Casual loading is extra money paid to casual workers over the normal hourly rate. This is paid in recognition casuals don’t have access to most paid leave entitlements.
Outcomes of APS-wide bargaining could lift the casual loading from 20 per cent to 25 per cent across the service.
This could be an improvement for over 6,500 casual employees in over 75 agencies.
The Commonwealth’s pay offer of 11.2% over 3 years will apply in addition to the casual loading changes.
If the enterprise agreement comes into effect, more than 6,500 casual employees could see an 8.2% increase in their pay inform March 2024. Casual staff will also benefit from the proposed Year 2 and 3 increases of 3.8% and 3.5% respectively.
To help explain the significant impact of these benefits, we’ve created examples below which you can apply to your own circumstance.
| APS bargaining casual loading: What could you get? | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Scenario 1 | Marissa is an APS3 casual working in a Call Centre with Services Australia. | Marissa currently receives an hourly rate of $38.73 including the 20% casual loading. | If Marissa’s new enterprise agreement comes into effect, she’ll get acasual loading increase to 25% and the headline pay increase. This will see Marissa’s hourly rate rise to $41.96, an increase of 8.3% in the first year. |
| Scenario 2 | Sarah works on an irregular and intermittent basis as an APS3 withthe Australian Electoral Commission. |
Sarah’s length of contract during the Electoral event is for a fiveweek period with no guarantee on the number of hours she will work. Sarah is keen to know what benefits she may get under the new Enterprise Agreement (EA). |
Sarah’s APS3 base rate with the AEC is $32.56. With the 20% casual loading she currently receives $39.07 hr. Under the new EA arrangements she will get a 25% casual loading. If Sarah works 20 hours per week, she will get an extra $32.56 aweek. |
| Scenario 3 | Lui is an APS6 casual at the Australian Taxation Office. | Lui’s work hours are irregular but typically increase towards the end of the financial year. She is keen to understand the changes for casuals inthe enterprise agreement that relate to her. | If the new enterprise agreement comes into effect, Lui’s casual loading will increase from 20% to 25%. Combined with the 4% pay increase in Year 1, Liu’s pay will increase by nearly $5 per hour, from $56.72 to $61.44– an increase of 8.3%. |