Canberra’s Smith’s Alternative is leading disquiet over recently introduced PaySay Super for musicians. Photo: Region.
A change to Payday Super for performers has been slammed by the industry, with one musician labelling it “pretty stressy”.
Since 1 July 2026, all workers – including musicians – must be paid their 12 per cent superannuation when they’re paid a wage (or within seven days), rather than quarterly.
When it was announced in early 2023, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) estimated that $3.4 billion worth of super was unpaid in 2019/20 alone.
Smith’s Alternative’s Nigel McRae hit out at the move this week, calling on creatives to contact the government with their concerns.
In a Facebook post, he said it treated the music industry as a “one size fits all operation” and that it didn’t account for different circumstances.
“For our own part, we are one of the busiest venues in the country – we hosted around 600 paid gigs in 2025/26, with up to 4 to 5 bands in each gig and up to 10 or so musicians in each band,” he wrote.
“Up till now that generally required one financial transaction per show, sometimes per band, so around 800 to 1000 payments per annum. If we are required to pay super to each musician, it’s not inconceivable that we could be administering 3000 to 5000 extra micro transactions per annum, some as little as $5-10 dollars, often just once per annum for each performer, and each requiring the collection of super account info.”
One of those who have raised concerns is Hannah Gillespie, director of Majors Creek Festival in NSW.
Across the border, she and her team are hard at work preparing for their return in November – and for their first experience with this new system.
Ms Gillespie told Region the change to Payday Super has left festivals and venues struggling to manage the costs – but also to collect, manage and safely store the relevant information.
“If you’ve got 40 acts and each act’s got three or five musicians in it, you can imagine how much of an administrative burden that is,” she said.
“We can’t really afford to pay professional accountants … It’s a matter of upskilling volunteers to make that happen.”
She warns the new system could see regional events call time on their operations or reduce the number of acts they book.
“It’s an extra burden on volunteers, but we’re also all really struggling anyway … You’re already seeing the disappearance of so many quality regional arts, music and arts festivals that do a fantastic job.
“I’m just hoping it’s not the straw that breaks the camel’s back for others.”
Canberra Business Chamber CEO Greg Harford said Payday Super represents “a bit of extra pressure” on businesses.
“There’s a whole lot of costs that have hit the business sector at once, not to mention the costs of running a business [in terms of] the costs of utilities and materials,” he told Region.
“The problem is it’s coming at a time when businesses are squeezed across a number of fronts.”
Mr Harford said that while the Canberra Business Chamber (along with its counterparts around the country) lobbied the government to delay the introduction of Payday Super, it went ahead as announced.
He encouraged any businesses or organisations struggling to manage the new requirements to reach out for help.
“In principle, the idea that superannuation payments should be paid at the same time as wages and salaries is a reasonable one,” he said.
“It’s more the short-term impacts on cash flow … timing of it just couldn’t have been worse with [other changes brought in at the same time].”
A Federal Government spokesperson said the ATO would be on hand to provide extra support in the coming year to help with any challenges during the transition.
“The Payday Super reform has not changed the rules around whether superannuation is required, only the timing of when contributions need to be made,” they told Region.
“The Payday Super rules provide additional time to set up and process first-time contributions. This accommodates the administrative steps for workers who aren’t on traditional payroll, including performers.”
You can find further details about Payday Super on the ATO’s website. There is also a dedicated page for the transition to the new system.
