Super for Casual Employees Australia — What Employers Must Pay

Since 1 July 2022, all casual employees in Australia are entitled to Super Guarantee contributions regardless of how much they earn. The previous $450 per calendar month earnings threshold has been permanently abolished. If someone works casually for you — even for a single shift — they may be entitled to super.

The Rule Change — $450 Threshold Abolished

Before 1 July 2022, an employee needed to earn at least $450 in a calendar month before super was required. This threshold disproportionately affected low-paid casual workers, many of them women.

From 1 July 2022, the threshold was removed. Employers must now pay the SG on all ordinary time earnings for eligible employees, regardless of the dollar amount earned in any given month.

What this means in practice:

• A casual working one 4-hour shift at $25/hour earns $100 for the month — super is still owed ($12 at 12% SG)
• A casual working inconsistently across multiple months is still entitled to super on every dollar of OTE earned
• The obligation exists from the first dollar of OTE, not after a monthly threshold is crossed

Age Rules for Casual Employees

The age rules for SG eligibility still apply to casual employees:

For under-18 casuals, the 30-hours-per-week test is applied week by week — not averaged across the month. If a 17-year-old works 25 hours one week, no super applies for that week. If they work 35 hours the next week, super applies to the OTE for that week.

What Is Super Calculated On for Casuals?

Super is calculated on ordinary time earnings (OTE) — the same base as for permanent employees.

For casual employees, OTE typically includes:

• Casual loading: The 25% casual loading that replaces leave entitlements is generally included in OTE for SG purposes
• Regular shift allowances that form part of ordinary pay
• Ordinary hours worked at the standard casual rate

OTE does not include overtime (hours beyond what’s considered ordinary hours for the role).

Key point for casuals: The casual loading is OTE. If a casual employee earns $20 per hour base rate plus 25% casual loading ($5/hour), the total $25 per hour is the OTE on which 12% super is calculated.

Quarterly Super for Casual Employees

The same quarterly payment due dates apply to casual employees as to permanent employees:

Because casual employees may have variable earnings, you need to track OTE accurately each quarter to ensure the correct contribution is calculated per employee.

From 1 July 2026, payday super will require contributions to be paid with each pay run — this applies equally to casual employees.

Fund Choice and Stapling for Casuals

Casual employees have the same fund choice rights as permanent employees:

• Provide a Standard Choice Form within 28 days of starting
• If they nominate a fund, pay to that fund
• If they don’t, apply the stapled fund rules — look up their stapled fund via ATO Online Services
• If no stapled fund exists, use your employer default fund (a MySuper product)

For casuals who work sporadically, stapling is particularly important — they may already have an existing super account from prior employment, and contributions should flow there.

Practical Payroll Tips for Casual Super

Track OTE by quarter: Payroll software (Xero, MYOB, Employment Hero, KeyPay) should automatically accumulate OTE for each casual employee across a quarter and calculate the 12% SG owing.

Don’t omit casuals from payroll: A common compliance error is not adding casual or irregular workers to payroll systems, leading to missed super obligations. All workers on your books — even those who work only occasionally — should be in your payroll system.

Multiple casual jobs: An employee may work casually for multiple employers simultaneously. Each employer is responsible for paying their own SG obligation on the OTE they pay. There is no coordination between employers — each must pay their 12%.

What If a Casual Is Actually a Contractor?

The casual vs contractor distinction matters for SG purposes. A genuine independent contractor — where the contract is for an outcome (not principally for their labour) and they control how the work is done — is generally not entitled to SG from you.

However, if the arrangement is a sham (substance is employment, form is contractor), the ATO will treat the person as an employee. The ATO’s contractor vs employee decision tool at ato.gov.au is the starting point for assessing ambiguous arrangements.

Frequently Asked Questions

A casual worked one shift worth $80 this quarter — do I really have to pay super? Yes. Since 1 July 2022, there is no earnings threshold. The 12% SG applies to every dollar of OTE for eligible employees (18+, or under-18 working 30+ hours that week). On $80 of OTE, the super owing is $9.60. Small per-employee amounts add up across a workforce.

We have a casual on our books but they haven’t worked in 6 months — do I still need to hold their super? If they have not been paid, there is no OTE for that period and no SG is owing. Super is calculated on earnings in each quarter. If they return and work again, the obligation resumes.

A casual works for us and is also self-employed — do we still pay super? Yes — your obligation is based on the employment relationship with you. Their self-employment status elsewhere does not affect your SG obligation for the work they do as your employee.

My casual regularly works 40 hours per week. Should they be classified as permanent? This is an employment law question beyond the scope of super specifically. Regular systematic casual employment may give rise to conversion rights to permanent employment under the Fair Work Act. Your SG obligation exists in either case — but the employee may have other entitlements if they are in substance a regular employee.

See also: Employer Super Obligations. For further guidance, see the ATO’s Super for Employers resource or consult a registered tax agent.