@Lisa Keating happy to help in anyway if you’re wondering what tech is needed for streaming gigs it’s been a long journey for me and understanding the tech is 90% of the battle.

Haha, awkward enough in the pub, let alone being live on Facebook! 😂 Cool that the venue was streaming the bands, though—it’d be great to see more pubs doing that.

Just to add another perspective, many of the venues I perform at are substantial registered clubs, some reporting annual profits in the millions of dollars. These are significant businesses, not necessarily small venues struggling to survive. My concern is that musicians have been engaged and paid for performances for years without receiving the superannuation contributions they’re legally entitled to. Where these organisations have been responsible for paying super and failed to do so, they’ve failed to meet their obligations under the Superannuation Guarantee legislation. Why should the financial consequences of that failure fall on the musicians rather than the organisations legally responsible? For me, this isn’t about a few extra dollars. It’s about thousands of dollars in unpaid retirement savings, along with the investment growth those contributions could have generated over the years. I value the venues that support live music, but surely that support should also extend to meeting their legal obligations to the musicians they engage.

Thanks for your perspective. I understand why it might seem unusual compared with Sweden, but Australian law makes an important distinction. Under Section 12(8) of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992, musicians engaged and paid to perform can be treated as employees for superannuation purposes, even when operating as sole traders with an ABN. This isn’t something the musicians’ union has invented. It’s been Australian law since 1992, and the union is simply pushing for compliance with existing legislation. In my case, I’m owed thousands in unpaid superannuation, money that should have been invested towards my retirement and accumulating returns over the years. I respect that Sweden operates differently, but I don’t see why Australian musicians should forgo a longstanding legal entitlement simply because they’re self-employed. The issue isn’t who should pay under a different system, but that those legally responsible under Australian law haven’t always met their obligations.

The Captain Sturt Hotel Wentworth NSW Australia https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Rsomu5EjG/?mibextid=wwXIfr and a one hour a lot at our local Show / Fair

Yeah, I’m definitely keen for a live chat. Not sure when you meant — I may have missed it — but absolutely up for that. That’d be awesome. Any idea when?

It was a Yes from me and I'm in NSW Straya Todd! forgot to give you a time zone