Types of Employment 

There are usually 4 main types of employment, overseas students can get engaged in Australia. Although most of the students do work on part-time or casual basis but during the holidays, students are entitled to work full time hours. So its good to understand various types of employment available in Australia so that you don’t get exploited at work. 

1. Full time 

Full time employee in Australia is someone who works set number of hours, usually, 38 hours per week. Apart from this, full time employee is:

• Entitled to paid annual leave (usually 4 weeks/ year)
• Entitled to sick leave and personal leave (typically 10 days/year)
• Entitled to get paid leave on public holidays
• Entitled to parental leave 
• Usually get paid every week or fortnight or monthly
• Employer need to pay you superannuation and deduct and taxes from your salary and wages
• When ending employment both parties must provide a certain amount of notice

2. Part time

Similar to a Full time employee, Part time workers usually have set amount of work hours but they are usually less than 38 hours per week. Part time workers are:

• Entitled to paid annual leave but on a pro-rata basis
• Entitled to sick leave and personal leave on a pro- rata basis also
• Entitled to get paid leave on public holidays only if rostered on a public holiday
• Other features are the same as full time employee

3. Casual 

Unlike full time and part time employee, Casual employees don’t have set amount of hours of work. Casual employees usually have:

• Work hours are not guaranteed and they can change every week
• Can be called to work at a very short notice
• Pay rates are usually higher (20% – 25%) than full time and part time employees 
• Not entitled to sick annual leave and sick leave
• Employer still takes the taxes from your salary but they will only pay superannuation if you have gross salary of more than $450 per month
• No obligation to provide any notice by both parties when ending employment

4. Contractor 

Contractor is completely different type than the one we mentioned above. If you are working as a contractor, then you

• Work hours are not guaranteed as you are self-employed.
• Not entitled to any entitlements like annual leave, sick leave etc.
• Must have an ABN to issue an invoice for the services provided
• Must do their own taxes and the contracting company may not be required to pay your superannuation.

If you are still unsure about the type of employment or need more information regarding your employment, then we suggest you to visit Fairwork Australia.