Do Casual and Part-Time Days Count Towards Pay Steps?

On this page (7 sections)

Why casual and part-time service gets lost
Casual relief service: the rules by employer
NSW in detail: casual days, terms and levels
Part-time service: how FTE converts
Leave, gaps and mixed patterns
The records that protect your next step
FAQs

The short answer

Casual relief days count towards your pay step in many systems, but the conversion varies: 180 days = 1 year in the NT, 200 under the national award and 203 in NSW Catholic systemic schools. Victorian Catholic schools and WA's higher-salary process don't count casual work. Part-time service converts to full-time equivalent: two years at 0.5 is one year.

Victoria counts CRT days in Victorian registered schools since 2005, not interstate casual work.
Queensland ignores irregular day-to-day relief work.
Keep your own log of every casual day, by school and date.
Part-time service above 90% counts as full-time under the award.

Why casual and part-time service gets lost

Casual days are spread across many schools, sometimes through an agency, and no single employer holds the full record. When you later take a contract or permanent job, payroll places you from the statements of service you supply. If you don't ask for your casual days to be counted, they usually aren't. Part-time service has the opposite problem: it's recorded, but the conversion to full-time equivalent is easy to get wrong in either direction.

Should you be on a higher step? Enter your experience and see the step you could claim and what it's worth a year. Your first check is free. Check my step →

Casual relief service: the rules by employer

Does casual relief teaching count towards your step? (checked 20 October 2026)

Employer	Counts?	Conversion and conditions
NSW government	Yes	Casual, temporary and permanent service count cumulatively. NSW and interstate service in whole terms of 50 days; overseas in complete years of 203 days. Casual service isn't eligible for salary matching.
VIC government	Partly	CRT work in a Victorian registered school on or after 1 January 2005 counts. Other casual or sessional teaching, including interstate and overseas casual work, doesn't.
QLD state schools	Partly	Not irregular day-to-day work. You need five or more consecutive days in one location, or a pattern of the same days in consecutive weeks at one location.
WA government	No, for higher-salary applications	Only full years of continuous service are recognised. Separately, relief teachers move up a step on the relief scale after every 200 days worked.
SA government	Not confirmed	Relief teachers (TRTs) are eligible to apply for Step 9. How relief days count for reclassification wasn't published.
TAS government	Not confirmed	Relief teachers are paid hourly at their Band 1 level; how relief service converts to a level wasn't published.
ACT government	Not confirmed	Prior experience recognised in full years. Casual Rate 2 ($558 a day) applies after 7 years' recognised full-time service, among other criteria.
NT government	Yes	180 days of relief teaching count as one year of service.
NSW and ACT Catholic systemic	Yes	203 days of casual service equal a year of full-time service (cl 15.5).
Victorian Catholic (CEMEA 2022)	No	Teaching experience excludes casual relief teachers.
Award-covered independent schools	Yes	200 full casual days in Australian schools equal one full-time year (cl 14.2).

Sources: NSW PD-2024-0483-07; Victorian PAL salary on employment policy; Queensland recognition of prior service procedure v4.1; WA DoE and WA award cl 10(4); SA EA 2024 Sch 3; DECYP; ACT EA cl Q1.8 and Q3.5; NT EA cl 30.3; NSW and ACT Catholic Systemic Schools EA 2025; CEMEA 2022 cl 54; Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2020.

Worked example

NT: two years of relief teaching before a contract

Relief days worked: 360
Credit at 180 days a year: 2 years
Default start: CT1: $96,180 a year
With 2 years: CT3: $105,369 a year
Take-home on each: $74,882 vs $81,131 a year

Take-home difference $6,249 a year, about $240 a fortnight

NT rates from the first full pay period on or after 1 January 2026; a 4.3% rise is due from January 2027. Take-home from our 2026-27 tax engine, no HELP debt. The employer applies its Salary Assessment Procedure to your records.

NSW in detail: casual days, terms and levels

NSW public schools are the most generous with casual service, but they count it in blocks. Service in NSW and interstate is counted in whole terms of 50 days; overseas service only in complete years of 203 days. For temporary and casual teachers already working in the system, once your experience adds up to full 50-day terms since approval to teach or your last engagement, your salary is adjusted from the first pay period after your application is received, so apply as each block is completed.

Casual daily rates in NSW also depend on service. Moving from CT1 to CT2 needs at least 2 FTE years of teaching plus the relevant accreditation, and CT2 to CT3 a further 2 FTE years. See NSW casual teacher levels for the day rates.

Free calculator

Turn your casual days into a step

Enter your casual days and part-time years by employer. The checker converts them using your employer's rule and shows the step and yearly gap.

Check my step

Part-time service: how FTE converts

Part-time service is almost always counted pro rata. A teacher at 0.6 FTE builds 0.6 of a year's service each year, so moving one step takes about 20 months. The detail is in how each employer rounds and what it ignores.

