Massive Win For Live Music in NSW As Government Passes World First Music Bill

Last night Parliament passed a music bill to protect live music in NSW in what has been described as a “world first” to protect NSW’s music industry.

John Graham, the Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy has just announced the new legislation under the passed Contemporary Music Act 2026. He says that it will provide “vital protections for our music industry, an industry which was smashed by lockouts, lockdowns, and overregulation”.

Amongst the changes, this legislation will establish a Music Venue Recognition Scheme, which will likely come into effect by the end of 2026. This scheme will categorise venues as ‘dedicated’, ‘significant’ or ‘live music’ venues to ensure they receive the right government support, such as through grants or extended trading hours.

Graham said that there will also be “common-sense changes, like updating the definition of concerts so smaller events aren’t wrongly classified as large scale music festivals and slugged with more red tape”.

Unfair Cancellations Of Festivals & Concerts Due To “The Wind” To Be Stopped

The legislation aims to improve unfair cancellations of outdoor events including music festivals and concerts due to noise breaches, which can be caused by unpredictable events like sound bursts or gusts of wind. The Act will establish a new noise assessment methodology for outdoor events to improve this, based on an average over-time metric.

The music bill has also introduces tailored dispute resolution support, which will give qualifying venues free mediation support from the NSW Small Business Commission.

The NSW Government will also establish legislation to end music genre-based discrimination so that state government agencies and local councils cannot make decisions on live music events by the genre performed.

Amidst public concerns over the threat of AI to the arts, the Act will additionally introduce laws to support artists, human creativity and their work.

NSW Government’s 10-Year Music Plan In Effect

This music bill falls under the Minns Labour Government’s NSW Contemporary Music Strategy, which is the NSW Government’s 10-year plan to protect and strengthen the NSW music industry. The strategy was launched in 2024, with a vision of NSW’s music industry being better, bigger and stronger by 2034.

Head of Sound NSW Emily Collins said that the “The Contemporary Music Act is important recognition for an industry that makes such a significant impact on the lives of people from NSW. The changes will provide greater certainty for industry, government and event organisers, supporting continued growth, encouraging investment and cementing NSW as a global music destination.”

“These laws mean we can now invite an extra Sydney based artist to join our All-Australian lineup on Foreverafter – a big gig we’re curating at the Carriageworks in January,” said Julian Hamilton, Australian singer-songwriter and member of the ARIA Award-winning electronic duo, The Presents.