One annual cash amount connects every pay unit

The calculator first converts the quoted amount into annual gross cash earnings. It then divides that same annual amount by the relevant number of months, fortnights, weeks or ordinary hours. Keeping one annual base prevents a common error where a fortnightly rate is multiplied by 24 instead of 26, or an hourly rate is multiplied by 52 despite unpaid weeks.

1. Annualise the quote.
   Monthly amounts use 12 periods. Fortnightly and weekly amounts use the paid-weeks setting. Hourly pay also uses ordinary weekly hours.
2. Separate package super.
   If the quote includes 12% employer super, the cash component is total package divided by 1.12.
3. Rebuild each frequency.
   The cash annual amount is divided by annual ordinary hours and the selected pay periods.

For the default $85,000 annual cash salary, 38 ordinary hours and 52 paid weeks produce 1,976 annual ordinary hours. The hourly equivalent is about $43.02. The same annual cash amount is about $7,083.33 per month, $3,269.23 per fortnight and $1,634.62 per week. Because the selected hours equal the 38-hour full-time comparison, FTE is 1.00 and the full-time equivalent remains $85,000.

A package inclusive of super is not the same cash salary

If $85,000 is instead a total remuneration package containing only cash earnings and 12% employer super, estimated cash earnings are $75,892.86 and employer super is $9,107.14. The hourly cash equivalent falls to about $38.41 under the same hours. This separation assumes the entire 12% applies to the cash component and ignores contribution caps, ordinary-time-earnings differences and other packaged benefits.

Ordinary hours are the denominator, not every hour near work

An annual salary to hourly rate calculation needs a definition of hours. Ordinary hours are the hours paid at the ordinary rate under the employment arrangement. Overtime, unpaid breaks, on-call availability, travel and additional reasonable hours can have different legal treatment. Entering every hour spent away from home may create a personal “effective hourly return”, but it is not necessarily the ordinary hourly rate used for award compliance.

Under the National Employment Standards, full-time ordinary hours are generally 38 per week unless an applicable instrument sets them within the legal framework. Awards and enterprise agreements can specify ordinary spans, roster cycles, penalty rates and when overtime starts. A contract calling a role salaried does not remove those minimum entitlements.

Paid weeks change seasonal and casual annualisation

A continuing salary commonly continues through paid annual leave, so 52 paid weeks is a sensible conversion. A contractor or seasonal worker may invoice for only 44 or 48 weeks. Using fewer paid weeks raises the hourly rate required to reach the same annual amount and prevents unpaid time from being treated as paid work.

Casual workers generally receive a loading instead of some permanent-employee entitlements, but the correct loading and minimum rate come from the applicable award or agreement. The calculator does not add a casual loading automatically because doing so could double-count a rate that already includes it. Compare the displayed cash hourly rate with the actual classification, employment type and pay guide.

FTE separates workload fraction from pay level

Full-time equivalent is a ratio of ordinary hours. If a role is 22.8 hours per week and the relevant full-time week is 38 hours, it is 0.60 FTE. A $54,000 annual part-time salary at 0.60 FTE has a full-time equivalent of $90,000. That does not mean the employee receives $90,000; it makes roles with different hours easier to compare.

The full-time comparator must match the workplace. Some roles use 37.5, 36.25 or another weekly figure under an award or enterprise agreement. Entering 38 merely because it is common can distort the FTE and full-time equivalent. Paid weeks do not change the weekly FTE ratio, but they do change annual hours and hourly conversion.

The minimum-wage comparison is only a floor check

From the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, the National Minimum Wage for award- and agreement-free adult employees is $26.44 per hour or $1,004.90 per 38-hour week. The result panel compares the calculated cash hourly equivalent with $26.44. It does not decide that $26.44 is the correct legal minimum for the job.

Most employees are covered by a modern award or registered agreement. Their classification rate may be higher and may include separate casual loading, overtime, weekend penalties, shift allowances, annual leave loading or other entitlements. Junior, apprentice, trainee and supported wage rates can also differ. Use Fair Work’s Pay and Conditions Tool with the correct industry, occupation, classification and effective date.

An annualised wage or contractual offset must satisfy the governing rules. Some awards require written details of the entitlements included, a maximum number of overtime or penalty hours, time records and an annual reconciliation. A high headline salary may still need an audit against what the employee would have earned for actual rostered hours.

Gross conversion is not take-home pay

The page does not subtract PAYG withholding, Medicare levy, HELP repayments, salary-sacrifice deductions or employee super contributions. It also does not add overtime, commission or bonuses unless those amounts are already included in the quote. Use the separate tax and salary pages for take-home estimates after first identifying the correct gross cash income.

Employer super is shown at 12% as a transparent package comparison. The Super Guarantee is generally based on ordinary time earnings and can be affected by contribution caps and the maximum contribution base. A package contract may define total remuneration differently, and an employer may contribute above the statutory minimum. Check the offer and fund records instead of assuming every package is exactly cash multiplied by 1.12.

Compare job offers on matching assumptions

Before comparing offers, put both on the same basis: cash excluding super, the same paid weeks and realistic ordinary hours. Then list annual leave, personal leave, public holidays, bonus probability, overtime treatment, allowances, flexibility, commute and employment security separately. Folding every difference into one hourly number can hide benefits that are valuable but not cash.

For part-time offers, compare both actual annual cash and the full-time equivalent. A higher FTE salary can still produce less annual income if the fraction is smaller. For contracting, allow for unpaid administration, insurance, equipment, leave, super, GST and gaps between engagements. A contractor invoice rate should not be compared directly with an employee’s ordinary hourly equivalent.

Keep the calculation with the offer date and applicable pay guide. Rates change, and a new minimum wage generally applies from the first full pay period on or after the effective date. When actual pay begins, reconcile payslip gross amounts, hours and employer super with the agreed basis.