Victoria's Inverloch Jazz Festival as well as the Newcastle Hunter Jazz Festival have been cancelled in recent days, with organisers pointing the finger at Payday Super rules which came into force at the start of July.
The superannuation guarantee law which requires employers to make contributions has been in place since 1992.
But under the new rules, contributions must be received within days of employees or contractors being paid, or penalties will be imposed.
For the volunteer-run Newcastle Hunter Jazz Festival, that means organising super for hundreds of performers within about a week of the festival in August, according to Newcastle Hunter Jazz Club president Murray Scoble.
"The logistics of trying to get all our ducks in a row for 330 musicians in a seven-day period after the conclusion of the festival would not have been at all possible," he told AAP.
"It just hit unexpectedly and was more difficult than we thought it could possibly be, because a lot of the people who play in these festivals are amateurs and they're just doing it for a bit of fun."
Refunds are being paid to ticketholders for the festival, which was due for its 37th year and usually attracts about 1000 people for three days of jazz performances.
The Inverloch Jazz Festival on Victoria's Bass Coast has also blamed the super laws for the cancellation of its 2026 event.
Tasmanian musician Ade Ishs has been a regular performer at the festival in past years.
"It's something I still hold close to my heart ... to hear that it's cancelled, it's just really hit me hard," he said.
He's worried the extra red tape will mean trouble both for musicians and smaller community arts events.
"It's not realistic for a band leader to be burdened with more stuff, we'd rather make music than have to chase up invoices and do paperwork," he said.
Venues and performers are being encouraged to make sure they understand their superannuation obligations and have payment processes in place, a tax office spokesperson said.
However, freedom of information requests show there was no consultation with the creative industries about the Payday Super changes, according to musician and journalist Joshua Barnett.
Barnett has researched the laws extensively and predicts the changes will affect grassroots events well beyond the music industry.
"Looking at the actual legislation, it branches out to pretty much the entire creative industry, the sports industry, if you're hiring an entertainer for a school fete," he said.
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