Australia Casual Conversion / Employee Choice Checker
Enter your employment start date and small business status to see the earliest date you appear able to give an employee choice notification, your employer’s 21-day written response deadline, and the closed list of grounds it can rely on to say no. Free, instant, and calculated entirely in your browser; no sign-up.
Enter your employment start date to see when you appear able to give a notification.
If the employer does not accept, it can only rely on one of these grounds (s 66AAC(4))
- You still meet the casual employee definition. Having regard to s 15A(1)-(4) and your current employment relationship, the employer considers you still meet the requirements of those subsections (s 66AAC(4)(a)).
- Fair and reasonable operational grounds. For example: substantial changes would be required to how work in the enterprise is organised; there would be significant impacts on the operation of the enterprise; or substantial changes to your terms and conditions would be reasonably necessary to ensure the employer does not contravene a fair work instrument that would apply to you as a full-time or part-time employee (s 66AAC(4)(b), (5)(a)-(c)).
- A required recruitment or selection process. Accepting the notification would mean the employer does not comply with a recruitment or selection process required by a law of the Commonwealth, a State, or a Territory (s 66AAC(4)(c)).
What counts as a casual employee (s 15A): factors only, none of them decisive
- Whether your employer is unable to choose whether to offer you work, or you are unable to choose whether to accept or reject it (and whether this happens in practice).
- Whether it is reasonably likely there will be future availability of continuing work of the kind you usually perform, given the nature of the enterprise.
- Whether full-time or part-time employees perform the same kind of work as you at the enterprise.
- Whether you have a regular pattern of work.
s 15A(3)(b): all of these must be considered, but no single one is determinative, and not all need to be satisfied for you to be something other than a casual employee. This tool lists them for information only and does not score or weigh them.
This is a timing check, not a merits assessment. It never decides whether you meet the s 15A casual employee definition, never predicts whether your employer will accept a notification, and never says you will become permanent. Only you can form the belief the notification states; your employer, and ultimately the Fair Work Commission on a dispute, can test it.
This tool applies the published Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) employee choice notification rules only. It does not access any record of your employment, does not file or send anything, and is not legal advice. RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm and is not affiliated with the Fair Work Commission or any Australian government body. Consult a legal practitioner admitted in the relevant Australian state or territory if you are unsure.
How Employee Choice Works
Since 26 August 2024, the old employer “casual conversion offer” obligation has been replaced by an employee choice pathway (Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) Part 2-2, Division 4A). A casual employee who believes, having regard to sections 15A(1) to (4) and their current employment relationship, that they no longer meet the casual employee definition can give their employer a written notification. That belief is the employee’s own; this tool never forms it for you.
The old pre-2024 pathways (an employer offer, or an employee request) continued to apply only to casuals who were already employed before 26 August 2024, and only until a transitional cut-off: 26 February 2025 for a non-small-business employer, or 26 August 2025 for a small business employer. Both dates are now in the past, so the employee choice pathway is the only live route.
Casual employment before 26 August 2024 does not count toward the minimum employment period (Fair Work Act Sch 1, cl 102(6)(a)). If you started working for your employer before that date, the clock is treated as starting on 26 August 2024, not on your actual start date.
What The Employer Must Do, And By When
The employer must give a written response within 21 days after the notification is given (s 66AAC(1)). Before responding, the employer must consult with the employee about the notification, and if it intends to accept, discuss the hours, the type of employment (full-time or part-time), and the day the change takes effect (s 66AAC(3)).
If the employer accepts, the written response must state whether the employee is changing to full-time or part-time employment, the new hours of work, and the day the change takes effect (s 66AAC(2)). That day must be the first day of the employee’s first full pay period starting after the response is given, unless the employer and employee agree on a different day (s 66AAD).
An employer must not reduce or vary an employee’s hours, change their pattern of work, or terminate their employment in order to avoid a right or obligation under this pathway (s 66L(1)). Giving a notification, receiving a response, being changed to full-time or part-time employment, and taking part in a dispute about this pathway, are all protected workplace rights for general protections purposes (s 66L(3)).
Refusal Grounds
The employer can only refuse to accept a notification on one of three grounds (s 66AAC(4)): that, having regard to sections 15A(1) to (4), the employee still meets the casual employee definition; that there are fair and reasonable operational grounds for not accepting it; or that accepting it would mean the employer does not comply with a recruitment or selection process required by Commonwealth, State, or Territory law.
“Fair and reasonable operational grounds” (s 66AAC(5)) include substantial changes that would be required to how work is organised, significant impacts on the operation of the enterprise, or substantial changes to the employee’s terms and conditions that would be reasonably necessary to avoid the employer breaching a fair work instrument. That last example is the only one of the three that carries a “reasonably necessary” qualifier in the statute; the other two do not.
Disputes And The Fair Work Commission
A dispute about this pathway must first be attempted at the workplace level, through discussions between the employer and employee (s 66M(4)). If that does not resolve it, either party can refer the dispute to the Fair Work Commission, using Form F10A. The Commission must first deal with it by means other than arbitration, unless there are exceptional circumstances, and may then arbitrate (s 66M(6)).