How part-time service is counted

Employer	Rule
NSW government	FTE basis in multiples of 50 days; leftover periods under 50 days aren't considered in later applications
VIC government	One subdivision per equivalent full-time year for starting salary; progression needs at least 6 months' eligible service at a subdivision in the 1 May to 30 April cycle
QLD state schools	Statements of service must show hours per week for part-time work. Senior Teacher and EST service counts in years regardless of work fraction (since 1 January 2022, per the QTU)
NSW and ACT Catholic systemic	In proportion to the full-time teaching load of a teacher at the school
Award-covered independent schools	Pro rata, but more than 90% of a full-time load counts as a full year
WA, SA, TAS, ACT, NT	Pro rata expected; the exact rule wasn't confirmed. Ask HR to show the calculation

Worked example

NSW government: three years at 0.6 FTE

Three full-time years would be: 609 days (3 x 203)
At 0.6 FTE: 365.4 days
Counted in multiples of 50 days: 350 days
Full years of service (203 days each): 1 year, plus 147 days

Effect About one step, with most of the next one built up

Illustrative arithmetic from the NSW salary determination policy. The 15.4 days below the 50-day block aren't counted later, so tell HR as soon as each block is complete.

For pay at each fraction and the timing of each step, use the part-time teacher pay calculator or read part-time teacher FTE explained.

Leave, gaps and mixed patterns

Paid leave during service counts for progression in NSW, including paid parental leave. NSW government schools also count approved unpaid parental leave for department teachers.
Leave without pay can push your increment date back in the ACT, and in Victoria you need at least 6 months' eligible service at a subdivision in a cycle.
Catholic parental leave (NSW and ACT): up to 12 months of parental leave counts for progression at the FTE you would have worked, once you're Proficient. A 0.5 teacher on 12 months' leave gets 101.5 days.
Mixing casual and part-time: most employers add the full-time equivalents together. Keep each period separate on your statements so payroll can apply the right rule to each.

The records that protect your next step

Keep these as you go

A personal log of every casual day: date, school, full or part day
Agency records if you were placed through an agency, by school and date
A statement of service from each school before you leave, with FTE or days worked
Confirmation of any unpaid leave, or a statement that none was taken
Your accreditation or registration changes and the dates they took effect
Payslips showing your classification, to check each increment happened

If you're relief teaching now, our guides to casual relief teacher pay in Australia and getting casual teaching work cover day rates and turning casual work into a contract.

Frequently asked questions

Do casual teaching days count towards pay steps?

In many systems, yes. NSW public and Catholic systemic schools count casual days, the NT counts 180 relief days as a year, and the national award counts 200. Victorian Catholic schools and WA's higher-salary process don't count casual work.

How many casual days equal a year of teaching service?

It depends on the employer: 180 days in NT government schools, 200 full days under the Educational Services (Teachers) Award, and 203 days in NSW and ACT Catholic systemic schools. NSW public schools count casual service in terms of 50 days.

Does CRT work count in Victoria?

Yes, if it was in a Victorian registered school on or after 1 January 2005. Other casual or sessional teaching, including interstate and overseas casual work, isn't approved experience for commencing salary.

Do part-time teachers move up pay steps?

Yes, but pro rata. A 0.5 FTE teacher builds half a year's service each year, so each step takes about two years. Under the award, more than 90% of a full-time load counts as a full year.

Does supply teaching in Queensland count?

Only if it was regular. Queensland doesn't recognise irregular day-to-day casual work; you need five or more consecutive days at one school, or a pattern of the same days in consecutive weeks at one school.

What records do I need to claim casual service?

A record of every day worked by school and date, ideally confirmed on a statement of service from each school or your agency. Keep your own log as backup.

Does parental leave count towards my next step?

Paid leave usually does. NSW government schools also count approved unpaid parental leave, and NSW and ACT Catholic systemic schools count up to 12 months at your usual FTE once you're Proficient.

Sources we checked · last verified 2026-10-20

About this page

Written and fact-checked by the TeacherPay AU Editorial Team against the enterprise agreements, awards and official pages listed in the sources. It is general information, not personal financial, tax or legal advice. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it, usually within a day. See our editorial policy and how we calculate.

Keep reading

Pay steps

Recognition of prior service for teachers: how every state sets your pay step

State-by-state rules for crediting prior teaching, casual, part-time and industry service to your starting step, the evidence employers want and the deadlines that decide back pay.

Part-time pay

What 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 FTE mean for teachers: days, hours and pay

FTE fractions explained for Australian teachers: days and teaching hours by state, part-time salary and take-home tables, and how leave, super and pay steps scale.

NSW casual pay

NSW casual teacher levels CT1, CT2 and CT3: rates, rules and how to move up

The three NSW public school casual teacher levels explained: 2026 daily rates, what moves you from CT1 to CT2 and CT3, part days, the 5% loading and what each level is worth over a year.

Casual relief

How to get casual relief teaching work: registration, booking systems and getting called back

The checklist to start relief teaching, how schools book CRTs in each state, the 2026 day rates and how to turn casual days into regular work.