A permanent wage keeps paying through annual leave, sick days and public holidays. A contractor only earns the days they bill. Put both side by side, after leave, super and tax, and see which one actually puts more in your pocket. Free, and your numbers never leave your browser.
Wages Permanent / award
Pay basis
Annual salary (before tax, excl. super)
$/yr
Weekly salary (before tax, excl. super)
$/wk
Same as annual salary, just expressed per week (× 52, since leave is paid).
Hourly rate & hours
$/hr
hrs
Full-time permanent, annualised over 52 weeks (leave is paid, so every week counts).
Employer super
%
Some employers pay above the guarantee, e.g. 12.75%, 14%, or 15.4% in parts of government.
Contract Daily or hourly rate
Rate basis
Daily rate (before tax)
$/day
Hourly rate & hours
$/hr
hrs
= $720/day billed
Super on the contract
Typical for labour-hire / payroll contracts: 12% super is paid on top of your day rate.
Contract super %
%
Adjust the year: leave, sick days, RDOs, public holidays, costs
Wages job
Paid annual leave
20 days
NES minimum is 4 weeks (20 days); shift workers often get 5. Leave loading is calculated on these days.
Paid personal / sick leave
10 days
NES minimum is 10 paid days for full-timers. This doesn't change your pay; it just shows how many days you're paid not to work.
RDOs (rostered days off)
Common under EBAs and awards: you bank extra worked hours and take paid days off. Same annual pay, fewer days actually worked, which lifts the wages job's value per day worked.
Contract
Annual leave the contractor takes (unpaid)
20 days
If you'd take the same time off as a contractor, those days earn nothing.
Sick / carer's days the contractor takes (unpaid)
5 days
Contractors just lose the day.
Extra unpaid days (contract gaps, bench time)
0 days
Time between contracts, shutdowns, or days the client doesn't need you.
Both sides
Public holidays falling on weekdays
11 days
NSW typically has 11–13, depending on the year and where weekends fall. Wage earners are paid for these; contractors aren't.
$/yr
Financial year (tax rates)
FY 2026-27 uses the legislated 15% rate on the $18,201–$45,000 bracket (was 16%).
Applies compulsory repayments to both sides using the marginal system: 15% of income between $67,000 and $125,000, 17% above. Assumes your remaining debt covers the year's repayment.
The verdict
$0
Wages package $0Contract package $0Per week $0
Your year in weekdays
260 weekdays in a year. Solid = days that earn money. Hatched = days off nobody pays for.
Wages
Contract
Worked & paid (wages)Paid time off (leave · sick · RDOs · public holidays)Billed days (contract)Unpaid days off
Side by side, after tax
FY 2026-27 · resident rates · Medicare levy included
Per year
Wages
Contract
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How this works. The wages side annualises your salary or award hourly rate over 52 weeks: annual leave, personal leave, RDOs and public holidays are all paid, so the gross doesn't change when you take them (all adjustable above). Optional 17.5% leave loading is calculated on your annual leave days. RDOs don't change the wages gross; you're paid the same for fewer days actually worked, which shows up in the year strip and the per-day-worked figure. The contract side starts from 260 weekdays, then removes public holidays, the leave and sick days you'd realistically take, and any bench time; you only earn what you bill. Super is set separately for each side. 12% is the current guarantee, but many employers pay more, and contracts vary: on top of the rate, carved out of it, or absent (common on ABN day rates; if you pay your own, treat the rate as super-included). Tax uses Australian resident brackets with LITO and an approximate Medicare levy (2%, with the low-income shade-in; no MLS or offsets beyond LITO). The optional HELP/HECS toggle applies the marginal repayment system introduced from 2025-26. Contractor costs are treated as deductible. Both sides are compared on take-home pay + super so retirement money isn't ignored. Assumes the contractor is taxed as an individual (PAYG / sole trader under PSI rules); company or trust structures, GST, and payroll tax aren't modelled. Your inputs are saved into the page link: copy it to share a scenario or bookmark your own; your numbers are never sent to a server. This is a planning estimate, not financial or tax advice.