Australia Contractor Day Rate Calculator

25% to 30% is standard for sole traders and independent contractors, to compensate for unpaid leave, self-funded super, insurance and the lack of job security. If you're paid through a recruitment agency on PAYG payroll, the agency already handles super, workers' compensation and payroll tax, so a lower 15%-20% loading is enough since it only needs to cover unpaid leave.

Multiply your target base salary by your contractor loading factor (1 plus your loading %), then divide by your realistic billable days for the year (220 is a common default). For example, a A$150,000 base salary with a 30% sole trader loading over 220 billable days works out to roughly $885/day. The calculator above runs this for your own numbers, plus the reverse: enter a day rate to see the permanent salary it's equivalent to.

Divide your day rate by your standard billable hours per day, typically 7.5 or 8 hours. A A$800/day rate at 7.5 hours works out to roughly A$107/hour; at 8 hours it's A$100/hour. Most Australian contracts bill by the day rather than the hour, so this is mainly useful for comparing against hourly-rate roles or part-day engagements.

It depends entirely on how the contract is worded. Recruitment agency contracts often specify "day rate + super" (super is paid on top) or "day rate inclusive of super" (the 12% Super Guarantee comes out of the quoted rate). Always confirm which basis you're being quoted before accepting a rate, since the difference is worth over 10% of your annual income. The calculator shows both figures so you can compare rates quoted either way on a like-for-like basis.

You must register for GST once your annual turnover reaches $75,000, which most full-time contractors will cross well within a year. Once registered, you add 10% GST to your invoices on top of your rate; you collect it from the client and remit it to the ATO (it isn't extra income for you), but you can also claim GST credits back on business expenses. Below the threshold, registration is optional.

As a sole trader or independent contractor, you invoice clients directly, handle your own public liability and indemnity insurance, pay your own accounting costs, and fund your own super, so your loading needs to be higher (25%-35%). On PAYG or labour hire agency payroll, the agency runs you through their payroll, pays the 12% Super Guarantee, workers' compensation and payroll tax on your behalf, and you're taxed like an employee on each pay run, so a smaller 15%-20% loading is usually enough to cover just the unpaid leave gap.

A full Australian working year is 260 days (52 weeks x 5 days), but a contractor doesn't get paid for all of them. Subtract 20 days annual leave, 10 public holidays (this varies 10-13 by state), and 10 sick or carer's days, and you land at roughly 220 billable days. Many contractors also budget extra downtime for gaps between contracts, which is why the calculator lets you adjust billable days from 200 to 230 depending on how much bench time you expect.

Yes. The ATO sets a Maximum Super Contribution Base per quarter, above which an employer isn't required to pay the 12% Super Guarantee on the excess. It only applies to employees and PAYG-payroll contractors above roughly A$260,000/year equivalent; independent sole traders billing direct aren't bound by it and can choose to contribute more or less to their own fund as they see fit.