One of the biggest changes to Australia’s superannuation system in decades came into effect on 1 July 2026 and it affects almost everyone working in the creative sector, whether you run an organisation, employ staff, engage contractors, or work as a contractor yourself.
We have pulled together a summary of the changes and some tips to help you navigate them with a lot of help from our friends at Theatre Network Australia and Live Performance Australia.
Please note: Regional Arts Victoria is not in a position to provide financial or accounting advice. This is a brief guide only. If you have questions about your unique circumstances, we recommend seeking the services of a bookkeeper or accountant.
What’s changed
From 1 July 2026, superannuation must be paid at the same time as wages, and contributions must clear into the employee’s super fund within seven business days of payday. The old quarterly payment cycle is gone. For new employees, the timeframe extends to 20 business days for their first contribution. The superannuation guarantee (the amount payable) remains at 12%.
Importantly, it’s not enough for the money to leave your bank account within seven business days — it must arrive and settle in the employee’s fund. If a payment is rejected (for example, because of a mismatched name or missing detail), you still need to fix and resubmit it within the original timeframe.
At the same time, the ATO’s free Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH) has closed. Many small arts organisations, sole traders and artists who employ others relied on this free service, and will now need an alternative way to process super payments.
Why this matters for creatives working as contractors
Here’s the part of the super system that’s often misunderstood in our sector: many contractors are owed superannuation. If you engage a contractor principally for their labour, which describes a great deal of project-based work in the arts, super is generally payable on top of their fee, even though they invoice with an ABN.
Under the new rules, contractor super follows the same timing as employee super: it must clear into the contractor’s fund within seven business days of the contractor being paid for their time. For the many arts organisations that engage artists, arts workers and technicians on a project basis, this is a significant shift from quarterly batching.
If you’re a creative working as a contractor, this is good news! Your super should now be landing in your fund shortly after you’re paid, rather than months later (or not at all). It’s worth checking your super fund account in the weeks after you invoice to make sure contributions are arriving.
If you are still confused about whether you will be paid super, or you need to pay super to your contractors, visit the Creative Workplaces webpage for more guidance.
Finding a super clearing house
While the ATO’s free clearing house has closed, plenty of others remain open. The ATO website has a long list, but a useful starting point is that many industry super funds run their own clearing houses — for example, Media Super’s Employer Portal uses SuperChoice, and AustralianSuper uses QuickSuper.
If you haven’t already, it’s worth joining a super fund as an employer and signing up to use their clearing house. This fund can also double as your organisation’s default fund for any employee who doesn’t nominate their own. At this stage, industry super funds generally offer their clearing house services free of charge, regardless of which funds your employees and contractors belong to. Commercial clearing houses typically charge fees that most small arts organisations and sole traders will want to avoid.
A tip to note: make the payment on the exact same day the super is processed, so contributions have the best chance of clearing within the seven-business-day window.
If you use accounting or payroll software
If your organisation uses Xero, MYOB or similar software and can afford the payroll subscription, contractor super can be lodged and reported through payroll. Contractors are onboarded much like employees. ABNs and TFNs must be provided for ATO data matching except no wages are paid, only super.
There are also newer payroll-and-super-only platforms (no general accounting), such as Wrkr and Employment Hero, which can help manage payroll, ATO reporting and super payments. These come at a monthly cost based on your number of employees and contractors.
If upgrading isn’t in the budget, a hybrid approach may work for the foreseeable future: use your payroll software for wages only, and a nominated clearing house for contractor super.
Get your details right
Under the new system, accuracy matters more than ever, because a rejected payment can put you outside the seven-business-day window. Make sure your onboarding process captures everything the ATO and super funds need for data matching: full legal names (even a misspelled surname can cause a payment to be rejected), tax file numbers, dates of birth, and for a contractors their ABN.
Tips and next steps for paying super
The new rules already apply, to comply use the follow steps as a guide:
- Choose your payment method — a super fund clearing house, upgraded payroll software, or both.
- Process your next round of contractor super through your chosen system and confirm everything is running smoothly.
- Audit your onboarding to ensure you’re capturing full legal names, TFNs, DOBs and ABNs.
- Check the first few payments land in funds within seven business days, and that the correct information is reaching both the super fund and the ATO.
More support
Creative Workplaces has published a practical guide to the transition, tailored to the creative sector:
| They will also run a session with experts from tax, accounting and the creative sector to unpack common scenarios, answer audience questions, and help creative workers and organisations better understand their superannuation rights and responsibilities. Event details Date: Wednesday 26 August Time: 10:00am – 11:30am (panel and Q&A) Venue: State Library of NSW and online As this is a hybrid event, tickets are available for both in-person and online participation. The session will commence promptly at 10am. If you’re attending in person, we recommend arriving by 9.45am to allow time for check-in and seating. In-person places are limited, so early registration is recommended. Register here. |
Regional Arts Victoria has compiled this article using information provided by Creative Workplaces, Theatre Network Australia (TNA) and Live Performance Australia (LPA). RAV is not in a position to provide financial or accounting advice. If you have questions about your unique circumstances, we recommend seeking the services of a bookkeeper or accountant.