Casual Loading Rate by Award
The 25% figure is set instrument by instrument. These are the loadings in the National Minimum Wage Order and the awards that cover the most casuals, with the casual Sunday rate as a percentage of the base rate:
| Award or order | Casual loading | Casual Sunday |
|---|---|---|
| No award (National Minimum Wage Order) | 25% | — |
| General Retail Industry Award 2020 (MA000004) | 25% | 175% |
| Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020 (MA000009) | 25% | 175% |
| Fast Food Industry Award 2020 (MA000003) | 25% | — |
| SCHADS Award (MA000100) | 25% | 225% |
Sunday rates for non-shiftworkers from each award’s penalty table. Fast food Sunday rates vary by level, so they are not shown; the award adds the loading to the penalty in the same way.
The loading is added, not compounded. In these awards the casual penalty is the permanent penalty plus 25 percentage points. A retail casual on Sunday gets 175% (150% + 25%), not 150% × 1.25 = 187.5%. Using 1.25 × the permanent penalty rate overstates weekend casual pay.
What Casual Loading Pays For
Casuals do not get the paid entitlements permanent employees do, and the loading is compensation for that. It replaces:
- Paid annual leave: 4 weeks a year for a permanent employee.
- Paid personal/carer’s leave: 10 days a year.
- Paid public holidays that fall on a day you would normally work.
- Notice of termination and redundancy pay.
Casuals do get super, calculated on pay that includes the loading, and unpaid carer’s and compassionate leave. The employment type calculator compares full-time, part-time and casual more broadly.
Casual vs Permanent: A Worked Example
Take a $30.00 base rate, 38 hours a week, and four weeks’ holiday a year for both employees.
- The permanent employee is paid 52 weeks: $59,280.
- The casual is paid $37.50 an hour for the 48 weeks worked: $68,400, which is $9,120 more.
- If the permanent employee also takes all ten sick days and the award pays 17.5% leave loading, the gap narrows to $5,472, and the break-even loading rises to 14.6%.
So at 25%, casual work usually pays more in cash for the same hours. The trade is certainty: a casual has no guaranteed hours, is not paid for public holidays off, and has no notice or redundancy pay when the work stops.
Casual Loading for Junior Employees
Juniors get the same 25% loading on their junior rate. A 16-year-old on no award earns the junior rate plus 25%. See minimum wage by age for every age’s casual rate, or the 16-year-old and 15-year-old pages.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is casual loading in Australia?
Usually 25% of the base hourly rate. That is the loading for award and agreement-free employees under the National Minimum Wage Order, and it is the loading in the retail, fast food, hospitality and SCHADS awards. On the $26.44 minimum wage, a casual gets at least $33.05 an hour.
How do you calculate a casual rate?
Multiply the permanent hourly rate by 1.25. A $30.00 permanent rate is $37.50 casual. On weekends and public holidays most awards add the loading to the penalty rather than multiplying them: a retail casual on Sunday gets 175% of the base rate (150% + 25%), not 187.5%.
What does casual loading replace?
Casual loading is paid instead of the entitlements permanent employees get: paid annual leave, paid personal/carer's leave, notice of termination and redundancy pay. Casuals are also not paid for public holidays they do not work. They do get super, including on the loading, and unpaid carer's and compassionate leave.
Is casual or permanent better paid?
For the same hours and the same weeks off, casual usually pays more in cash. On $30 an hour full time with four weeks' holiday, the casual earns $68,400 against $59,280 permanent. Paid leave alone is worth the equivalent of a loading of about 8.3%, rising to about 14.6% if the permanent employee uses all ten sick days and gets 17.5% leave loading. What the loading does not buy is job security, notice, redundancy pay or paid public holidays.
Do casuals get paid more on public holidays?
Only if they work. Under the hospitality award a casual working a public holiday gets 250% of the base rate, and under the retail award 250%. A casual who is not rostered on is not paid for the day, unlike a permanent employee.
How this calculator works▼
The casual rate is the base rate times (1 + loading), rounded to the cent. For the annual comparison both employees work the same weekly hours and take the same 4 weeks’ holiday and sick days; the permanent employee is paid for 52 weeks (plus leave loading if ticked), the casual only for the weeks worked. Penalty rates, overtime and public holidays are excluded. Super uses the 2026-27 super guarantee rate. Loadings come from the National Minimum Wage Order 2026 and each award’s casual employment clause; the arithmetic is covered by automated tests.
Sources & References
- 1National Minimum Wage Order 2026 (PR799279)— Fair Work Commission
- 2Casual employees— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 3National Employment Standards— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 4Fast Food Industry Award 2020, cl 11.2(b)— Fair Work Commission
Last verified: 23 September 2026. Our content is based on the latest information from official Australian government sources.
Anita Bell
AuthorFounder & Senior Bookkeeper
Accountancy degree (2015); certified in Xero, QuickBooks Online, MYOB, Saasu, Zoho and Reckon One
Anita Bell earned her accountancy degree in 2015 and has worked as a senior bookkeeper with Prime Bookkeeping for over 5 years. This built her skills in Australian and New Zealand tax legislation and industry regulations. She is certified in Xero, QuickBooks Online, MYOB, Saasu, Zoho and Reckon One, and works with payroll and rostering software including Gusto, Deputy, Tsheets and KeyPay. She has strong experience in hospitality, building and construction, financial services, real estate, ecommerce, and medical and health services.
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