Members are reminded that the deadline of 27 September 2021 to comply with new obligations regarding casual employment is fast approaching.

By this date, employers (with 15 or more employees) must have:

  1. Assessed whether their casual employees are eligible to be offered casual conversion.

  2. Communicated a written notice to individual employees of their decision to:
    a) make an offer of conversion to permanent employment; or
    b) not to offer casual conversion due to ineligibility or on a “reasonable ground”.

    For casuals who started before 27 March 2021, this includes having notified them if they aren’t being offered conversion as they haven’t been employed for 12 months. For casuals who started on or after 27 March 2021, notice is only required to be provided by 21 days after the 12 month anniversary.

  3. Provided all existing casual employees with a copy of the Casual Employment Information Statement (all new casuals must now be provided with a copy upon commencement).

Eligibility for casual employees to be offered conversion is set out at Section 66B of the Fair Work Act. Circumstances where employers are not required to offer conversion, including where there are reasonable grounds not to make an offer, are set out at Section 66C.

Template letters to either communicate an offer or decision not to make an offer are available in the Employment Relations: Contracts subsection of the AISNSW Resource Centre. Our FAQs on the changes to casual employment are also accessible here. (Member login required)

For small business employers (with less than 15 employees), you are already required to have provided a copy of the Casual Employment Information Statement to existing casuals. As a small employer, you are not required to make offers of casual conversion, however, an employee may still apply to you for conversion under the new provisions. Template letters to assist with this process are also available in our Resource Centre.

For any questions regarding your casual employment obligations, please do not hesitate to contact the Workplace Management Team on 9299 2845.