Goulburn’s Hibernian Hotel draws crowds of young revellers and rockers of all ages on Friday and Saturday nights, but organising superannuation payments for the bands is disrupting the popular entertainment. Photo: John Thistleton.
Live music venues in Goulburn and musos say the Australian Government’s new superannuation rules are damaging their industry.
Goulburn muso Tony ‘Skid’ Marks says from 1 July the Australian Tax Office changed the status of musos from ‘contractor’, responsible for their own superannuation, to ’employee’.
This makes venues responsible for paying into four, sometimes five or more super accounts.
At the Hibernian Hotel, which hosts more than 100 live performances a year, mostly on Friday and Saturday nights, the changes are adding costs and complexity that upset many musos who are playing for a hobby.
Owner/director Catherine Burke said the changes for bookings in 2026 would add $12,000 on to the Hibo’s music budget for the year. Consequently she may have to reconsider engaging bigger bands.
Some musos work as sole traders, others are in partnerships. Implementing the changes correctly is unclear.
“If the band is $1200 for the week, they will put the $300 extra on to cover the super for the band,” she said.
“But it actually doesn’t work like that,” she said. Adopting the Australian Hotels Association NSW’s template, the Hibo now needs musos to put two lines in their invoices – one for performance labour and one for performance expense.
“That means we are paying superannuation on the performance labour,” she said.
Some invoices were straightforward for one or two performers. But then it became complicated.
“Once you get into a partnership, the musos are furious. They are going to bill me for the leader of the band. I pay him super, then he has to pay super for the people he employs. They just don’t know how to execute that,” she said.
For many of the Goulburn musos, playing at pubs and clubs is a hobby, a second job for a tradie, or group of guys who play around town. They are unlike professional musos performing for major venues in metropolitan areas.
Since the changes Ms Burke has lost many hours working on the issue. Suggestions from the government to make the musos employees did not take into account the tax implications such as payroll tax. And other issues, such as not being allowed to drink on shift.
Goulburn bands including Lumpy Underdaks are facing an uncertain future because of a shakeup in superannuation. From left are Tony Marks, Murray Dougall, Evan Dougall, Brett Bamford and Gordon Schubert. Photo: Anita Dougall.
“It’s caused such chaos for the live music industry which is very valuable to our business,” she said. “Music in this hotel is very important.”
Marks’ band had two cancellations in one day due to the superannuation change.
“Venues all around Australia are seeing this as the last straw,” he said. “Gigs are getting cancelled; music festivals are shutting down for good.
“Musicians are quitting in record numbers, some unwilling to get an ABN and do the extra paperwork,” he said. “Often the paper trail clashes with their day job or pension entitlements and the like. Some have just had enough.”
Wyong Leagues Group’s Railway Bowling Club in Goulburn is a strong supporter of live music and local musos. The club’s venues manager Scott Cooper said the change came out of the blue and also applied to DJs, karaoke hosts and everyone helping them.
“I get that it may be too much for some to adjust to, but I hope not. We all need you to stick together. People need and love live music,” he said.
Wyong Leagues Group has not cancelled gigs and will continue to have performances on Friday and Saturday nights while it navigates the changes.
“We have engaged an agent to help us and the artists work together, and not fumble around on our own,” he said. “ We will still book our own live and local acts, and the agent will assist both parties navigate this new world.”
Member for Eden Monaro Kristy McBain said a roundtable meeting was being organised with the Australian Taxation Office, Treasury, performers and industry bodies to explore solutions.
Marks said it was fair to say most working musicians had been complacent when it came to putting money aside for retirement. “We never saw ourselves getting that old,” he said.
He has seen the rise, fall and recovery of the live music industry, from when cash was king to the Global Financial Crisis and COVID-19.
“Rest assured, at my age I’m not playing for ‘exposure’; this is all about the money these days, as it is for the government. But it’s backfired big time,” he said.
