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Australia / Casual rates

Casual hourly rates in Australia, 2026-27

$32.00 an hour casual, 38 hours
Gross pay (incl. 25% loading)$63,232
Take-home pay$52,529
$32.00 an hour casual at 38 hours is $63,232 a year with the loading included — income tax $9,438, Medicare levy $1,265, leaving $52,529.

A casual rate is not a normal hourly rate with a bonus stapled on: it is the permanent rate plus 25% loading, paid instead of annual leave, personal leave and notice. At $32 an hour the underlying permanent rate is $25.60, and 38 hours a week for 52 weeks is $63,232 a year before tax.

$63,232a year at $32.00 an hour, 38 hours
$52,529after tax and the Medicare levy
Base rate behind the loading$25.60
Super on top12.0%
Paid leaveNone
Loading vs leaveCasual ahead

Every casual rate on this site

$25.00 an hour casual$49,400 a year gross$26.00 an hour casual$51,376 a year gross$27.00 an hour casual$53,352 a year gross$28.00 an hour casual$55,328 a year gross$29.00 an hour casual$57,304 a year gross$30.00 an hour casual$59,280 a year gross$32.00 an hour casual$63,232 a year gross$34.00 an hour casual$67,184 a year gross$35.00 an hour casual$69,160 a year gross$36.00 an hour casual$71,136 a year gross$38.00 an hour casual$75,088 a year gross$40.00 an hour casual$79,040 a year gross$42.00 an hour casual$82,992 a year gross$45.00 an hour casual$88,920 a year gross$48.00 an hour casual$94,848 a year gross$50.00 an hour casual$98,800 a year gross$55.00 an hour casual$108,680 a year gross$60.00 an hour casual$118,560 a year gross$65.00 an hour casual$128,440 a year gross$70.00 an hour casual$138,320 a year gross$75.00 an hour casual$148,200 a year gross$80.00 an hour casual$158,080 a year gross

The loading is not a pay rise — it is leave, converted into cash

Four weeks of annual leave plus roughly two weeks of personal/carer's leave is about 11.5% of a full year. A 25% loading is larger than that on paper, which is why casual work looks better per hour. The catch is that a permanent employee is paid for those 52 weeks while working only about 46, so their pay per hour actually worked is higher than the headline rate suggests. The pages in this section print both numbers — dollars per paid hour and dollars per hour actually worked — because that is the comparison that decides whether casual is worth it.

What comes off a casual paycheck

The same things as any other Australian employee: income tax on the resident scale, the 2% Medicare levy (with the low-income shade-in), the Medicare levy surcharge only if you have no private hospital cover and earn above the threshold, and HELP repayments if you have a study debt. The loading itself is ordinary income — it is taxed, and it counts towards super and towards HELP repayment income.

Super is paid on the loading too

Employers pay 12.0% super on ordinary time earnings, which includes the casual loading in almost every award. That money is not in any take-home figure on this site: at $32.00 an hour, 38 hours a week, the super contribution is $7,588 a year on top of the $52,529 that reaches your bank account.

Common questions

Is the casual loading always 25%?

No. 25% is the standard in most retail, hospitality and services awards, but some awards set 20% and a few set a different figure or a flat casual rate. Check your award or your payslip — if your rate equals the permanent rate exactly, the loading is missing.

Do casuals get sick pay or annual leave?

Not under the award — that is what the loading replaces. Casual employees are still entitled to unpaid carer's leave and to super, and some states now have portable sick-leave schemes for casual workers, which are separate from the loading.

Does a casual rate convert to a salary the same way?

Yes, with the caveat that casual hours are rarely a steady 38 a week. The annual figure here assumes full-time hours all year; if you work 20 hours a week, use the hourly figure × 20 × 52 instead, and tax will be lower because the annual total is lower.

Tax year: 2026-27. Sources:

Estimates for guidance only, not tax advice.