free guides from the Sorrento Strategic team to help you get super right.

Cover of the Sorrento Strategic guide: Super Guarantee for the Creative and Sporting Industries FREE GUIDE

Client briefing

Super Guarantee for the Creative and Sporting Industries

A plain-English walkthrough of when you owe super to musicians, performers, sportspeople and film makers, how to pay it correctly and what happens if you miss it.

14 slides | PDF | Based on ATO guidance updated 16 September 2026

Download PDF View slides online
Cover page of the ALMBC paper: Superannuation and Grassroots Live Music Industry, October 2026 INDUSTRY PAPER

Australian Live Music Business Council

Superannuation and Grassroots Live Music Industry

ALMBC's October 2026 paper on how Payday Super is affecting sole trader musicians, venues and agents, what the ATO's updated guidance confirms, and the reforms the industry is asking for. Sorrento Strategic contributed to this paper.

14 pages | PDF | Published by ALMBC, October 2026

Download PDF Read the joint statement

Articles by and featuring Kylie Thompson

Further reading on Payday Super and what the changes mean for working musicians, bandleaders, venues and the wider live music sector.

PayDay Super for Working Bands — Part 1

WFO Magazine · 2 October 2026

Kylie explains how Payday Super applies to conventional payrolls and the less straightforward payment chains common in live music. Written by Kylie Thompson.

Read Part 1

PayDay Super for Working Bands — Part 2

WFO Magazine · 1 November 2026

Practical examples compare booking structures, agent commissions and super obligations for bandleaders and players. Written by Kylie Thompson.

Read Part 2

How Pay Day Super Rules Are Hitting Grassroots Aussie Musicians

The Music · 12 August 2026

Kylie speaks with The Music about the pressure the new rules are placing on sole trader artists, venues and grassroots live music. Interview featuring Kylie Thompson.

Read the interview

Need Help With Super?

Talk to Sorrento Strategic about super for your creative business, venue or act. Contact us today and make sure every performer, player and crew member is paid correctly under Payday Super.

Let’s Talk