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What is Casual loading?

Casual loading is the additional percentage paid to casual employees in place of paid leave and notice entitlements. Under the SCHADS Award it is 25 per cent of the minimum hourly rate. It applies to the base rate, and the interaction between casual loading and penalty rates is set by the award rather than chosen by the employer.

Getting the compounding right matters. Whether a penalty applies to the base rate or to the loaded rate changes the cost of every weekend shift, and a payroll system configured on the wrong assumption underpays or overpays consistently rather than occasionally.

Casual conversion rights also apply: a regular, systematic casual may be entitled to become permanent, which changes the cost base for the roster they were filling.

How casual loading is calculated

Under clause 10.4 of the SCHADS Award, a casual’s hourly rate is 1/38th of the weekly rate for their classification, plus a loading of 25% of that rate.

The loading is paid instead of entitlements casuals do not receive under the award and the National Employment Standards, such as paid annual leave and paid personal leave.

Casual loading and weekend rates

On weekends the award sets casual rates that already include the loading:

  • Saturday: 175% of the ordinary rate of pay
  • Sunday: 225% of the ordinary rate of pay

Do not add the 25% on top of these figures. That is one of the most common casual overpayments.

Getting casual pay right

  • Record the employment type and classification correctly; everything else flows from those two fields.
  • Pay at least the 2-hour minimum for each shift, or each period of a broken shift, in disability and home care work.
  • Update base rates from the first full pay period on or after 1 July each year, and for Schedule E employees from 1 December 2026, when the first gender undervaluation increase starts.

Because the loading is a percentage of the classification rate, a casual’s rate changes every time the classification rate does: at each Annual Wage Review, and for Schedule E employees at the December 2026 and October 2027 changes. Update the base rate and let the loading follow, rather than keying in a new loaded rate by hand.

How Rostery helps

Rostery applies casual rates under the SCHADS Award to approved actual times and passes the result to payroll through a payroll export.

Questions people ask

What is the casual loading under the SCHADS Award?

25% of the hourly rate for the employee’s classification.

Do casuals get casual loading on top of weekend rates?

No. The SCHADS casual weekend rates of 175% on Saturday and 225% on Sunday already include the casual loading.

Why do casuals get a loading?

It is paid instead of entitlements casuals do not receive, such as paid annual leave and paid personal leave.

Checked against the official sources on 2 October 2026. Rules change: confirm the current position with the agency before you rely on it.

Related terms

SCHADS AwardThe SCHADS Award is the modern award covering most Australian disability and community services employees. It sets minimum pay rates by classification level, and the rules for penalties, overtime, broken shifts, sleepovers, on-call, travel reimbursement and minimum engagement periods. Compliance is a legal obligation, not a payroll preference.Contractor vs employeeA contractor runs their own business and invoices for services; an employee works in the employer’s business under its direction. The distinction is decided on the substance of the relationship, not the label in the agreement. Misclassifying an employee as a contractor exposes a provider to back-pay, superannuation and penalty liabilities.Minimum engagementMinimum engagement is the shortest period an employee must be paid for when called to work, regardless of how long the shift actually runs. Under the SCHADS Award, disability support workers generally have a two-hour minimum for part-time and casual engagements, with some exceptions for particular arrangements.

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SCHADS interpretation, NDIS price-guide validation, claiming and the evidence an audit asks for — built for Australian providers.

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