How Much Super Do I Pay a Casual Employee?

If you employ casual staff on the Mornington Peninsula — in hospitality, retail, allied health clinics, or on the tools — you're legally required to pay them Super Guarantee (SG) contributions in almost every case. A surprising number of small business owners still believe casuals are exempt or only qualify once they hit a certain pay threshold. That rule disappeared years ago, and getting it wrong now carries real financial risk.

Do Casual Employees Get Super?

Yes. Under the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 (SGA Act), employers must pay SG contributions to eligible employees regardless of whether they're full-time, part-time, or casual. Eligibility depends on:

• The employee is 18 or over — super applies no matter how many hours they work
• The employee is under 18 and works more than 18 hours in a week
• They perform work that counts as Ordinary Time Earnings (OTE)

Employment status under the Fair Work Act 2009 doesn't change super obligations — a casual loading of 25% doesn't buy you out of super. For the legal definition of casual employment, see Fair Work Australia.

The Current Super Guarantee Rate

From 1 July 2025, the SG rate sits at 12% of ordinary time earnings — the final scheduled increase under the government's phased rate rises. This 12% applies equally to casual, part-time and full-time employees. There's no reduced or pro-rata rate for casual workers based on hours or loading.

• SG rate is applied to the pay period in which the work was actually performed
• Casual loading itself still forms part of OTE and is included in the super calculation
• The rate is fixed at 12% going forward unless legislation changes it again

The $450 Threshold Is Gone

Before 1 July 2022, employers only had to pay super if a casual employee earned $450 or more in a calendar month. That threshold was abolished. Since then, every dollar of OTE triggers a super obligation, no matter how small the shift or how few hours are worked in a month. This change catches out businesses who took on a casual for a one-off event, a single shift, or minimal ad-hoc hours — super is still payable.

How to Calculate Super for Casual Staff

The formula is straightforward: Super = OTE × 12%. The complexity is usually in working out what counts as OTE. Generally included:

• Base hourly rate for ordinary hours worked
• Casual loading
• Shift, weekend and public holiday penalty rates paid for ordinary hours
• Most allowances (e.g. tool allowance, on-call allowance)
• Paid leave loading, where applicable

Generally excluded from OTE:

• Genuine overtime hours (hours beyond ordinary hours under the award or agreement)
• Reimbursement of actual expenses

The ATO's ruling SGR 2009/2 sets out the detailed definition of OTE and is the reference point if you're unsure whether a specific allowance or loading is included. Getting OTE wrong is one of the most common super errors we see in payroll reviews — it's rarely deliberate, usually just a misunderstanding of what "ordinary hours" means for a casual roster.

Under-18 Casual Employees

Casual employees under 18 have one extra test: they must work more than 18 hours in a week with a single employer before super becomes payable for that week. This is common in retail and hospitality businesses on the Peninsula that employ school-aged staff over summer. If a 16-year-old works 12 hours one week and 22 hours the next, super is only payable on the second week's earnings.

Due Dates and Penalties

SG contributions must reach the employee's super fund by the 28th day after the end of each quarter:

• Quarter 1 (Jul–Sep): due 28 October
• Quarter 2 (Oct–Dec): due 28 January
• Quarter 3 (Jan–Mar): due 28 April
• Quarter 4 (Apr–Jun): due 28 July

Miss a deadline, even by a day, and you must lodge a Superannuation Guarantee Charge (SGC) statement and pay the shortfall plus interest and an administration fee — and the SGC amount is not tax deductible. Many Victorian small businesses now pay super every pay run through their payroll software rather than waiting for the quarterly deadline, which smooths cash flow and removes the risk of forgetting entirely.

Managing Casual Super in Xero

Xero Payroll automatically calculates SG contributions at the correct rate based on each employee's OTE, applies the under-18 hours test where configured correctly, and lets you schedule super payments through Xero's integrated clearing house. For businesses juggling multiple casual staff with variable hours across hospitality shifts or NDIS support work, this removes the manual calculation risk entirely — provided pay items are set up correctly from day one.

The most common issue we fix when reviewing a new client's Xero file is pay items incorrectly flagged as exempt from super, or allowances mapped to the wrong OTE category. A one-off payroll setup review can catch this before it compounds over a full financial year.

The short version: casual doesn't mean exempt. Pay 12% SG on OTE for every casual employee over 18, apply the 18-hour weekly test for under-18s, and pay at least quarterly — ideally every pay run through Xero. If you're not confident your current setup is calculating this correctly, a payroll review now is far cheaper than an SGC statement later.