Casual, part-time, full-time: which one is your first job?

Australia's national employment system, run by the Fair Work Commission, recognises three main employee types: casual, part-time and full-time. Which one you sign up for changes your pay, your leave, your job security and how easily you can be sent home.

Full-time

A full-time employee works an ongoing role, usually 38 hours a week (the National Employment Standards maximum).

You get:

• A fixed weekly roster, with overtime if you go over the agreed hours.
• 4 weeks paid annual leave per year (5 weeks if you are a shift worker who works Sundays and public holidays).
• 10 days paid personal/carer's leave per year.
• Paid public holidays if you would have ordinarily worked.
• 12 months unpaid parental leave (subject to eligibility).
• Notice of termination (one to four weeks depending on length of service) and redundancy pay after one year of service.

Full-time is the security default. Pay is sometimes lower per hour than the equivalent casual role because the leave entitlements have a cost the employer carries.

Part-time

A part-time employee is the same as full-time except they work fewer hours, on an agreed pattern. A part-timer might work 20 hours across Tuesday to Friday.

You get the same entitlements as a full-time employee, but pro-rated. 20 hours a week is roughly 53% of a 38-hour week, so you get 53% of the leave (about 2.1 weeks annual leave a year).

Part-time is common in retail, healthcare and admin. Like full-time, it is ongoing, and there is no 25% loading on the hourly rate.

Casual

A casual employee has no firm advance commitment to ongoing work. Your employer can offer you a shift or not, and you can refuse it. There is no agreed roster.

You get:

• A 25% casual loading on your base hourly rate, paid on every hour worked.
• Penalty rates (evening, weekend, public holiday) on top of that loading, as set by your modern award.
• Super at the same Superannuation Guarantee rate (12% from 1 July 2025).
• Unpaid family and domestic violence leave from day one.
• The right to refuse a shift, no notice required.

You do not get:

• Paid annual leave.
• Paid personal or carer's leave.
• Paid public holidays.
• Notice of termination or redundancy pay.

Casual is the default for first jobs in hospitality, retail and warehousing. The hourly rate looks great. Across the year, factoring in leave you do not accrue, casual and permanent often come out similarly.

Converting from casual to permanent

The Fair Work Act gives most casuals the right to ask for casual conversion. From early 2025, an employee notification process replaced the old offer-and-acceptance flow. The short version:

• You can ask after 6 months of casual employment (or 12 months if your employer is a small business).
• The work pattern must have been "regular" enough that a permanent arrangement is realistic.
• The employer can refuse only on "reasonable grounds" (e.g. the role is genuinely intermittent, or a major change is expected within six months).
• If refused, you can take the matter to the Fair Work Commission.

If you have been working steady shifts on the same roster for half a year, conversion is worth asking about. You give up the 25% loading but gain paid leave, public holidays and notice of termination.

Pay rates and award lookup

Every employee is covered by either:

• A modern award (industry-wide minimums set by the Fair Work Commission), or
• An enterprise agreement (negotiated with a specific employer), or
• A common-law contract that pays at or above the modern award.

Find your award on the Fair Work site and use the Pay and Conditions Tool to see the minimum rate for your classification. If your payslip is lower than the award minimum, the underpayment is recoverable for up to six years through Fair Work.

What to ask before signing

• Is this casual, part-time or full-time? Get it in writing.
• Which award or enterprise agreement covers me?
• What classification level am I starting on? (e.g. Retail Employee Level 1, Fast Food Level 1.)
• What are the penalty rates for evenings, weekends and public holidays?
• When do I get paid (weekly, fortnightly, monthly)?
• How do I record my hours?

Save the answers. They are your evidence if anything goes wrong later.

This is general explanatory information. For workplace advice see the Fair Work Ombudsman or your union.