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HR Glossary

Casual conversion

Australia · Fair Work and entitlements
What is casual conversion?

Casual conversion is the pathway that lets an eligible casual employee change to permanent (full-time or part-time) employment. Under the employee choice pathway in Australia's Fair Work Act, a casual employed for at least six months (twelve in a small business) can notify their employer in writing that they want to convert.

Casual conversion at a glance

Eligibility6 months' employment (12 months in a small business)
How it startsWritten notification from the employee
Employer responseIn writing, within 21 days
On conversionPermanent entitlements start, casual loading ends

How does the employee choice pathway work?

Since the Closing Loopholes reforms, conversion runs on employee notification rather than employer offer. An eligible casual gives written notice that they believe they no longer meet the definition of a casual and want permanent employment. The employer must respond in writing within 21 days, and can only decline on limited grounds: the employee still genuinely meets the casual definition, or accepted operational or compliance reasons apply.

What changes on conversion?

The employee moves to permanent full-time or part-time employment, gains paid leave, notice and redundancy entitlements, and loses the casual loading. The hourly base rate is preserved; what changes is the structure of the package, security for loading.

What should employers do proactively?

Track casual tenure and patterns of regular work, because eligibility dates arrive on a schedule whether or not anyone is watching, and respond to notifications inside the 21-day window with genuine reasons, not templates. Blanket refusals are the fastest route to a dispute in front of the Fair Work Commission.

Next step

Calculator

Casual Loading Calculator

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Casual loading

Casual loading is a percentage added to a casual employee's base hourly rate, typically 25% under Australian modern awards, to compensate for the paid leave, notice and redundancy entitlements that casual employment does not provide.

Read the definition →Related term

National Employment Standards (NES)

The National Employment Standards (NES) are the minimum employment entitlements in the Fair Work Act that apply to all national system employees in Australia, covering hours, leave, notice, redundancy and superannuation.

Read the definition →Related term

Unfair dismissal

Unfair dismissal is a dismissal that Australia's Fair Work Commission finds harsh, unjust or unreasonable, where the employee was eligible to claim and the dismissal was not a genuine redundancy.

Read the definition →HR Glossary

All terms

Every definition, with the local rules, rates and thresholds attached.

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Where
Compono Hire fits.

Compono Hire is an applicant tracking system (ATS) that measures fit before you make the offer, alongside the process every ATS runs.

Casual or permanent, the fit question is the same.

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Common questions

Can an employer force a casual to convert?

No. Under the employee choice pathway, conversion is initiated by the employee. An employer can offer permanent employment, but the casual can decline it.

Does refusing conversion end the matter?

Not necessarily. Disputes about conversion can go to the Fair Work Commission, and refusals need genuine, documented grounds to hold up.

This page is general information, not legal advice. We check figures annually and update them on a best-efforts basis, but employment rules change and we cannot promise everything here is current or complete. Before you act on it, confirm the detail with the Fair Work Ombudsman (fairwork.gov.au) or your own adviser. Last reviewed July 2026.