Casual to Permanent Conversion — Your Right to Request Full-Time After 12 Months

Under the Fair Work Act, casual employees have the right to request conversion to permanent (full-time or part-time) employment after a qualifying period. For non-small business employers (15 or more employees), casual employees can notify their employer that they believe they are no longer a casual and request conversion after 6 months of employment (changed from 12 months under the 2024 reforms). For small business employers (fewer than 15 employees), the employee can make the request after 12 months.

The employee must believe, on reasonable grounds, that their employment no longer meets the definition of casual employment — meaning there is now a firm advance commitment to continuing and indefinite work according to an agreed pattern. The employer must respond within 21 days.

For the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Act 2024 introduced a significant change to how casual employment is defined. Previously, it was based primarily on the terms of the employment contract at the time of offer. Under the new definition, which took effect on 26 August 2024, a person is a casual employee only if there is an absence of a firm advance commitment to continuing and indefinite work according to an agreed pattern of work, based on the real substance, practical reality, and true nature of the employment relationship.

In plain terms, that even if your contract says you're casual, if in practice you work regular, predictable hours with an ongoing expectation of continued employment, you may no longer be a casual for the purposes of the law.

The 2024 reforms shifted casual conversion from an employer-offer model to an employee-choice model. Previously, employers were required to proactively offer conversion. Now, it is the employee who initiates the process by giving written notification to their employer.

The employee's notification must state that they believe their employment no longer meets the definition of casual and that they want to convert to full-time or part-time permanent employment. The notification must be in writing.

The employer then has 21 days to either accept or refuse the request. If the employer disputes the notification (i.e., disagrees that the employment is no longer casual), either party can apply to the Fair Work Commission to resolve the dispute. The FWC can make orders about the employee's status.

An employer can refuse a casual conversion request, but only on specific reasonable grounds. These include: the employee still meets the definition of casual (there genuinely is no firm advance commitment), the conversion would require a significant adjustment to the employee's hours of work to be employed as full-time or part-time, or known or reasonably foreseeable business changes would mean the employee's position wouldn't continue or the hours would change significantly within the next 12 months. The employer must provide a written response within 21 days setting out the reasons for refusal.

The response must include information about the employee's right to dispute the refusal through the Fair Work Commission. Vague or generic refusals are not sufficient — the grounds must be genuine and specific.

Converting from casual to permanent employment is a significant change. You will lose the casual loading (typically 25%), which means your base hourly rate will decrease. However, you gain: paid annual leave (4 weeks per year), paid personal/carer's leave (10 days per year), paid compassionate leave (2 days per occasion), entitlement to notice of termination and redundancy pay, access to flexible working arrangement requests, and parental leave entitlements.

Your overall hourly cost to the employer is designed to be broadly comparable — the loading was always intended to compensate for missing entitlements. Your period of casual employment counts as service for the purposes of notice periods, redundancy pay, and parental leave eligibility, provided it was regular and systematic.

Employers are required to give every new casual employee a Casual Employment Information Statement (CEIS) as soon as possible after the employee starts. This document, published by the Fair Work Ombudsman, explains the definition of casual employment, the right to request conversion (the employee choice pathway), the role of the Fair Work Commission in resolving disputes, and other relevant rights. Small business employers must give a modified version (the Small Business Casual Employee Information Statement).

The CEIS must also be given to existing casual employees at the 6-month mark (non-small business) or the 12-month mark (small business). Failing to provide the CEIS is a contravention of the Fair Work Act and can attract penalties.

Before requesting conversion, consider these factors.

Before requesting conversion, consider these factors.

• calculate the financial impact: compare your current casual rate (with loading) against the permanent base rate plus the value of accrued leave. Use our Casual vs Part-Time Comparison tool for this analysis
• document your work pattern — keep records showing that you have been working regular, consistent hours over an extended period, as this supports your claim that the relationship is no longer genuinely casual
• check your award, as some awards have specific rules about casual conversion that may supplement or differ from the general provisions
• seek advice from the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) or your union if you have one
• be aware that your employer cannot treat you adversely (reduce hours, terminate employment) because you've exercised or plan to exercise your right to request conversion — this would be a general protections violation

The decision to convert from casual to permanent is ultimately a financial one for most workers, so let us compare the numbers in detail. Take a worker earning a base award rate of $28.00 per hour, working 30 hours per week consistently. As a casual with 25% loading: hourly rate is $35.00, weekly gross is $1,050.00, annual gross (48 working weeks) is $50,400.

As a permanent part-time employee on the same 30 hours: hourly rate is $28.00, weekly gross is $840.00, annual gross (52 weeks) is $43,680. The casual earns $6,720 more in gross cash per year.

