The difference between casual and full-time employment comes down to commitment. A casual employee works with no firm advance commitment to ongoing hours and gets a higher hourly rate to make up for it. A full-time employee works regular, ongoing hours (around 38 a week) with paid leave, notice and redundancy built in. Choosing between casual vs full-time employment changes your payroll, your leave bill and how easily you can end the arrangement, so it pays to get it right before the first shift.
Here’s the part nobody warns you about. Plenty of first-time employers pick “casual” because it feels cheaper and lower-commitment, then get caught out months later when that casual has worked the same Tuesday-to-Thursday roster all year and can now ask to go permanent. The word you write on the contract doesn’t decide what the law thinks they are. The way the job actually runs does.
- Casual means no firm advance commitment. Casuals get a higher hourly rate (a casual loading, usually 25%) instead of paid leave, notice or redundancy.
- Full-time means ongoing, regular hours. Around 38 hours a week, plus paid annual leave, sick leave, notice of termination and redundancy pay under the National Employment Standards.
- Superannuation is the same for both: 12%. From 1 July 2025, every eligible employee gets 12% super on their ordinary time earnings, casual or full-time.
- The casual definition changed in 2024. Since 26 August 2024, casual status is judged on the real substance of the relationship, not just what the contract says.
- Casuals can ask to go permanent. Under the “employee choice” pathway, a casual who has worked regular hours for 6 months (12 for small businesses) can notify you they want to convert.
What’s the difference between casual and full-time employment?
At its simplest: a full-time employee has an ongoing job with guaranteed hours and paid leave, and a casual is engaged shift by shift with no promise of ongoing work. Everything else (pay, notice, redundancy, the path to permanent) flows from that one difference in commitment.
What matters more is the practical version, not the label. A full-time arrangement suits a role you need covered every week, with predictable hours and someone you want to keep. A casual arrangement suits demand that moves around: weekend peaks, seasonal spikes, a pool of people you can offer shifts to when the work is there. Match the engagement type to how the work actually behaves, and most of the compliance headaches sort themselves out.
What is casual employment, and what changed in 2024?
A casual employee is someone you hire without a firm advance commitment to continuing, indefinite work, who is paid a casual loading in return. That two-part test is the current definition under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), and it took effect on 26 August 2024.
Most older articles get the 2024 change wrong. Casual status used to be assessed mostly on what the contract said at the start. Now it turns on the real substance, practical reality and true nature of the relationship. You can write “casual” at the top of the agreement, but if the person works a fixed roster with an expectation of ongoing work, a court or the Fair Work Commission can look straight past the label.
In return for the uncertainty, casuals get a casual loading. It’s usually 25% on top of the base hourly rate under most modern awards, paid to make up for what they miss out on: paid annual leave, paid sick and carer’s leave, notice of termination and redundancy pay. Learn the detail in our casual loading guide.
Casuals aren’t entitlement-free, though, and this is where employers trip up. Under the National Employment Standards, casuals still get unpaid carer’s leave, unpaid compassionate leave, paid family and domestic violence leave, unpaid community service leave, the Casual Employment Information Statement, and the right to request conversion to permanent work. Long-serving casuals can also be eligible for long service leave in some states and territories. So “casual” doesn’t mean “no obligations”.
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What is full-time employment?
A full-time employee has ongoing work and averages around 38 ordinary hours a week, set out in their employment agreement or the relevant modern award. The hours are regular and the relationship is meant to continue, which is what separates full-time from casual.
Full-timers come in two flavours. Permanent full-time is the standard ongoing role with no end date. Fixed-term full-time runs for a set period or project and ends on an agreed date. Both get the full set of entitlements while they’re employed.
When a full-time employee leaves, notice runs both ways. Under the National Employment Standards, employer notice is generally 1 to 4 weeks depending on length of service, plus an extra week if the employee is over 45 and has clocked at least two years. The original “always four weeks” rule of thumb only holds at five years or more, so check the service length and the contract.
Full-time roles carry the 11 National Employment Standards entitlements: maximum weekly hours, requests for flexible working arrangements, parental leave, four weeks’ paid annual leave, paid personal/carer’s (sick) leave, compassionate leave, paid family and domestic violence leave, community service leave, long service leave, public holidays, and notice plus redundancy pay. Read the full breakdown in our guide to the National Employment Standards. A newer addition, the right to disconnect, also applies to employees of small businesses from 26 August 2025. You can’t contract out of any of it. A contract can add to the NES, never undercut it.
Casual vs full-time pay: what’s the real difference?
