Offers and requests for casual conversion

Learn more about becoming a permanent employee for casuals employed before 26 August 2024.

On this page:

• Different pathways to permanent employment
• Employers offering casual conversion
• Employee requesting casual conversion
• Employee choice pathway
• Disputes about casual changes
• Tools and resources
• Related information

Different pathways to permanent employment

The rules about casual conversion changed on 26 August 2024.

The casual conversion pathways that were available before 26 August 2024 continue to be available for employers and their casuals employed before 26 August 2024 for a transitional period. Find out more about these pathways below.

These casual employees can also move to permanent employment using the new employee choice pathway, which is available from 26 August 2024. Learn more about the employee choice pathway at Becoming a permanent employee

Employers offering casual conversion

Until 26 February 2025, employers (except small business employers) need to make a written offer to convert a casual to permanent employment within 21 days after a casual’s 12-month anniversary, if the casual:

• was employed as a casual before 26 August 2024
• has been employed by the employer for 12 months
• has worked a regular pattern of hours on an ongoing basis for at least the last 6 months
• could continue working these hours as a full-time or part-time employee without significant changes.

The offer of casual conversion must convert the employee to:

• full-time, if the employee’s hours worked for at least the last 6 months have been the same as full-time hours, or
• part-time (consistent with the employee’s regular pattern of hours worked for at least the last 6 months), if the employee’s hours worked for at least the last 6 months have been less than full-time hours.

Find out whether an employee’s hours are full-time or part-time by checking

• the relevant award or agreement (if the employee is covered by one), or
• the hours worked by other full-time or part-time employees who work in the same or a similar position.

Responding to an offer

To accept an offer to convert, employees need to respond to their employer in writing within 21 days after getting the offer. If they don’t respond, their employer can assume that they’ve declined the offer.

If an employee accepts an employer’s offer to convert, the employer needs to discuss with the employee their:

• type of employment (full-time or part-time)
• hours of work
• start date, being the first day of the first full pay period after the employer has written to the employee, unless the employer and employee agree to another day.

The employer must then confirm these details in writing to the employee within 21 days after the employee accepts the offer.

Employers not making an offer of casual conversion

If an employer (except a small business employer) decides not to offer casual conversion, the employer needs to write to the employee within 21 days after the employee’s 12 month anniversary, telling them:

• that they aren’t making an offer of casual conversion
• the reasons for not making the offer.

The only reasons for not making an offer are:

• the employee hasn’t worked a regular pattern of hours:
  • on an ongoing basis for at least the last 6 months
  • which they could continue working as a full-time or part-time employee without significant changes
• the business has reasonable grounds for not making an offer.

Reasonable grounds for not making an offer or refusing a request

If an employer decides to not make an offer, or refuses to accept a request, for a casual to convert to permanent on ‘reasonable grounds’, the reasonable grounds they rely on have to be based on facts that are known or reasonably foreseeable.

Reasonable grounds for deciding not to make an offer can include that, in the next 12 months:

• the employee’s position won’t exist
• the employee’s hours of work will significantly reduce
• the employee’s days or times of work will significantly change, and that can’t be accommodated within the employee’s available days or times for work.

Reasonable grounds can also include:

• making the offer would not comply with a recruitment or selection process required by or under a Commonwealth, State or Territory law
• the employer would have to make a significant adjustment to the employee’s work hours for them to be employed full-time or part-time.

Employee requesting casual conversion

Casual employees employed before 26 August 2024 may make a request to convert to permanent employment during the transitional period.

To be eligible, a casual employee:

• needs to have been employed by the employer for at least 12 months
• needs to have worked a regular pattern of hours on an ongoing basis for at least the last 6 months
• could continue working these hours as a full-time or part-time employee without significant changes.

The request must be made in writing and made within the transitional period:

• if not employed by a small business, from 21 days after their 12 month anniversary and made before 26 February 2025, or
• if employed by a small business, anytime on or after their 12 month anniversary and made before 26 August 2025.

An employee isn’t eligible to make a request if, in the last 6 months:

• they’ve refused an offer from their employer to convert to permanent employment
• their employer has told them in writing that they won’t be making an offer of casual conversion because there was a reasonable ground not to make the offer
• their employer has refused a previous request for casual conversion.

Sometimes employees can still make a request even if their employer has told them in the last 6 months that they won’t be making an offer of casual conversion. Employees can only do this if they didn’t get an offer because they hadn’t worked a regular pattern of work in the 6 months before their earlier request, but they now have.

Responding to a request

The employer must respond in writing to the employee within 21 days, either:

• accepting the request for conversion, or
• refusing the request for conversion and giving reasons why.

Refusing a request

Employers can’t refuse a request unless they have discussed the request with the employee and have reasonable grounds to refuse the request.

Accepting the request

If an employer accepts an employee’s request to convert to permanent employment, the employer needs to discuss with the employee their:

• type of employment (full-time or part-time)
• hours of work
• start date, being the first day of the first full pay period after the employer has written to the employee, unless the employer and employee agree to another day.

The employer needs to then confirm this information in writing to their employee within 21 days after the employee has requested to convert. This can be in the same notice as when the employer tells the casual employee that they are accepting their request.

Employee choice pathway

From 26 August 2024, casuals also have a pathway to permanent employment under the National Employment Standards. This is referred to as the ‘employee choice pathway’. Under these rules, eligible casuals can notify their employer in writing of their intention to change to permanent employment. An employer can only not accept on particular grounds.

Learn more about the employee choice pathway at Becoming a permanent employee.

Disputes about casual changes

If a dispute arises and can’t be resolved at the workplace level, the dispute can be heard by the Fair Work Commission. For more information visit the Fair Work Commission website.

Tools and resources

• National Employment Standards videos
• Pay and Conditions Tool
• Fair Work Commission website
• Offering casual conversion checklist and template letter 
• Requesting casual conversion checklist and template letter 
• Responding to a casual conversion request checklist and template letter 

Related information

• Casual employees
• Hours of work
• Types of employees