However, the permanent employee also receives: 4 weeks paid annual leave worth $3,360, 17.5% leave loading on annual leave worth $588, 10 days paid personal leave worth approximately $1,680 (pro-rata), notice of termination protection (1-5 weeks depending on service, worth $840-$4,200 if triggered), and redundancy pay eligibility (4-16 weeks after 1 year of service). In total, the permanent entitlements are worth approximately $6,500 to $10,000 per year when fully valued.

Effectively, conversion is approximately financially neutral in the first year, and becomes increasingly beneficial as you accumulate service (redundancy pay grows, long service leave kicks in).

The breakeven point is typically around 2-3 years of service, after which permanent employment delivers better total value.

For workers who rarely take sick leave and don't expect to be made redundant, the casual arrangement may remain financially better in the short term. But for anyone planning to stay with the same employer long-term, conversion almost always wins on total value.

Your notification to your employer must be in writing, but there's no prescribed format. Here is a template you can adapt. Start with your name, position, and the date.

Address it to your employer or HR manager. State clearly: 'I am writing to notify you under section 66A of the Fair Work Act 2009 that I believe my employment no longer meets the definition of casual employment within the meaning of section 15A of the Act.

I have been employed by [employer name] since [start date], a period of [X] months/years. During this time, I have worked a regular and consistent pattern of [describe pattern, e.g., Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, averaging 35 hours per week]. My hours have been set in advance through a regular roster, and there has been a mutual expectation of ongoing work. I believe these circumstances demonstrate a firm advance commitment to continuing and indefinite work according to an agreed pattern, which means my employment relationship is no longer casual in substance.

I therefore request conversion to [full-time/part-time] permanent employment on equivalent terms. Under the Fair Work Act, you're required to respond in writing within 21 days of receiving this notification.' Include your contact details and keep a copy of the letter and proof of delivery (email with read receipt, or hand-delivered with a witness) (check your payslip).

If you are a union member, consider having your union representative review the letter before sending it. The notification triggers a formal process — your employer must either accept, negotiate alternative terms, or refuse with specific written reasons within 21 days.

One of the strongest protections in the Fair Work Act is the general protections provisions (Part 3-1), which make it unlawful for an employer to take adverse action against an employee because they've exercised, or propose to exercise, a workplace right. Requesting casual conversion is explicitly a workplace right. Adverse action includes dismissing the employee, reducing their hours, changing their roster to less favourable times, demoting them, or treating them differently from other employees.

If your employer reduces your shifts, takes you off the roster, or terminates your employment after you submit a conversion notification, this is almost certainly a general protections breach. The remedies are significant: the Fair Work Commission can order reinstatement, compensation for lost wages, and penalties of up to $19,800 per contravention for an individual or $99,000 for a body corporate.

In a general protections claim, the reverse onus of proof applies — the employer must prove that the adverse action was not taken because of the employee's exercise of a workplace right. This is a very difficult burden for the employer to discharge if the adverse action closely follows the conversion request. If you experience retaliation, document everything (dates, shift changes, communications) and lodge a general protections dispute with the Fair Work Commission as soon as possible. You can also contact the Fair Work Ombudsman for preliminary advice.

Time limits apply: the application must be filed within 21 days of the adverse action if it involves dismissal, or within 6 years for non-dismissal adverse action.

Casual conversion plays out differently across industries due to variations in award conditions and typical work patterns. In hospitality (Restaurant Industry Award, Hospitality Industry General Award): casual employment is extremely common, with approximately 60% of hospitality workers engaged as casuals. Regular shift patterns are common despite the casual classification, making many hospitality workers strong candidates for conversion.

However, the genuinely variable nature of some hospitality work (seasonal fluctuations, event-based demand) gives employers more grounds to argue that the casual arrangement is genuine. In retail (General Retail Industry Award): casual workers often work fixed weekly rosters for months or years, making conversion requests strong.

Quick version: The award has specific provisions complementing the Fair Work Act requirements. A retail worker who has been rostered for the same 3 shifts every week for 6 months has a compelling case that the arrangement is no longer genuinely casual.

In healthcare (Nurses Award, Aged Care Award): casual nursing staff and personal care workers frequently work regular patterns to cover shift requirements.

The healthcare sector has seen significant conversion activity since the Closing Loopholes reforms, with unions actively supporting members to exercise their rights.

In all these industries, the practical reality test under the new casual definition works in favour of workers who can demonstrate consistent, predictable patterns. Keep copies of your rosters — preferably going back at least 6 months — as evidence of the regular pattern when making your notification.