TL;DR: Since 26 August 2024, a person is a casual employee if there is no firm advance commitment to ongoing work when they start, and they get a casual loading or casual rate. They stay casual until they accept a permanent offer, use the employee choice pathway, or receive a Fair Work Commission order.

Last updated 11 October 2026.

Key takeaways

• According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, the current casual definition started on 26 August 2024 and replaced the 2021 one.
• A firm advance commitment now turns on the real substance, practical reality, and true nature of the relationship.
• A regular pattern of work on its own does not make a casual permanent, according to the Fair Work Ombudsman.
• Employers with 15 or more employees must give the casual information statement at 6 months, 12 months, and yearly after that.
• The employee choice pathway replaced casual conversion, so eligible casuals now ask in writing to become permanent.

What are the new rules for casual employees in Australia?

The current rules started on 26 August 2024, under the Closing Loopholes changes to the Fair Work Act. They redefined a casual employee and replaced casual conversion with an employee choice pathway. They also changed when the Casual Employment Information Statement is given, and added protections against sham casual arrangements.

Casual employment law has moved twice in five years, so many HR teams are unsure which rules apply. On 22 March 2021, Parliament amended the Fair Work Act after the *WorkPac v Rossato* litigation. That gave the Act a casual definition, a conversion process, and an information statement.

Then, according to the Fair Work Ombudsman, the 2024 changes reworked each of those pieces. The definition now looks at how the job really works, rather than only at the contract. The pathway to permanent work is now started by the employee, not offered by the employer. In addition, the information statement must be given again during employment, not just at the start.

So if your contracts, letters, and onboarding packs still reflect 2021, they need a review. The 2024 rules also reach other parts of the employment lifecycle. For instance, some higher education casuals can no longer be engaged on a fixed term, as our guide to fixed term contract rules explains.

What is the definition of a casual employee in Australia?

According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, a person is a casual employee if two things are true when they start. First, the relationship has no firm advance commitment to ongoing work. Second, they are entitled to a casual loading or a casual pay rate under an award, registered agreement, or employment contract.

The 2021 definition looked mainly at the offer and acceptance. As Source Legal’s Kelsey Hunter joked at the time, the wording “just rolls off the tongue”. The test asked whether the employer had made a firm advance commitment to continuing and indefinite work. It was assessed at the moment the job was offered and accepted.

The 2024 definition keeps the idea of a firm advance commitment but changes how you find it. You can look at the contract alone, or at the contract plus any mutual understanding between you. That understanding can come from how the contract is actually performed. As a result, what happens after the start date matters too.

The second limb is simpler, because it turns on pay. The employee must be entitled to a casual loading or a casual pay rate. Someone paid a flat permanent rate is not a casual under the Act, whatever their contract says.

What factors decide whether there is a firm advance commitment?

According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, the assessment starts with the real substance and practical reality of the relationship. It then weighs several listed factors, which do not all need to be satisfied. In fact, no single factor decides the answer. The listed factors cover five questions:

• Offering work: whether the employer can offer or not offer work, and whether that is happening.
• Accepting work: whether the employee can accept or reject work, and whether that is happening.
• Future work: whether future work of the kind the employee does is reasonably likely, given the nature of the business.
• Permanent comparators: whether full-time or part-time employees do the same kind of work in the business.
• Pattern of work: whether the employee has a regular pattern of work, even with gaps for illness, injury, or leave.

The Fair Work Ombudsman gives the example of Josh, a bartender at a summer pop-up restaurant. He is offered shifts weekly, can decline them, and works varying hours. He is paid a 25% casual loading and works alongside only other casuals. Because the restaurant may close after summer, there is no firm advance commitment, so Josh is a casual.

Does a regular pattern of work make a casual permanent?

No, not on its own. According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, a casual with regular hours can still be a casual if the other factors point that way. A regular pattern is one factor among several, so it never settles the question alone.

That matters for large rostered workforces. Suppose a retail chain rosters a casual for the same three shifts every week for two years. The pattern is relevant, and so are the other factors. For example, can the employee still decline shifts, and do permanent staff do the same work? Consequently, the answer comes from the whole picture, not the roster alone.

When does a casual employee stop being casual?

