On this page (9 sections)
The short answer
Yes. Casual and relief teachers get 12% Super Guarantee on top of their day rate, from every employer, for every day worked. There's no minimum earnings threshold (the $450-a-month rule ended on 1 July 2022), and from 1 July 2026 super must be paid with each payday. A NSW CT2 casual day of $538.73 earns about $64.65 in super.
- Super is paid on top of the day rate, not out of it.
- Each school council, agency or department you work for pays its own 12%.
- Give every employer the same fund details to avoid scattered accounts.
- A full-time casual year earns less super than a permanent teacher's, because there's no pay in the holidays.
The rules: 12%, every day, every employer
Super Guarantee (SG) is 12% of qualifying earnings in 2026-27. It applies to casual employees exactly as it does to permanent ones. Until 30 June 2022, you had to earn $450 in a calendar month from one employer before SG applied, which caught out relief teachers who did a few days here and there. That threshold is gone. One day at one school now earns super.
Your casual day rate already includes a loading in place of leave (5% in NSW, 22% in Victoria, 20% in WA, 25% in Queensland, SA, the ACT and the NT). The loading is part of your ordinary pay, so super is generally calculated on the full day rate, not just the base. Super is paid in addition to the published government rates.
Work out your relief teaching pay
⚙Your details
Casual relief teaching income this year
$57,652
Per day
$480
$93 PAYG withheld
Per week
$1,441
$280 PAYG withheld
Per term
$14,413
10 weeks a term
Employer super
$6,918
12% on top, paid to your fund
Likely tax refund: about $2,367
You'll owe about $8,833 in income tax and Medicare on $57,652 of total income, and about $11,200 is withheld. Payroll withholds each week as if you earned that much all 52 weeks, but you only work school weeks, so you usually get some back.
No holiday pay, no sick pay: what the day rate includes
Casual rates are built from the permanent salary plus a loading in lieu of paid leave. You are not paid in school holidays, on days you're not booked, or when you're sick. You do get 12% super on every day you work, and casual service usually counts towards long service leave.
Compared with a permanent job
A full-time permanent teacher on Step 1 earns $92,882 ($2,794 take-home a fortnight), paid across all 52 weeks with paid holidays, sick leave and parental leave. At $480 a day you'd need about 193 days to match it; a school year has about 200. Working every school day as a casual would pay $96,086 ($3,204 more), and your planned 120 days is 62% of that permanent salary.
Estimates for an Australian resident, 2026–27 tax rates. PAYG uses ATO Scale 2 when the tax-free threshold is claimed; second-job withholding is our approximation of Scale 1 and may differ from your payslip by a few dollars a week. Tax owed includes the low income tax offset and Medicare levy (single, no dependants). Part days are paid pro rata; minimum engagements vary by state. Casual rate: Casual teacher, Crown Employees (Teachers in Schools and Related Employees) Salaries and Conditions Award 2024, verified 16 October 2026.
What a casual day earns in super, by state
At the 12% SG minimum. Some agreements pay more to permanent staff (the ACT pays 12.5% from 1 January 2026, plus 1% if you contribute 3%; Queensland's 12.75% was reported in 2022); check whether your agreement's higher rate covers casuals. WA and Tasmania pay casuals by the hour.
Free calculator
Casual relief teacher pay calculator
Enter your state, level and days per term to see your yearly pay after tax and the super your employers should pay.
Calculate my CRT pay and superWhich fund your super goes into
You can choose your own fund. If you don't, a new employer is generally meant to check for an existing ('stapled') fund before using its default. Government defaults differ by state: Aware Super in NSW and for Victoria's default product, Australian Retirement Trust (QSuper) in Queensland, GESB in WA and Super SA in South Australia. The ACT and NT offer choice of fund.
Keep your casual super in one place
- Pick one fund and give the same details (fund ABN, USI and member number) to every school, department and agency.
- In Victoria, each government school council is a separate employer, so give each one your details.
- Check myGov (linked to the ATO) once a term for any lost or duplicate accounts.
- Consolidate duplicates, but check insurance first: rolling over can cancel cover in the old fund.
- Keep your own diary of days worked so you can match pays to contributions.
Checking your super has been paid
- 1
Get your payslip
It should show the super amount and the fund it's paid to.
- 2
Wait about a week
Under Payday Super, the contribution should arrive within about seven business days of payday.
