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By: George Bendall, Kimberley Stefan
16 Jul 2026 7 min read
As an additional layer of uncertainty and complexity, many organisations are not aware of how the superannuation legislation applies to include sports persons, entertainers, and influencers into the definition of ‘employee’ for superannuation purposes.
This is not just for businesses in the industry of providing entertainment such as sports teams and film production, but also businesses who engage these individuals as part of promotional activities.
This appears to be a focus area for the ATO, with the recent update to their website on how superannuation applies for sports people and performers, and a broader focus on tax compliance from the ATO’s Foreign Resident Sport & Entertainment team.
Payday Super applies to contractors who are employees for SG purposes, including those captured under the extended definition of employee.
This includes the broad definition under Section 12(8) of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 which provides a broad inclusion of persons paid to:
“perform or present, or to participate in the performance or presentation of, any music, play, dance, entertainment, sport, display or promotional activity or any similar activity involving the exercise of intellectual, artistic, musical, physical or other personal skills”.
This can extend to a person who is paid to provide services in connection with the above broad set of activities.
The introduction of Payday Super does not necessarily expand or narrow the existing definition of the individuals potentially captured. As such, it continues to be important to review each contractor’s facts and circumstances, including whether they are engaging through an agency or company. Recently, we have seen an increasing number of contractors engaging in a personal capacity, particularly as influencers, who are likely to be caught by these provisions. Payday Super will add challenges to the need to have correctly identified and categorised these individuals for Superannuation purposes due to the additional time pressures.
Furthermore, the high risk of incorrect or missing data for such vendors, for example, Tax File Number errors, overseas vendors not having the required details, or the correct details not being captured at procurement, can mean a contribution is not able to be allocated. If this causes the fund to reject a contribution, it is not an eligible contribution under Payday Super, potentially causing shortfalls.
In addition, we have seen the above challenges in the following scenarios, which while not strictly limited to entertainers, is expected to be a common issue.
For those engaging international entertainers, they may not be from a country that Australia holds a bilateral social security agreement. As such, the procurement process will need to be aligned with that of an employee. This includes ensuring the entertainer has completed and provided their super fund details so payment can be made within seven days of the Qualifying Earnings day (QE day).
We have recently seen a directive from the ATO focusing on foreign sporting teams in particular Formula One teams and we expect this to expand in light of the hosting of the upcoming Rugby World Cup.
As part of the changes from 1 July 2026, superannuation is no longer capped at the earnings base for the quarter. As such, for one-off or limited period high value engagements (such as in the entertainment and film industry), where superannuation could previously be capped within the quarter (for 2025/26, generally $7,500 of superannuation), the annual capping may mean that the same services could mean superannuation up to $32,500.
As an extension of the above, as superannuation is calculated on qualifying earnings until the cap is exceeded, there will effectively be a front loading of the payment of superannuation during the financial year. This can lead to issues including:
Employers not in the industry are not immune to the impacts of the extended definition of superannuation on sports persons and entertainers. Recently we have seen this with the increasing use of influencers as product promotion. While agency arrangements are widely used, we have worked with a number of businesses engaging individuals (sole traders) which heightens the risk of superannuation obligations.
Employers should review whether their systems and processes adequately flag SG considerations for the engagement of sports persons and entertainers and allow for early classification of these vendors and capture SG obligations if required.
For those in the entertainment or sporting industry, steps will need to be taken to ensure that the new framework can be adhered to, including the timing constraints and full understanding of the impact the contractual terms will have on the timing and quantum of superannuation due.
For those not necessarily in the entertainment or sporting industry, revisiting which entertainers may be liable and having visibility over payments made outside payroll, alignment between payroll and accounts payable processes, and accurate identification of qualifying earnings and QE days remains vital.
Grant Thornton can assist with reviewing procurement processes, contractor arrangements and SG payment processes, including assessing contractor classification for SG purposes, reviewing payment flows between payroll and accounts payable, identifying gaps in SG governance and oversight, and supporting readiness and assessment of the processes following the 1 July 2026 changes.
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