Casual vs full-time pay has a headline answer: casuals earn more per hour, full-timers earn more security. But the hourly number on its own is misleading. You need to compare the total cost of employment over a year, not a single shift.
Here’s a simple worked example. Say a role pays a $30 base hourly rate under the relevant award:
- A full-time employee earns $30 an hour, plus paid annual leave, sick leave, public holidays and entitlements accruing in the background.
- A casual doing the same job earns $30 plus a 25% casual loading, so $37.50 an hour, but no paid leave.
For genuinely irregular work, the casual model usually wins on cost: you only pay for the hours you roster, with nothing accruing when the work dries up. Flip it around, though. If that casual ends up working steady 38-hour weeks for months, you’re paying the 25% loading on every single hour, and the “flexibility” you were paying for has quietly disappeared. At that point a full-time or part-time hire is often cheaper and lower-risk.
One thing that doesn’t differ: superannuation. From 1 July 2025 the super guarantee is 12% of ordinary time earnings for every eligible employee, casual or full-time. The ATO has the detail on how much super to pay. (Heads up for next financial year: Payday Super starts on 1 July 2026, so super will need to be paid at the same time as wages rather than quarterly.)
Casual vs full-time employment: the comparison table
Here’s the casual vs full-time employment difference at a glance.
| Feature | Full-time employee | Casual employee |
|---|---|---|
| Hours | Ongoing, around 38 ordinary hours a week, plus reasonable additional hours | No guaranteed hours; irregular and offered shift by shift |
| Paid leave | Annual leave, sick/carer’s leave, compassionate leave and more under the NES | No paid annual or sick leave; some unpaid leave plus paid family and domestic violence leave |
| Pay structure | Base rate (salary or hourly) set by award or agreement | Base hourly rate plus a casual loading, usually 25% |
| Superannuation | 12% of ordinary time earnings (from 1 July 2025) | 12% of ordinary time earnings (from 1 July 2025) |
| Public holidays | Paid if it falls on a usual working day | No public holiday pay (loading covers it) |
| Notice of termination | Generally 1 to 4 weeks based on service, plus a week if over 45 with 2+ years | Often none, unless an award, agreement or contract says otherwise |
| Redundancy pay | Yes under the NES (some small business exemptions apply) | Generally none |
| Path to permanent | Already permanent | Can request conversion via the employee choice pathway |
Casual conversion has changed: the “employee choice” pathway
If your knowledge of casual conversion is “after 12 months you have to offer them permanent work”, update it. That employer-led system is gone. Since the Closing Loopholes reforms, conversion runs on an employee choice pathway, where the casual starts the process, not you.
Here’s how it works now. A casual who believes they no longer fit the casual definition can give you written notice that they want to convert to permanent. They’re eligible once they’ve been employed for at least 6 months, or 12 months if you’re a small business employer (fewer than 15 staff). You then have to consult and give a written response within 21 days.
You can refuse, but only on specific grounds: the employee still meets the casual definition, there are fair and reasonable operational reasons, or accepting would breach a legal recruitment or selection process. “Business is a bit slow” isn’t one of them, so don’t lean on that. For employees already on the books before 26 August 2024, the pathway opened from 26 February 2025 for larger employers and 26 August 2025 for small businesses. Our explainer on what casual conversion means for employers walks through the steps.
Rostering, shifts and ending employment
Most casual vs full-time disputes don’t start with the contract. They start with the roster. A common assumption is that casuals can be added, changed and cut at no notice with no consequences. In reality, your award may set minimum shift lengths, minimum notice for cancelling a shift, and rules on changing rosters. Check it before you build your week around “we’ll just text them if it’s quiet”.
Ending a casual engagement feels simple and usually is, but “casual” doesn’t mean “no rules”. A casual can often walk without giving notice (unless their contract says otherwise), and you can usually stop offering shifts. The catch: casuals working on a regular and systematic basis pick up protections, including the ability to bring an unfair dismissal claim once they’ve passed the minimum employment period. Cutting a long-standing casual’s shifts because they raised a concern is the kind of move that turns into a claim.
For full-timers, ending the relationship means notice (or pay in lieu), a fair process and, where it applies, redundancy pay. If you’re terminating, a clear notice of termination and a documented reason protect you. The effort you skip at the start of employment is the effort you pay for at the end.
Casual or full-time: which should you choose?
