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Free tools for HR leaders

Casual loading
calculator (Australia)

See what the 25% casual loading adds to an hourly rate, and how casual and permanent pay actually compare.

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25% is the standard modern-award loading
Casual hourly rate
 
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What is the casual loading in Australia?

It is an extra percentage on top of the permanent equivalent hourly rate, standard at 25% under most modern awards and the National Minimum Wage. It is paid in place of entitlements such as paid leave and notice.

How we calculated this

The loaded casual rate is the permanent equivalent hourly rate multiplied by one plus the loading, pre-filled at 25%, the standard under most modern awards and the National Minimum Wage. The hourly difference is the loading in dollars. The annual figures multiply each rate by the hours you entered across 52 weeks, and the gap between them is what the casual would earn over a permanent in a full year of the same hours. That gap is the trade for the paid leave and other entitlements the casual does not receive. The working, the assumptions and the sources are below.

New to the term? Read the plain-English definition of casual loading in the HR Glossary.

Your working
Assumptions
  • 25% loading is the default under most modern awards and the National Minimum Wage. Some awards and agreements set a different figure or a specific casual rate. Check the instrument that covers the role and override the default.
  • Both people work the same hours for all 52 weeks. A permanent employee is paid for 4 weeks of annual leave and up to 10 days of personal leave inside that; a casual who takes the same time off is unpaid for it. So the annual gap overstates the casual's real advantage.
  • Superannuation is left out of both annual figures. It is payable on casual ordinary time earnings as well as permanent, so it changes the totals but barely changes the comparison.
  • The comparison is pay only. Notice, redundancy pay, job security and access to leave loading are not valued in dollars here, so the permanent side is understated.
Sources

What to do about it

The rate is easy. What the loading is really pricing is a decision about how much of your workforce you want to hold and how much you want to keep flexible, and in most rosters that decision is being made by default. These steps are for whoever sets the roster or approves the engagement type, whether or not they own the headcount plan.

1

Check the instrument, then the definition

Confirm the loading and any specific casual rate in the award or agreement. Then test each casual against the current definition: no firm advance commitment to ongoing work at the start of employment. A regular pattern of shifts on its own does not make someone permanent, but a firm commitment does, whatever the contract says.

2

Compare the two on a full year, honestly

Rerun the calculator with the casual's actual annual hours, including the weeks they do not work. Then value the paid annual leave, paid personal leave, notice and redundancy pay the permanent gets. For a role that works the same hours all year, permanent is often the cheaper option for the business and the better one for the person; casual only wins where the hours genuinely move.

3

Be ready for the conversion notice

Casuals employed for 6 months (12 in a small business) can give written notice under the employee choice pathway if they believe they no longer meet the casual definition. You must consult and respond in writing, and can only refuse on the grounds the Act allows. Have the response process written down before the first notice arrives.

4
Where a tool helps

Decide the shape on purpose

List the roles that are casual today and ask two questions of each: do the hours actually vary, and does this role carry knowledge or relationships you would rather keep? Where the answers are no and yes, you have a permanent role on a casual rate, paying a loading for flexibility you do not use.

5

Track tenure and regularity every quarter

A casual list with start date, tenure, average weekly hours and the variance in those hours tells you who is drifting towards permanent in fact, and who will be entitled to ask. Keep it, and the conversion notices stop being surprises.

The rate is the trade.
The shape is the choice.

Compono is a talent intelligence platform: an applicant tracking system and an employee engagement platform built on the same people data. Rostering and payroll tools handle the loading and the hours. They cannot tell you which of your casuals fit the team well enough to keep, or how engaged the flexible half of your workforce actually is.

Step 4 asks which casual roles carry knowledge and relationships you would rather hold. Compono answers with data: a fit read on the people you would convert or hire permanently, and an engagement read that includes the casuals most surveys forget to ask. The rate above is the price of flexibility. Where it is worth paying becomes a decision you can make with evidence.

See how it works
Compono
$34M
saved by VicRoads over two years

Common questions

Why do casuals get paid more per hour?

Because they give up paid annual leave, paid personal leave, notice of termination and redundancy pay. The loading is compensation for the absence of those entitlements, not a bonus on top of them.

Is casual actually better paid than permanent?

On the hourly rate, yes. Over a full year the comparison is closer once you value paid leave, sick days and job security. This calculator shows the hourly and annual gap so you can weigh both sides.

Can a casual become permanent?

Eligible casual employees can request to convert to permanent employment under the casual conversion provisions. The rules depend on business size and the pattern of work, so check the current requirements. This is general guidance, not legal advice.

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 or your own adviser. Last reviewed July 2026.

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The plain-English definition, with the calculators and rules that sit around it.

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