Casual vs permanent: take-home pay at the same hours (2026-27)
A casual job usually pays a higher hourly rate than a permanent job doing the same work, and a permanent job usually pays you for leave. Which one leaves you better off depends on how many weeks of the year you are actually paid. This guide compares the two with the same 38-hour week, works out take-home pay after income tax and the Medicare levy for 2026-27, and finds the number of paid weeks at which they come out equal. The figures come from the same code as the pay calculator.
1. The loading
The national minimum wage from 1 July 2026 is $26.44 an hour, or $1,004.90 for a 38-hour week, according to the Fair Work Ombudsman. A casual employee covered by the national minimum wage is entitled to a loading of 25% on top, which brings the hourly figure to $33.05. Awards and enterprise agreements set their own casual loading and often their own base rates, so your figure may differ. The 25% used here is the one that goes with the national minimum wage and is an assumption for the other rates in the table.
The loading is paid because a casual employee does not receive the paid entitlements a permanent employee does. It is meant to cover them, which is why the comparison is about weeks and not about the hourly rate alone.
2. What a permanent employee has that a casual does not
- Paid annual leave. 4 weeks a year for a full-time or part-time employee (Fair Work Act s 87), paid out if the job ends with leave unused (s 90(2)).
- Paid personal leave and paid public holidays for days that would otherwise have been worked, within the NES limits.
- Notice of termination and redundancy pay. Casual employees are outside both in the usual case. The redundancy guide sets out the rules.
- Predictable hours. A permanent employee has ongoing hours. A casual employee is paid for the hours worked, and none are guaranteed.
Super is not on this list. It is payable on ordinary time earnings for casual and permanent employees alike.
3. The gross pay
The permanent employee works 38 hours a week and is paid for 52 weeks, of which 4 are annual leave. The casual employee works the same 38 hours when working, with a loading. In the first casual column the person takes the same 4 weeks off unpaid and is paid for 48. In the second, the person works all 52 weeks.
| Hourly rate before loading | Casual rate with 25% loading | Permanent: paid 52 weeks | Casual: paid 48 weeks | Casual: paid 52 weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $26.44 | $33.05 | $52,245 | $60,283 | $65,307 |
| $35.00 | $43.75 | $69,160 | $79,800 | $86,450 |
| $45.00 | $56.25 | $88,920 | $102,600 | $111,150 |
Week by week, a 38-hour week pays $1,004.72 permanent against $1,255.90 casual at $26.44 an hour, $1,330.00 permanent against $1,662.50 casual at $35.00 an hour, $1,710.00 permanent against $2,137.50 casual at $45.00 an hour. A casual week is always worth more. The comparison only turns once the weeks without pay are counted, which is why the yearly total is the number to look at.
At $26.44 an hour, the permanent job pays $52,245 for the year. The casual job with four weeks off pays $60,283, which is $8,038 more.
4. Where the two are equal
A 25% loading makes a casual hour worth 1.25 times a permanent hour. A permanent employee is paid for 52 weeks. The casual earns the same gross pay over 52 divided by 1.25, which is 41.6 weeks. In other words, a casual who is paid for fewer than 41.6 of the 52 weeks earns less than the permanent employee, and one who is paid for more earns more. Unpaid gaps between shifts, school holidays, a quiet season, sickness without paid leave and public holidays when the business is closed all count against the casual. This is arithmetic about gross pay and says nothing about which job is more secure.
5. Take-home pay
Tax is progressive, so extra gross pay is taxed at a higher rate than the pay below it. These figures use the resident rates for 2026-27, the tax-free threshold, no HELP debt and no other income.
| Hourly rate before loading | Permanent take-home | Casual take-home (48 weeks) | Difference | Casual take-home (52 weeks) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $26.44 | $45,223 | $50,568 | $5,345 | $53,909 |
| $35.00 | $56,509 | $63,744 | $7,235 | $68,266 |
| $45.00 | $69,946 | $79,248 | $9,302 | $85,062 |
At $35.00 an hour the casual who takes four weeks off keeps $7,235 a year more than the permanent employee, out of $10,640 more gross pay. The rest goes in tax and the Medicare levy:
| Hourly rate before loading | Tax and Medicare, permanent | Tax and Medicare, casual (48 weeks) | Tax on the extra gross pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| $26.44 | $7,022 | $9,715 | $2,693 |
| $35.00 | $12,651 | $16,056 | $3,405 |
| $45.00 | $18,974 | $23,352 | $4,378 |
The permanent employee in these tables is paid for 52 weeks, including the weeks of leave, and the casual employee is paid only for the weeks worked. The two columns therefore describe a full year for each, not the same number of hours worked: the casual works 48 weeks, the permanent works 48 weeks and takes four weeks of paid leave.
6. What the table leaves out
- Paid sick days and public holidays for the permanent employee, which add to the permanent side without any change to the table.
- Work available. A casual who cannot get 48 weeks of shifts is behind the line in section 4.
- Penalty rates, overtime, allowances and award-specific loadings.
- Any HELP debt, other jobs or income, and offsets other than the low income tax offset, which is included.
- The value of notice and redundancy pay for the permanent employee, which only applies if the job ends.
7. A checklist
- Find the base rate and the casual loading in your award, agreement or contract, not only the national minimum figure.
- Count the weeks you expect to be paid in a year and compare with 41.6 at a 25% loading.
- Add the leave you would be paid as a permanent employee at your own hourly rate: 4 weeks is 152 hours, or $4,019 at $26.44 an hour.
- Run both gross figures through the pay calculator to compare take-home pay.
Whether you are casual or permanent depends on the nature of the arrangement and not only on what the contract calls it. If you are not sure, the Fair Work Ombudsman can help.
Compare take-home pay for your own hoursSources
- Fair Work Ombudsman: Minimum wages
- Fair Work Act 2009 ss 87 and 90(2) (compilation in force 7 July 2026)
- Income Tax Rates Act 1986, Schedule 7, in force 1 July 2026
- Medicare Levy Act 1986, in force 1 July 2026
- Every rate used, with its source and check date: Sources and rates
This calculator is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. It uses the legislation and official pages listed on the Sources page, and your payslip, award, agreement or tax return may differ. Rates as at 1 November 2026.