On arbitration, the Commission can make any orders it considers appropriate, including (s 66MA(1), (4)) an order that the employee continue as a casual, or that the employee become full-time or part-time from the first day of their next full pay period, or a later day the Commission considers appropriate. The Commission must be satisfied an order would be fair and reasonable, and cannot make an order inconsistent with the Act or an applicable fair work instrument (s 66MA(2)-(3)). No statutory timeframe fixes how long the Commission has to resolve a referred dispute.
This same protected pathway is a reason the separate civil remedy provisions on misrepresenting or dismissing to engage someone as a casual (ss 359B, 359C) matter: it is unlawful for an employer to knowingly misrepresent to a current or former permanent employee that a role must be taken as casual to do the same or mostly the same work, or to dismiss or threaten to dismiss someone to re-engage them as a casual doing the same work. See sham contracting in Australia for that separate protection.
Casual Employment Information Statement (CEIS)
Every casual employee must be given a Casual Employment Information Statement before, or as soon as practicable after, they start work. After that, the timing differs by employer size. A small business employer (fewer than 15 employees) gives it exactly once more, after 12 months. Every other employer gives it after 6 months and after 12 months, and then again every 12 months on an ongoing cycle, not just twice.
| Small business employer (starts 1 Jan 2026) | Other employer (starts 1 Jan 2026) |
|---|---|
| At the start of employment: 1 January 2026 | At the start of employment: 1 January 2026 |
| After 12 months (once only): 1 January 2027 | After 6 months: 1 July 2026 |
| After 12 months: 1 January 2027 | |
| After 24 months: 1 January 2028 | |
| After 36 months: 1 January 2029 |
Worked Examples
Each row shows the earliest date this tool computes for that employment start date and employer size.
| Employment start date | Employer type | Earliest notification date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2025 | Other (6 months) | 1 July 2025 |
| 1 January 2025 | Small business (12 months) | 1 January 2026 |
| 1 June 2024 (before the scheme started) | Other (6 months) | 26 February 2025 |
| 1 June 2024 (before the scheme started) | Small business (12 months) | 26 August 2025 |
| 1 April 2026 | Other (6 months) | 1 October 2026 |
The two rows starting 1 June 2024 show the transitional clock cap: because that date is before the scheme’s 26 August 2024 commencement, the 6 or 12-month period is calculated from 26 August 2024, not from the actual start date.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does having a regular pattern of hours automatically make me eligible?
No. A regular pattern of work is only one of several factors under s 15A(2)(c) that go to whether you are a casual employee at all, and the Act is explicit that no single factor is determinative and not all factors need to be satisfied. It is not a separate eligibility gate for the notification, and this tool does not treat it as one.
What is the minimum employment period to give a notification?
Generally 6 months of employment. If your employer is a small business employer with fewer than 15 employees, it is 12 months. Casual employment before 26 August 2024 does not count toward that period (Fair Work Act Sch 1, cl 102(6)(a)).
Can I give a notification again if my employer already said no?
Not immediately. If you received a response not accepting an earlier notification, or had a dispute about this pathway resolved, in the last 6 months, you cannot give a fresh notification until 6 months have passed, counted from the day after you received that response or the dispute was resolved.
What can my employer say no on?
Only one of three grounds: that you still meet the casual employee definition, that there are fair and reasonable operational grounds, or that accepting would break a required recruitment or selection process. There is no separate refusal ground just for small business employers.
What happens if we disagree?
You first try to resolve it at the workplace level. If that fails, either of you can refer the dispute to the Fair Work Commission (Form F10A), which deals with it by means other than arbitration first unless there are exceptional circumstances, then may arbitrate. If it arbitrates, it can make any order it considers fair and reasonable, including that you continue as a casual or that you become full-time or part-time.
Does this tool tell me whether I will become permanent?
No. It only checks the notification timing gates: minimum employment period, the repeat-notification gap, and an unresolved dispute. Whether you meet the underlying casual employee definition, and whether your employer accepts your notification, are separate questions this tool does not decide.
Does this tool store what I enter?
No. Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is saved, transmitted, or used to contact you.
Sources
- Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) : ss 15A, 23, 66AAB, 66AAC, 66AAD, 66K, 66L, 66M, 66MA, 359B, 359C, Sch 1 cl 102 (Federal Register of Legislation)
- fairwork.gov.au: Casual employment changes
- fairwork.gov.au: Becoming a permanent employee
- fwc.gov.au: Casual to full-time or part-time employment disputes
Current as of 26 September 2026.
This tool checks the published Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) employee choice notification timing rules only, current as at 26 September 2026. It never assesses or predicts whether you meet the casual employee definition, whether your employer will accept a notification, or the outcome of a dispute. It does not access any record of your employment, does not file or send anything, and is not legal advice. RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm and is not affiliated with the Fair Work Commission or any Australian government body. Consult a legal practitioner admitted in the relevant Australian state or territory if you are unsure.
Know someone who could use this? Share this free tool: