Hourly Rate to Annual Salary in Australia

Whether you're comparing a permanent role against a casual offer, costing a contractor against a salary, or just curious how a $32 per hour wage stacks up annually, the conversion is one short formula. Get it wrong and you'll either undersell yourself in a salary negotiation or commit to a rate that won't cover your expenses.

Quick path: drop your hourly rate into the Pay Calculator Australia and switch the frequency selector to "hourly". The calculator returns annual gross, weekly take-home, ATO tax, Medicare and super in one screen.

The basic formula

For a full-time worker on the standard Australian 38-hour week:

Annual gross = Hourly rate × 38 × 52

The 38 comes from the National Employment Standards' 38-hour week; the 52 from the number of weeks in a year (paid annual leave is part of the 52, so don't subtract it for permanent staff).

Worked examples

• $25/hour → $25 × 38 × 52 = $49,400 annual gross
• $30/hour → $30 × 38 × 52 = $59,280 annual gross
• $45/hour → $45 × 38 × 52 = $88,920 annual gross
• $70/hour → $70 × 38 × 52 = $138,320 annual gross

These are before tax, Medicare levy, HECS/HELP, and super. Use the Pay Calculator to see the take-home estimate after the ATO 2024–25 brackets are applied.

Casual workers — the 25% loading

Casual employees in Australia don't get paid annual leave, sick leave, or public holidays. To compensate, they're paid a casual loading — typically 25% on top of the equivalent permanent rate. So a $32/hour permanent rate becomes $32 × 1.25 = $40/hour for a casual role doing the same work.

If you're working out the annualised value of a casual rate, use the same 38 × 52 multiplication, but bear in mind you won't actually be paid for unworked weeks — sick days and public holidays come straight off your annual figure.

Different working hours

Not every role is 38 hours. For other patterns, swap 38 for the actual hours per week:

• 40 hours/week (some retail, hospitality): Hourly × 40 × 52
• 37.5 hours/week (some office contracts): Hourly × 37.5 × 52
• Part-time (e.g. 20 hours): Hourly × 20 × 52

Leave loading

Some awards and enterprise agreements add a 17.5% leave loading on top of pay during annual leave — designed to compensate for not earning overtime while on holiday. If your award includes leave loading, your effective annual gross increases by roughly 4 weeks × 17.5% × hourly rate × 38, or about 0.0175 × annual gross.

Going the other way: annual to hourly

To convert a quoted annual salary back to an hourly rate, divide by (52 × hours per week):

Hourly = Annual ÷ (52 × hours/week)

So a $90,000 annual salary at 38 hours/week is $90,000 ÷ 1976 = $45.55/hour.

Last updated: May 2026. This article is general information only — for advice on your specific employment award, leave entitlements or tax position, talk to your employer's payroll team or a registered tax agent.

Run your numbers

Try it in the Pay Calculator Australia for a full take-home breakdown, or use the Percentage Calculator if you just need to apply a 25% casual loading or a pay-rise percentage.