Converting an hourly or casual rate into an annual salary
The 38-hour week, 52-week year and casual loading that decide whether a quoted hourly rate matches the salary in the next job ad.
Last reviewed 7 September 2026 · about 8 minutes to read · written and checked by the OzCalc editorial team
The week is 38 hours unless the contract says otherwise
The National Employment Standards set ordinary hours for a full-time employee at 38 a week. Awards and agreements can average that over a roster cycle, and some workplaces still write contracts on a 40-hour week, but 38 is the default the Fair Work Ombudsman will start from. That is also why leave is stored as 7.6 hours a day: 38 ÷ 5.
Importing a 40-hour or 2,000-hour conversion from an American calculator therefore misstates an Australian offer before anyone has mentioned tax. The hours have to be right first; take-home pay comes after.
Annual salary = hourly rate × ordinary hours per week × 52 Hourly rate = annual salary ÷ (ordinary hours per week × 52) 38-hour week: × 1,976 40-hour week: × 2,080 32-hour week: × 1,664
A $38 rate, written three ways
The same work, three advertisements
A role is 38 ordinary hours a week, 52 weeks a year, with 12% employer super on top. Three ads describe it differently.
- Hourly, plus super
- $38.00 an hour
- Annual base
- $38 × 38 × 52 = $75,088
- Employer super
- 12% × $75,088 = $9,010.56
- Total package
- $75,088 + $9,010.56 = $84,098.56
- If the ad said $38 inclusive of super
- Base is $38 ÷ 1.12 ≈ $33.93, or $67,043 a year
The inclusive reading is $8,000 a year worse. That is the same trap as a salaried “package” versus “plus super”, covered in salary plus super versus a total package, and it is just as common in hourly ads.
| Ordinary week | Hours in a year | $38 an hour becomes | $80,000 salary becomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 38 hours | 1,976 | $75,088 | $40.49 an hour |
| 40 hours | 2,080 | $79,040 | $38.46 an hour |
| 32 hours (0.8 FTE) | 1,664 | $63,232 | $48.08 an hour |
Leave stays in the year because it is paid. Do not subtract four weeks before converting a permanent salary.
Casual loading is compensation, not a bonus
Casual employees are paid a loading — commonly 25% under modern awards — because they do not receive paid annual leave, paid personal leave or the same notice as a permanent employee. The Fair Work Ombudsman’s casual employees page is the starting point; the exact loading is in the award.
To compare a casual rate with a permanent salary, strip the loading off first, convert what is left to an annual figure, then decide whether the remaining gap is worth the leave and security you are giving up.
Permanent-equivalent hourly ≈ casual hourly ÷ 1.25 (at a 25% loading) Then convert to annual using the same week length.
A $47.50 casual rate against a $76,000 salary
The casual award loading is 25%. Both roles are 38 hours in a typical week.
- Casual rate
- $47.50
- Minus 25% loading
- $47.50 ÷ 1.25 = $38.00
- Casual, annualised at 38 × 52
- $47.50 × 1,976 = $93,860 — but only if the hours are guaranteed
- Permanent-equivalent annual
- $38 × 1,976 = $75,088
- The salaried offer
- $76,000 plus 4 weeks paid leave
On guaranteed hours the casual job pays more cash and no leave. On the hours a casual actually gets — which are allowed to drop to zero in many roles — the salaried offer can be the more reliable number. Do not annualise a casual rate unless you honestly expect those hours every week.
What the OzCalc conversion does and does not do
The salary conversion calculator turns an amount between hourly, daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly and annual using the week length you set. It does not apply casual loading, overtime multipliers or tax. For the after-tax figure, take the annual base to the salary calculator. For penalty hours, use overtime.
The mistakes this conversion is meant to catch
- Using 2,000 hours because an overseas article did.
- Subtracting four weeks of leave from a permanent salary before converting, which double-counts leave you are already paid for.
- Comparing a casual rate with a salary without removing the loading.
- Treating “plus super” and “including super” as the same hourly figure.
Common questions
How many hours is a full-time year in Australia?
The usual conversion is 38 hours a week times 52 weeks, which is 1,976 hours. That is the National Employment Standards ordinary week, not a 40-hour American week and not 52 weeks minus four weeks of leave. Leave is paid, so it stays in the year.
Should I multiply an hourly rate by 2,000?
2,000 is a US shorthand for a 40-hour week. In Australia it overstates a 38-hour year by 24 hours and understates a 40-hour year by 80. Use 38 × 52 = 1,976, or 40 × 52 = 2,080, depending on the ordinary week in the contract.
Does casual loading make a casual job worth more than a salaried one?
Not automatically. Casual loading — often 25% — is paid because casuals do not get paid annual leave, paid personal leave or notice in the same way. A $40 casual rate can be the same living as a $32 permanent rate once you buy your own leave.
Is super included in the hourly rate?
Usually not. The superannuation guarantee is 12% of ordinary time earnings on top of the rate, for both casual and permanent staff who meet the eligibility rules. A $38 hourly ad plus super is not the same as a $38 inclusive rate.
How do I compare a four-day week with a five-day salary?
Convert both to annual dollars using the hours actually worked, not the days. A 38-hour week compressed into four days is still 1,976 hours a year. A genuine 32-hour week is 1,664 hours, and the salary should be scaled by 32/38 unless the ad says otherwise.
Why doesn’t my weekly pay equal salary divided by 52?
Some contracts use 52 weeks, some use 52.14 (365 ÷ 7), and monthly pay is salary ÷ 12 rather than four weeks. The conversion you use to compare offers should be the same one the contract uses to pay you.
Does overtime count in the annual figure?
No. The conversion is ordinary hours only. Overtime, penalties and casual shift loadings are extra, variable, and the wrong thing to bake into a comparison with a salaried role that does not pay them.
Try it with a calculator
- Salary conversionConvert hourly, weekly, fortnightly, monthly and annual pay, and pro-rate a part-time salary from a 38-hour week.
- SalaryEstimate weekly, fortnightly, monthly and annual take-home pay from an Australian resident salary, using ATO PAYG withholding for each pay and year-end tax for the annual figure.
- OvertimeEstimate ordinary pay plus overtime at a multiplier such as time-and-a-half.
- Pay riseSee what a percentage or dollar pay rise does to weekly, monthly and annual pay.
Keep reading
- How Australian take-home pay is actually calculatedFollow a $95,000 salary from gross to bank account: PAYG withholding on each pay, year-end income tax, the low income tax offset and the Medicare levy.
- Salary plus super versus a total packageTwo job ads can quote the same number and pay thousands apart. How to tell which one includes superannuation, and how to compare them properly.
- The superannuation guarantee, explainedWhat your employer must contribute in 2026–27, which earnings it applies to, when it has to be paid, and what the maximum contribution base does to high salaries.
Sources
Fair Work Ombudsman
Last reviewed 2026-08-19
Fair Work Ombudsman
Last reviewed 2026-09-07
Fair Work Ombudsman
Last reviewed 2026-09-07
Australian Taxation Office
Super guarantee rate and maximum contribution base
2026–27 income year · Last reviewed 2026-09-07
Estimates only. Not tax, legal or financial advice. Check official sources before relying on a figure.
Rules change and mistakes happen. If a figure on this page looks wrong, tell us and we will check it against the source.