According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, a person who starts as a casual stays casual until one of three things happens. They accept another offer of employment and start work on that basis. Alternatively, they change to permanent under the National Employment Standards, their award, or their agreement. Otherwise, the Fair Work Commission makes an order.

A casual can also become full-time or part-time at any time if both sides agree. That route has always existed, and it is still the simplest when a role has clearly become permanent.

The formal route is the employee choice pathway. Under the National Employment Standards, a casual with at least 6 months’ service (12 months for a small business) can notify their employer in writing that they want to become permanent. The employer then has to consult, respond in writing within 21 days, and give reasons for any refusal. Our guide to casual conversion obligations under employee choice covers eligibility, refusals, disputes, and ten practical tips.

Because the employee now starts the process, the old duty to assess every casual at 12 months is gone. Even so, an award or enterprise agreement can still contain its own terms. So check the instrument that covers your people before you retire any old process.

What is the Casual Employment Information Statement?

The Casual Employment Information Statement is a Fair Work Ombudsman document for casual employees. It explains the casual definition, how casual employment can change, the reasons an employer can refuse a notice, and the Fair Work Commission’s role. Employers must give it to every new casual, and again at set points during employment.

According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, a new casual must receive it before, or as soon as possible after, they start. After that, the timing depends on the size of the employer:

Employer	When to give the statement again
Small business employer (fewer than 15 employees)	After 12 months of employment
Other employers (15 or more employees)	After 6 months, after 12 months, and then every 12 months

The small business headcount includes employees of associated entities. However, casuals only count if they work on a regular and systematic basis. So a group of several small entities can be a large employer once you combine the headcount.

Give the version of the statement that is current when each one falls due, rather than an old PDF. The Fair Work Ombudsman accepts delivery in person, by email, or by a link to its page or your intranet. For a workforce with 200 casuals, that adds up to several hundred statements a year. That is why the dates belong in your HR system, not in someone’s calendar.

What entitlements do casual employees get?

Under the National Employment Standards, casuals get a pathway to become permanent and 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave per year. They also get 2 days of unpaid carer’s leave and 2 days of unpaid compassionate leave per occasion, plus unpaid community service leave. In addition, they are paid a casual loading or casual rate.

According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, casuals do not get most types of paid leave, notice of termination, or redundancy pay. That holds even if they work regularly for a long time. Instead, they receive the casual loading or casual rate.

Some entitlements depend on how long and how regularly a casual has worked. Casuals can request flexible working and take unpaid parental leave after 12 months of regular and systematic work. They also need a reasonable expectation that the work will continue. In some states and territories, long serving casuals qualify for long service leave too.

Sham arrangements are a separate risk for employers. It is illegal to knowingly mislead a permanent employee into a casual contract for the same work. Likewise, you cannot dismiss someone, or threaten to, in order to re-engage them as a casual. Courts can impose civil penalties for both kinds of conduct.

What were the five key changes to casual employment in 2021?

The March 2021 amendments made five key changes. They introduced the Casual Employment Information Statement and the first statutory casual definition. They also added casual conversion at 12 months and required employers to assess existing casuals. Finally, they let courts offset an identifiable casual loading against later claims for permanent entitlements.

Kelsey Hunter, a senior employment lawyer at Source Legal, walked through those five changes when the law passed. Most have since been replaced, but they explain why older contracts and letters look the way they do.

• First, the information statement: new casuals received it with their offer, and existing casuals within six months. It still exists, with new timing since 2024.
• Second, the definition: a casual was someone engaged with no firm advance commitment to continuing and indefinite work. The 2024 definition replaced it.
• Third, casual conversion: employers with 15 or more employees assessed each casual at 12 months, then wrote to them within 21 days. Employee choice replaced it in 2024.
• Fourth, existing casuals: employers had six months to assess casuals who already had 12 months of service.
• Fifth, the loading offset: if a casual later claimed permanent entitlements such as annual leave, a court could offset an identifiable casual loading.

That fifth change still matters to payroll and HR. Section 545A of the Fair Work Act, on orders relating to casual loading amounts, is still in the current compilation. So the 2021 advice still holds: show the casual loading as a separate amount in the contract and on payslips. For example, a contract might state $25 an hour, made up of a $20 base rate and a $5 loading.

What should employers do now about casual employees?

