Employee Choice Pathway: What Happens When a Casual Asks to Go Permanent
If you employ casual staff, this rule applies to your business right now, whether you’ve noticed it yet or not. Casual employees can formally request to move to permanent employment, and it’s the employee who starts that process, not the employer.
This is a genuine reversal of how things used to work. It’s worth understanding properly, because getting the response wrong creates real legal exposure.
What Changed
The old system put the obligation on employers. Businesses had to proactively offer casual conversion after 12 months, if certain criteria were met.
That system has been replaced entirely by the “employee choice pathway.” Now, a casual employee who believes they no longer genuinely meet the definition of a casual can give written notice to their employer, requesting a move to permanent, full-time or part-time, employment.
For most businesses, this has applied since 26 February 2025. For small businesses with fewer than 15 employees, it’s applied since 26 August 2025. Either way, it’s already active.
Who Can Actually Request This
A casual employee can give written notice under this pathway if they’ve been employed for at least 6 months, or 12 months if they work for a small business, and they believe they no longer meet the legal definition of a casual employee.
That definition turns on whether there’s a genuine “firm advance commitment” to ongoing work in plain terms, whether the relationship has, in practice, started to look like regular, predictable employment rather than genuinely irregular casual work.
A long-term casual working the same set roster every week, for over a year, is exactly the kind of situation this pathway was built around.
What Employers Can and Can’t Do
Once you receive a written notice, you don’t get unlimited discretion to refuse it. You can only refuse for specific, defined reasons generally that the employee still genuinely meets the casual definition, or that there are fair and reasonable operational grounds not to agree.
You can’t simply refuse because it’s inconvenient, or because you’d prefer to keep someone on casual rates. If a refusal isn’t properly grounded, it can be challenged and ultimately escalated to the Fair Work Commission for a binding decision.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Picture a retail business with a casual employee who’s worked the same three shifts a week for the past 18 months, with a roster that barely changes. That employee can now put their request in writing.
The employer then has to genuinely assess whether that employee still fits the casual definition. If they don’t, refusing the request without solid grounds isn’t a safe option anymore.
What to Do Right Now
Review your long-serving casual staff. Anyone working regular, predictable hours over an extended period is the most likely to have a valid claim under this pathway.
Have a written process ready, rather than figuring it out reactively when the first request lands. Knowing how you’ll respond, and on what grounds you could refuse, matters before the situation arises.
Don’t refuse on a gut feeling. Any refusal needs to be grounded in genuine, defensible reasons operational or based on the actual nature of the role.
Provide the Casual Employment Information Statement to new casual employees, as required. It’s a simple compliance step that’s easy to forget.
Get advice before responding to an actual notice. The consequences of getting a refusal wrong, including potential Fair Work Commission involvement, make this worth getting right the first time.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did the employee choice pathway start applying to my business? 26 February 2025 for most employers, 26 August 2025 for small businesses with fewer than 15 employees. Both dates have already passed, so the obligation is currently active.
Can I refuse a conversion request? Yes, but only on specific, defined grounds not simply because it’s inconvenient or costly.
What happens if we can’t agree? The dispute can be escalated to the Fair Work Commission, which can arbitrate and make a binding decision.
Does this apply to all casual employees? Only those who’ve been employed for the relevant minimum period and who believe they no longer meet the legal definition of a casual employee.
Stay Compliant with Confidence Talk to Edulink
Casual employment rules, conversion requests, and payroll classification all sit at the intersection of compliance and day-to-day staff management.
Edulink Payroll Services charges $750 per employee, per year, covering payroll, compliance, and reporting, for small and medium businesses across greater Sydney and Campbelltown.
Have more employees? Call us for a discounted rate.
📞 Call us today: 04 044 71 816
Edulink Payroll Services | Campbelltown & Greater Sydney | Call 04 044 71 816
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