When you’re weighing casual vs full-time, forget the pros-and-cons lists for a second. The real question is whether the work is steady or it moves around. Steady, predictable work points to full-time (or part-time). Work that genuinely ebbs and flows points to casual.
| Go casual when… | Go full-time when… |
|---|---|
| Hours genuinely vary week to week | You need someone every week on a set schedule |
| You’re covering peaks, seasons or one-off events | The role is core to how the business runs |
| You want to trial someone before committing | You want to retain and develop the person long-term |
| You can’t promise ongoing work yet | You can commit to ongoing, predictable hours |
Don’t forget the option in the middle. A part-time employee gives you guaranteed, regular hours at fewer than 38 a week, with pro-rata leave and entitlements. It’s often the right call for a role that’s steady but not full-time, and it sidesteps the loading-on-every-hour problem you get with a permanent-in-all-but-name casual.
What we see in Lawpath consultations
Casual vs full-time is rarely the question founders actually need answered. Across employment consultations, our advisors find the real question is usually “is this person even my employee, or a contractor?” Founders reach for “casual” or “contractor” because it sounds cheaper and lower-commitment. The 2024 reforms make that instinct riskier, because the law now weighs how the relationship works in practice, not the word on the page.
Our lawyers see one pattern on repeat: a contract that says “casual” while the day-to-day looks permanent. Same roster, same hours, ongoing for months. If that ends up in front of Fair Work, the document loses to the practical reality, and a lot of advisory time goes into pulling the paperwork back into line with what’s really happening before a dispute forces it.
Third pattern: admin shock. First-time employers underestimate the back office that comes with permanent staff. A regular call is an employer halfway through a final pay run who has just realised they never tracked leave accruals properly, or never budgeted for redundancy. Casual feels like it skips all of that. For irregular work it does. For steady work, it just defers the problem to a worse moment.
Here’s the fix, and it’s dull: get the contract right on day one. A proper casual employment agreement or full-time agreement sets the hours, the loading and the notice terms so the relationship matches the paperwork, instead of you reverse-engineering it during a dispute. That’s the whole point of sorting your employment documents in one place: less guesswork, fewer surprises, more time on the actual business.
Frequently asked questions
Is a casual worker an employee?
Yes. A casual is still an employee under the Fair Work Act, just with some entitlements and not others. The difference from a full-timer is no firm advance commitment to ongoing work, a casual loading instead of paid leave, and usually no notice or redundancy. A casual is not the same as an independent contractor.
What does a casual position mean?
A casual position is work with no guaranteed hours and no firm commitment to ongoing employment. You offer shifts and the casual can accept or decline them. In return they’re paid a higher hourly rate (a casual loading) but don’t accrue paid annual or sick leave.
What’s the difference between the casual rate and the full-time rate?
The casual rate is the base hourly rate plus a casual loading, usually 25%. So a $30 base becomes $37.50 for a casual. A full-timer earns the base rate and gets paid leave, notice and redundancy instead of the loading. Compare the total annual cost, not just the hourly figure.
Can a casual employee become full-time?
Yes, through the employee choice pathway. A casual who has worked regular hours for 6 months (12 months for a small business) can notify you in writing that they want to convert. You must respond within 21 days and can only refuse on specific grounds, such as the person still meeting the casual definition.
Do casual employees get superannuation?
Yes. Super is 12% of ordinary time earnings for every eligible employee from 1 July 2025, casual or full-time. There’s no super difference between the two employment types.
Can you terminate a casual employee without notice?
Often, but not always risk-free. Many casual engagements end without formal notice, but an award, agreement or contract can require it. Regular, systematic casuals also have protections, including the right to bring an unfair dismissal claim once past the minimum employment period. Don’t assume “casual” means you can end it however you like.
Do casual employees get sick leave?
No paid sick leave. Casuals don’t accrue paid personal/carer’s leave or annual leave. They can take some unpaid leave, including unpaid carer’s leave, and they’re entitled to paid family and domestic violence leave under the National Employment Standards.
How many hours is full-time in Australia?
Full-time is generally a maximum of 38 ordinary hours a week, plus reasonable additional hours. The exact hours sit in the employee’s contract or the relevant modern award.
Is casual or full-time better for my business?
Casual suits genuinely irregular, demand-driven work. Full-time suits steady, ongoing roles where you want consistency and retention. If a casual is working stable hours for months, full-time or part-time is usually the lower-risk and often cheaper choice.
You’re not behind for finding this confusing. Most business owners hire their first employee with no HR background and work it out as they go, and the rules genuinely changed in 2024, so older advice you’ve read may simply be out of date. Get the employment type right and the paperwork to match, and the rest is manageable.
One thing to do next: pick the employment type that matches how the work really runs, then lock it in with the right agreement. Start your employment agreement on Lawpath and hire your next employee the right way, in one place, without the legal guesswork.