- 3
Match it in your fund app
Tick off each pay against an employer contribution. For several employers, do it for each one.
- 4
Raise it with the employer
If a contribution is missing after two weeks, ask the payroll team first; they may have the wrong fund details.
- 5
Report unpaid super
If an employer still hasn't paid, you can report it to the ATO through myGov.
The super gap between casual and permanent teachers
Casual rates are higher per day, but you're paid only for days worked, with nothing in the school holidays. Permanent teachers get super on their whole salary all year, including holidays. Over a career the gap adds up, especially if you relief teach for years or part-time.
NSW CT2 casual working 120 days vs a permanent Step 3 teacher (2026-27)
- Casual: 120 days x $538.73
- $64,648 gross; $7,758 employer super
- Permanent Step 3 (Proficient)
- $104,156 salary; $12,499 employer super
Employer super at 12%, before the 15% contributions tax in the fund. The casual figure assumes 120 paid days in a 200-day school year.
Ways to close the gap
- Salary sacrifice, where your employer's payroll allows it for casuals. It's taxed at 15% in the fund instead of your marginal rate.
- Personal deductible contributions from your bank account. Lodge a notice of intent with your fund before claiming the deduction.
- Mind the cap. Employer super plus salary sacrifice plus deductible contributions count toward the $32,500 concessional cap for 2026-27, which a casual is very unlikely to reach.
- Parental leave: from births on or after 1 July 2025, the government pays 12% super on Parental Leave Pay, paid annually to your fund. Casuals who qualify for the government scheme get it too.
- Move to contract or permanent work when you're ready: you'll get super through the holidays.
Salary sacrificing $3,000 a year as a casual on $64,648 (2026-27)
- Take-home without sacrifice
- $53,471
- Take-home with $3,000 sacrificed
- $51,476
- Cost to your take-home pay
- $1,995
- Added to super after 15% contributions tax
- $2,550
From our 2026-27 tax engine, no HELP debt. General information only: whether extra super suits you depends on your situation. Your fund, the ATO or a licensed adviser can help.
Insurance and small or inactive accounts
Most funds provide default death, total and permanent disability and income protection cover inside super, paid from your balance. Casuals are more exposed to two rules: funds generally can't start default cover for members under 25 or with balances under $6,000 unless you opt in, and cover can stop if no contributions reach the account for 16 months. If you relief teach irregularly, or leave an old account untouched, check your cover in the fund app.
Once a year, check
- Whether you have insurance in your main fund, and what it costs each year
- That you haven't got duplicate cover (and duplicate premiums) in an old fund
- That contributions arrived from every employer you worked for
- That your fund has your tax file number, or contributions can be taxed extra
Agencies, award employers and super
If an agency employs you, the agency pays your super. Some adverts quote a day rate 'plus super', others 'including super'. If super is included, 12% of the quoted amount is your super, so your wage is lower than it looks. Compare offers in CRT agency vs direct pay. Non-government schools and early learning centres on the teachers award also pay 12% on top of the casual rate.
Frequently asked questions
Do relief teachers get super?
Is super included in the casual teacher day rate?
Is super paid on the casual loading?
How much super does a casual teacher get per day?
What if I work for several schools?
How do I know my super has been paid?
Do casual teachers get super during school holidays?
Sources we checked · last verified 2026-10-17
- 1.ATO: Super guarantee rates and thresholds
- 2.ATO: Contributions caps
- 3.Services Australia: Paid Parental Leave super contributions
- 4.Teach.NSW: Salary of a teacher (casual rates)
- 5.Victorian Department of Education: Casual relief teachers handbook
- 6.ACT teaching staff enterprise agreement 2023-2026
- 7.NT Public Sector Educators' 2024-2027 Enterprise Agreement
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
CRT tax
Relief teacher tax: how CRTs avoid a tax bill and claim what they can
How casual relief teachers are taxed, the multiple-employer trap, and what CRTs can claim.
Super
Payday Super from 1 July 2026: what it means for teachers
What Payday Super changed for teachers from 1 July 2026, and how to check your contributions.
Super
Teacher superannuation explained: rates, funds and rules for 2026–27
How much super teachers get in each state, which fund it goes to, and the rules that matter in 2026–27.
Casual pay
Relief teaching through an agency or directly with schools: what you'll actually be paid
Agency vs direct casual relief teaching: day rates, what's included, super, tax with several employers, cancellations and whether your days count towards your salary step.