How Much Super Do I Pay a Casual Employee?

The Short Answer: 12% of Ordinary Time Earnings

As of the 2025-26 financial year, the superannuation guarantee (SG) rate sits at 12%, its final legislated step after years of gradual increases. That rate applies to casual employees exactly the same way it applies to full-time and part-time staff, calculated on ordinary time earnings (OTE), and it's owed regardless of how few hours someone works, how irregular their roster is, or whether they're a one-off shift or a regular casual.

Does the Old $450-a-Month Threshold Still Apply?

No. The $450-a-month minimum earnings threshold, which used to mean casual employees earning very little in a month weren't owed any super at all, was removed from 1 July 2022. Since then, super guarantee is generally payable regardless of how small a casual employee's earnings are in a given period, provided the usual eligibility rules are met, the employee is 18 or over, or if under 18, works more than 30 hours in the week.

How the SG Rate Got to 12%

The 12% rate was the last step in a schedule of annual increases legislated years in advance, so unless future legislation changes it again, 12% is the rate to build into ongoing payroll and pricing decisions for casual staff.

Worked Examples for Casual Pay

What Counts as Ordinary Time Earnings for a Casual

Ordinary time earnings generally includes the base hourly rate and casual loading (the extra percentage casuals are paid in lieu of leave entitlements), since casual loading is part of what the employee is ordinarily paid for ordinary hours worked. Genuine overtime, hours worked beyond what's rostered or agreed as ordinary hours, is generally excluded from OTE, though for many casuals rostered shift-by-shift, most or all hours worked may still count as ordinary hours rather than overtime, depending on the applicable award or agreement.

When and How Super Must Be Paid

Super has traditionally been payable quarterly, by the 28th day after the end of each quarter. From 1 July 2026, the payday super reform requires most employers to pay SG contributions at, or close to, the same time as wages are paid, rather than waiting until the end of the quarter. For casual employees, who are often paid weekly or fortnightly with fluctuating hours, this is a meaningful shift, it closes much of the gap that previously let small, irregular shortfalls accumulate unnoticed until a quarterly reconciliation caught them.

Quarterly Super vs Payday Super

Getting It Right From the Start

The most common way casual super goes wrong isn't a deliberate underpayment, it's a payroll system that hasn't been set up to calculate OTE correctly for irregular hours, casual loading, and shift-by-shift rostering. Reconciling super against actual hours worked each pay run, rather than assuming a payroll default is correct, is the simplest way to avoid a shortfall that only gets noticed months later.

The Bottom Line

How much super you pay a casual employee comes down to one number, 12% of their ordinary time earnings, applied consistently regardless of how few hours they work or how irregular their shifts are. With payday super now requiring contributions close to every pay run, getting the payroll setup right from day one matters more than it used to.