Casual loading is a 25% premium added to a casual employee's base hourly rate, mandatory under almost all modern awards. The premium is the employer's compensation to the casual for what they don't get: paid annual leave, paid personal/carer's leave, notice of termination, redundancy pay, and guaranteed shifts.
If you're a casual, the 25% should already be baked into the rate on your payslip. If not, you're being underpaid. The calculator above does the maths from any base rate; below explains where the 25% comes from, when it interacts with other penalties, and what it doesn't cover.
The Fair Work Commission set the 25% rate to approximately match what a permanent employee earns through paid leave and other entitlements over a year:
Percentages above are illustrative — the 25% is the FWC's blended estimate, not a strict line-item sum.
When a casual works overtime, weekends, or public holidays, the 25% loading is layered with the relevant penalty. Most awards apply this multiplicatively:
A handful of awards use additive instead of multiplicative (notably Manufacturing). Additive means time-and-a-half + 0.25 = 1.75x base. The difference is small but adds up. Always check your award.
If you've worked regular, predictable hours as a casual for at least 12 months, you may be entitled to convert to part-time or full-time under section 66B of the Fair Work Act. Employers are required to offer conversion if you meet the criteria; you can also request it.
The trade-off: you lose the 25% loading but gain paid leave, notice, redundancy, and predictable hours. Whether conversion suits you depends on your role, hours pattern, and how much you value flexibility vs security. Many casuals stay casual deliberately for the higher hourly rate; others convert as soon as they're eligible.
Casual retail worker, $24/hr permanent base rate.
Casual rate: $24 × 1.25 = $30.00/hour. Saturday rate: $24 × 1.5 × 1.25 = $45.00/hour. Public holiday rate: $24 × 2.5 × 1.25 = $75.00/hour. Over a 25-hour week with 5 Saturday hours, weekly earnings: 20 × $30 + 5 × $45 = $825.
Casual hospitality, $30/hr permanent base, 30-hour week with mixed shifts.
Casual rate: $37.50/hour. Add typical Saturday penalty for 5 hours and an 8-hour Sunday at double-time: 17 ordinary × $37.50 + 5 Sat × $30 × 1.5 × 1.25 + 8 Sun × $30 × 2 × 1.25 = $637.50 + $281.25 + $600 = $1,518.75/week. The same hours as a permanent (no loading) would be: $30 × 17 + $30 × 1.5 × 5 + $30 × 2 × 8 = $1,215. The casual takes home $303 more for the same hours, in exchange for no leave or job security.
Employer cost: hiring a casual vs permanent at $35/hr base.
Permanent: $35/hour worked + ~7.7% leave loading + ~12% super on the year + 4 weeks paid leave + 10 days personal leave. Casual: $43.75/hour (base + 25%) + ~12% super on every hour worked. Over a year of 38-hour weeks, the permanent costs roughly $35 × 1976 hours × 1.077 (leave loading) + super ≈ ~$83,200 plus on-costs. The casual costs $43.75 × ~1820 hours × 1.12 (super) ≈ ~$89,200 plus on-costs. Casual is more expensive per worked hour but cheaper per filled-shift if you only need 25-30 hours/week.
For your specific award and rates, search the Pay and Conditions Tool at fairwork.gov.au. This calculator is a directional estimate, not legal or financial advice.
This calculator uses current published rates from Australian government and regulator sources. The result is an estimate for general guidance — it does not constitute personal financial advice. For decisions about your circumstances, consult a registered financial adviser, tax agent, or other professional. See editorial standards for how DecisionLab sources and updates its calculator data.