Australian superannuation / performance and production
Follow the contract, not just the invoice.
Understand how the special performer rule can apply across music, theatre, dance, entertainment and production, then map an arrangement to a documented scenario with official sources.
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Who is legally liable to pay each performer?The bank transfer path and the legal payment path may be different.Do not mix these tests
A performer can be a contractor in ordinary business language and still be treated as an employee for superannuation guarantee purposes.
This test asks whether an individual works under a contract wholly or principally for that person's labour.
This separate rule covers music, plays, dance, entertainment, sport, displays and promotional activity, plus connected services and work involved in making film, recordings, television or radio.
Choose your starting point
Both checks use the same legal scenarios. The performer check puts the practical answer and what to do next first.
No names, ABNs, tax file numbers, super details or free text. Your answers stay in this page and are not submitted or saved.
The same cash flow can mean different things
One combined payment can belong to several performers, a group leader's supply business, a partnership or a company.
Start with who the client actually engaged and who is legally liable for each performance or service payment.
Musicians, actors, dancers and other performers can be covered. A principal group supplier may also have obligations for people they engage.
A genuine agent, manager or group member can arrange and collect without becoming the principal. The underlying contract remains critical.
A genuine entity can change the client-level outcome, while the entity still assesses individuals it engages.
Worked example
If the liable payer must assess all three individuals, the $108 is not one contribution for “the group”. It is three separate $36 contributions to the relevant performers' funds.
Source-backed information
Every questionnaire result displays the sources relevant to that result. These are the main authorities for the overall guide.