What percentage of Australian workers are casual?

About 20.3% of Australian employees are casual — that is, they have no paid leave entitlements — which is roughly 2.5 million people (ABS Working Arrangements, 2025, via FairWork Mate).

Which state has the most casual workers?

South Australia has the highest casual rate at 24.1%, followed by other states down to Australian Capital Territory at 15.5%. The national average is 20.3%.

Do casual workers get leave and can they become permanent?

Casual employees don't accrue paid annual or personal leave, but they receive a casual loading (usually 25%) on top of the base rate to compensate. Eligible casuals can request to convert to permanent employment. Check your loading and conversion eligibility with FairWork Mate's free tools.

FairWork Mate Insights · Casual work

How casual is Australia's workforce?

Name: Casual Employment in Australia by State (2025)
Creator: FairWork Mate
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

About 20.3% of Australian employees are casual — no paid leave, but a loading instead. Where casual work is most common, and what your rights are if you're one of them.

Source: ABS Working Arrangements (2025). “Casual” = employees without paid leave entitlements.

20.3%

of employees are casual (no paid leave)

2.5M

casual workers nationally

24.1%

highest — South Australia

15.5%

lowest — Australian Capital Territory

Casual rate by state & territory

Share of employees with no paid leave entitlements. Casual work is most common in South Australia and least in Australian Capital Territory — a 8.6-point spread.

South Australia24.1%

Queensland21.6%

Tasmania21.4%

New South Wales20.4%

Western Australia19.4%

Victoria18.8%

Northern Territory16.9%

Australian Capital Territory15.5%

If you're a casual, know your rights

Casual loading calculator →

Check the 25% loading you should be paid on top of the base rate.

Am I really casual? →

Regular, predictable hours can mean you're not genuinely casual.

Convert to permanent →

Eligible casuals can request permanent employment.

Not sure where you stand? Our AI advisor knows the casual rules and this data.

Ask the advisor →

How we compiled this. Figures are from the ABS Working Arrangements release (2025). We use “employees without paid leave entitlements” — the standard statistical measure of casual employment — computed across full-time and part-time employees by state. Aggregate only. General information, not legal advice.

FairWork Mate Insights — casual employment in Australia, from ABS open data.

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