Why the state matters
Australia does not use one national public holiday calendar for every day of the year. Some holidays are national; others are state or territory specific (for example Melbourne Cup day in Victoria). Casual Pay uses your selected state or territory when deciding whether a shift date is a public holiday for rate purposes.
Casual public holiday rates
Modern awards usually set a high casual percentage for hours worked on a public holiday — often higher than Sunday. As with weekend rates, the published casual percentage commonly already includes casual loading.
If you do not work the holiday, casuals generally are not entitled to paid holiday leave the way permanent employees are. Public holiday pay in Casual Pay is about hours you actually work on a holiday date.
Substituted days and local quirks
When a holiday falls on a weekend, governments sometimes gazette a substituted weekday. Roster practices and workplace agreements can also affect how a particular workplace treats the day. If your employer’s holiday treatment differs from the standard gazette list Casual Pay uses, treat the estimate as a starting point and confirm with payroll.
Check a real shift
Pick your award and enter start and end times — Casual Pay applies the loadings that match that award.
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