What Is a Pro-Rata Salary?
“Pro rata” means “in proportion”. A pro-rata salary is the full-time salary for a role, paid in proportion to the hours you work. Job ads say “$80,000 pro rata” or “$80,000 FTE” to quote the full-time figure for a part-time job, so you can compare it with full-time roles. What you are actually paid is that figure multiplied by your fraction of full time.
Full time is normally 38 ordinary hours a week, the maximum under the National Employment Standards, or 7.6 hours a day over five days. Some awards and agreements use 35, 37.5 or 40 hours; the calculator lets you change it.
Pro-Rata Salary Examples
Annual salary before tax, working full days:
| Full-time salary | 2 days (0.4 FTE) | 3 days (0.6 FTE) | 4 days (0.8 FTE) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $60,000 | $24,000 | $36,000 | $48,000 |
| $80,000 | $32,000 | $48,000 | $64,000 |
| $100,000 | $40,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
| $120,000 | $48,000 | $72,000 | $96,000 |
To see any of these after tax, enter the pro-rata figure in the take-home pay calculator, or browse take-home pay on $50,000 and nearby salaries.
Hours or Days: Which Should You Use?
Use hours whenever your days are not full 7.6-hour days. Three 6-hour days is 18 hours, or 0.47 FTE, not 0.6. Your employment contract or roster states your ordinary hours, and those are what count for pay, leave and super.
Pro-Rata Pay for Part of a Year
The same idea applies when you start or leave part-way through a year. Six months full time on $80,000 is $40,000. Payroll systems usually pro-rate a first or last pay by the working days or calendar days in that pay period, so check your payslip against the daily rate: $307.69 a working day on $80,000 over 260 working days. For a final pay with leave paid out, the final pay calculator covers the rest.
Leave, Super and Public Holidays When You Work Part Time
- Annual leave: 4 weeks a year of your own ordinary hours, so a 3-day-a-week employee gets 12 days. See the leave calculator.
- Personal/carer’s leave: 10 days a year, pro rata to your ordinary hours.
- Super: your employer pays the super guarantee on your pro-rata salary; see the super calculator.
- Public holidays: paid when they fall on a day you would normally work.
Casual employees are different: there is no pro-rata salary or paid leave, and a 25% loading is paid instead. Compare the two with the casual loading calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a pro rata salary?
A pro rata salary is a full-time salary scaled down to the hours you actually work. "Pro rata" is Latin for "in proportion". A job advertised at $80,000 pro rata for three days a week pays 3/5 of that, or $48,000 a year. The hourly rate is the same as a full-timer's; only the hours change.
How do you calculate a pro rata salary?
Divide your ordinary hours by the full-time hours and multiply by the full-time salary. Full time is usually 38 hours a week, the National Employment Standards maximum, so 22.8 hours is 0.6 FTE and $80,000 becomes $48,000. If you work full days, dividing days by five gives the same answer.
What does a salary of $X pro rata mean in a job ad?
It means the advertised figure is the full-time equivalent (FTE). You are paid that figure multiplied by your fraction of full-time hours. For a 0.6 FTE role advertised at $80,000 pro rata, expect $48,000 a year, or $1,846.15 a fortnight before tax.
How is pay pro-rated when you start part-way through the year?
For a partial year the salary is scaled by the time you are employed. Six months full time on $80,000 is $40,000. Employers differ on method (calendar days, working days or pay periods), so a first or last pay can differ from this by a few dollars.
Do part-time employees get pro-rata leave and super?
Yes. Part-time employees get the National Employment Standards leave in proportion to their ordinary hours: four weeks of annual leave and ten days of personal/carer's leave a year, each measured in their own ordinary hours. Super is paid at 12% of the pro-rata salary.
How this calculator works▼
The fraction of full time is your hours divided by full-time hours (or days by full-time days), capped at 1. The pro-rata salary is the full-time salary times that fraction; weekly pay divides by 52, fortnightly by 26 and monthly by 12. The part-year figure multiplies by months worked over 12. After-tax amounts use this site’s 2026-27 resident tax engine, with the tax-free threshold claimed and no HECS debt. The formula is covered by automated tests.
Sources & References
- 1Maximum weekly hours— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 2Part-time employees— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 3Annual leave— Fair Work Ombudsman
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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