Does an employer still have to offer casual conversion in Australia?

No — the old rule requiring employers to offer conversion after 12 months was replaced by the 'Employee Choice' pathway under the Closing Loopholes reforms (from 26 August 2024, and 26 August 2025 for small business employers with fewer than 15 employees). Now it's the employee who notifies the employer in writing of their choice to convert, once they've been employed for at least 6 months (12 months for a small business employer) and no longer meet the casual definition. The employer must respond in writing within 21 days and can only refuse on specified grounds. An employer can still agree to convert a casual by mutual agreement at any time.

What conditions must a conversion offer include?

A compliant offer must specify whether the conversion is to full-time or part-time, the days/hours of work, the new base rate (without the 25% casual loading), the effective date of conversion, and a reasonable timeframe for the employee to respond (typically 14-21 days). Continuity of service from the start of the casual engagement must be retained.

Can an employee refuse a casual conversion offer?

Yes. The employee can decline a conversion offer and continue as a casual on their existing terms. Refusing does not affect their role, future eligibility for conversion, or the employer's obligation to continue providing work. The employer should record the refusal and consider whether the conversion offer becomes appropriate again at a later point.

What happens to the 25% casual loading on conversion?

The 25% casual loading does NOT continue after conversion to permanent employment. The casual loading exists to compensate for the lack of paid leave and other entitlements. As a permanent employee, those entitlements are provided directly. The new base rate should reflect the rate WITHOUT the loading. Employees often see a lower headline hourly rate after conversion, but receive paid annual leave, personal leave, public holidays, and notice of termination as offsets.

Are small business employers required to offer casual conversion?

Small business employers (fewer than 15 employees) are NOT required to offer casual conversion under the Fair Work Act 2009 amendments. However, small business employers may still receive a request for conversion from a casual employee, which they must respond to in writing. Small business employers may also voluntarily offer conversion — many do, to retain experienced casuals on more stable terms.

Casual Conversion Offer Letter (Australia 2026)

Free template letter for offering a casual employee conversion to permanent employment. Cites the Fair Work Act 2009 and lays out the pattern-of-work basis, new terms, and response process.

Last verified: 2 August 2026

Since 26 August 2024 (26 August 2025 for small business), the old employer-offer rule is replaced by the Employee Choice pathway: an eligible casual (6+ months, or 12 months for a small business) notifies the employer of their choice to convert. An employer can still offer or agree to convert by mutual agreement — this letter sets out compliant terms either way.

What "regular pattern" means

The Fair Work Act doesn't define "regular pattern" precisely. Recent FWC and Federal Court decisions look for:

Same days of the week worked over multiple weeks
Similar hours each shift / each week
Predictability — the employee can reasonably expect the work to continue
Pattern observed over at least the last 6 months

Casual employees with a clearly regular pattern who haven't been offered conversion may have grounds to escalate via the Fair Work Ombudsman or the Fair Work Commission.

Reverse direction (employee → employer)

If you're a casual employee asking your employer to convert you to permanent, use the Casual Conversion Request letter generator instead.

Casual to Permanent in 2026: New Conversion Rights & How to Request It

Understand the new casual-to-permanent conversion rights in Australia for 2026. Learn about employee-initiated conversion, eligibility requirements, how to make a written request, employer grounds for refusal, and the financial implications of converting including losing casual loading but gaining leave entitlements.

Casual Conversion 2026: Your Right to Become Permanent After 6-12 Months

Understand your right to convert from casual to permanent employment in Australia. Covers the employee-initiated conversion right, eligibility periods, the written request process, employer refusal grounds, and FWC dispute resolution.

Casual to Permanent Conversion: Your Right to Go Full-Time

Understand your casual conversion rights in Australia for 2026. Learn when your employer must offer permanent employment, how to request conversion, and what to do if your employer refuses.

Embed this calculator on your site — free

One line of HTML. Auto-updates with the latest Australian rates. Click to copy the code.

Show code →

Copy & paste into any HR blog, payroll docs, intranet, or CMS.

<iframe
  src="https://fairworkmate.com.au/embed/casual-conversion-notice?partner=YOUR_NAME"
  width="100%"
  height="700"
  frameborder="0"
  loading="lazy"
  title="Casual Conversion Offer Letter (Australia 2026) by FairWork Mate"
  style="border:1px solid #e2e8f0;border-radius:8px;max-width:680px;"
></iframe>

See all 146 embeddable tools →Preview the embed →Replace YOUR_NAME with your site identifier for attribution (optional).

Get notified when rates change

Free alerts when minimum wage, award rates, or workplace laws are updated.

Free forever. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

General information and estimates only — not legal, financial or tax advice. Always check your specific award, agreement or contract, or a qualified professional, before you rely on the result.

Recommended partners

Free tools surface the issue. Our partners help you solve it.

Authorised Employment Hero Partner

Employment Hero

Australian HR, payroll, rostering and award interpretation in one platform. Used by 300,000+ businesses. Fixes the underlying payroll/compliance issues our calculators surface.

Best for: SMEs that have outgrown spreadsheet payroll or want automated award interpretation.

See Employment Hero

HR support partner

Liquid HR

Senior, hands-on HR support for your toughest workforce challenges — performance and conduct, grievances and mediation, redundancy and change. Liquid HR picks up where the technology ends.

Best for: employers and individuals who need a human HR professional to guide a workplace situation, not just a calculator.

Talk to Liquid HR

IT, Microsoft & cyber partner

Frontrow Tech

Microsoft 365, Copilot rollouts, Essential Eight, Privacy Act 2026 and board-level cyber compliance for Australian SMBs. Where pay and HR end, your data and IT obligations begin.

Best for: SMBs running on Microsoft 365, anyone hitting cyber/privacy compliance, boards wanting an outside read on IT risk.

See Frontrow

Recommended partners — we only recommend partners we've vetted as a good fit for Australian workplaces. Some partnerships help fund the free tools on this site.

Casual Conversion Offer Letter (Australia 2026)

Sender (employer)

Recipient (casual employee)

Conversion offer

What "regular pattern" means

Related Articles

Related Tools

Recommended partners

Employment Hero

Liquid HR

Frontrow Tech