Start by reviewing casual contracts against the 2024 definition and comparing them with how each role really works. Then schedule the Casual Employment Information Statement at the right intervals, and record each casual’s start date and employment type. Finally, show the loading separately on payslips, and brief managers on the employee choice pathway.

A practical review usually covers five areas:

• Contracts: check that each casual contract describes the arrangement honestly, including that shifts are offered and can be declined.
• Practice: compare what the contract says with how each role actually works, because the definition now looks at practical reality.
• Information statements: set reminders for 6 months, 12 months, and every year after, or 12 months only for a small business.
• Records: keep accurate start dates, employment types, and pay details, so you can answer a notice or dispute quickly.
• Managers: brief rostering managers on employee choice and on the protections against cutting hours to avoid it.

When you manage hundreds of casuals across sites or entities, spreadsheets struggle to keep these dates straight. An HRIS can hold start dates and employment type in one record, then trigger paperwork a set time after each start date. That removes most of the manual chasing. Worknice is a sensible option here for Australian organisations of roughly 50 to 1,000 employees: its Workflows can assign the information statement at 6 and 12 months, while payroll stays in Xero, MYOB AccountRight, MicrOpay, KeyPay, Employment Hero Payroll, or ELMO Payroll. A business with a handful of casuals may find a calendar reminder is enough.

Frequently asked questions

What is the new definition of a casual employee?

Since 26 August 2024, a person is a casual if there is no firm advance commitment to ongoing work when they start. They must also be entitled to a casual loading or casual pay rate. The commitment is judged on the real substance and practical reality of the relationship, not only on the contract.

Can a casual employee work regular hours?

Yes. According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, a regular pattern of work does not make a casual permanent on its own. It is one factor alongside others, such as whether the employer can withhold work, whether the employee can decline shifts, and whether permanent staff do the same work.

How often do you have to give the Casual Employment Information Statement?

Give it to every new casual before, or as soon as possible after, they start. Employers with 15 or more employees must give it again after 6 months, after 12 months, and then every 12 months. Small business employers give it again after 12 months of employment.

Does casual conversion still exist in Australia?

Casual conversion under the National Employment Standards was replaced by the employee choice pathway on 26 August 2024. Eligible casuals now notify their employer in writing that they want to become permanent. The employer must then respond within 21 days. Some awards and agreements may still contain their own terms.

Do casual employees get paid leave?

Casual employees do not get paid annual leave or paid personal leave. Instead, they receive a casual loading or casual rate. They do get 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave per year, plus unpaid carer’s, compassionate, and community service leave. Long service leave depends on state and territory law.

About the author

Graham Martin is Co-founder of Worknice, an Australian HRIS built for mid-to-large organisations. He has spent more than a decade working with Australian People and Culture teams on HR systems, compliance, and payroll integration.

Related reading

• Casual conversion and employee choice tips: how to answer a notice to become permanent, with ten practical tips for employers.
• Fixed term contract rules: the two-year limit, renewal limits, and the exceptions, including how they treat casuals.
• Does a contract need a signature?: how to prove a new casual accepted their terms, and which statements must go with the contract.
• Employee database software: how start dates, employment types, and employee records sit in one place.

Sources

1. Fair Work Ombudsman, “Casual employees”. Content last updated 7 August 2026. Retrieved 11 October 2026: https://www.fairwork.gov.au/starting-employment/types-of-employees/casual-employees
2. Fair Work Ombudsman, “Casual employment changes”. Published 12 April 2024, updated 26 February 2025. Retrieved 11 October 2026: https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/workplace-laws/legislation-changes/closing-loopholes/casual-employment-changes
3. Fair Work Ombudsman, “Becoming a permanent employee”. Content last updated 7 August 2026. Retrieved 11 October 2026: https://www.fairwork.gov.au/starting-employment/types-of-employees/casual-employees/becoming-a-permanent-employee
4. Fair Work Ombudsman, “Casual Employment Information Statement”. Content last updated 7 August 2026. Retrieved 11 October 2026: https://www.fairwork.gov.au/employment-conditions/information-statements/casual-employment-information-statement
5. Federal Register of Legislation, “Fair Work Act 2009”. Compilation No. 73 (C2026C00355), compilation date 7 July 2026, sections 15A, 66A to 66MA, 125A to 125B and 545A. Retrieved 11 October 2026: https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2009A00028/latest/text