The wage is the smallest honest answer. Here is the whole arithmetic, worked through on a real award rate, with every figure sourced and dated.
An electrician on the award floor of $32.19 an hour costs about $73,535 a year, not the $63,607 the hourly rate suggests. The gap is roughly 15.6 per cent, and it is made of four things that are not optional.
Most people budget the wage and get surprised by the rest. The rest is superannuation, leave loading, workers compensation and, once your wage bill is big enough, payroll tax. None of it is negotiable and all of it is predictable, so it is worth putting on the page before you commit to a hire.
One full-time electrician in South Australia, 38 hours a week, paid at the award floor. Every input is sourced under the table.
| Line | How it is worked out | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Wages | $32.19 x 38 hours x 52 weeks | $63,607.44 |
| Annual leave loading | 17.5% of four weeks' wages | $856.25 |
| Superannuation | 12% of wages plus loading | $7,735.64 |
| Workers compensation | 1.85% of wages, loading and super | $1,335.69 |
| Payroll tax | Nil below the $1.5m South Australian threshold | $0.00 |
| Real annual cost | Against a $63,607.44 wage | $73,535.02 |
Sources. Award floor: Fair Work P.A.C.T award summary, Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award MA000025, electrical worker grade 5, licensed, including industry, tool and licence allowances, effective 1 July 2026. Superannuation guarantee 12 per cent for 2026-27 and the $270,830 maximum contribution base: ATO, key superannuation rates and thresholds. Leave loading 17.5 per cent of four weeks: Fair Work Ombudsman, calculating annual leave loading. Workers compensation 1.85 per cent: ReturnToWorkSA scheme average. Payroll tax threshold $1,500,000 and rate 4.95 per cent: RevenueSA, financial year 2026-27. All checked 27 July 2026.
The superannuation guarantee is 12 per cent for the 2026-27 financial year. It is paid on ordinary time earnings, so overtime is excluded. There is a maximum contribution base of $270,830, and from 1 July 2026 that is an annual figure rather than the quarterly one it used to be. Most employers will never touch the cap.
This is the line people get wrong most often. It is 17.5 per cent of four weeks' wages, not 17.5 per cent of the annual wage. That works out at roughly 1.35 per cent of the yearly figure. It only applies where the award or agreement provides it, and some awards pay the higher of loading or penalty rates rather than both.
The rate depends on your state and your industry classification, so the 1.85 per cent used above is the South Australian scheme average and not a quote for your business. Get your actual rate from your insurer. Note that it is calculated on wages plus superannuation, which is a detail that quietly increases the figure.
Payroll tax only starts once your total Australian wages cross your state's threshold. In South Australia that is $1.5 million, with the rate tapering from zero to 4.95 per cent between $1.5 million and $1.7 million. A small employer pays none of it, which is why the example above shows zero.
If you are over the threshold, add 4.95 per cent of wages, loading and super. On this example that is another $3,573.87, taking the real cost to $77,108.89.
Thresholds and rates differ in every state and territory, and several taper or add surcharges at higher wage bills. Check your own jurisdiction's revenue office rather than assuming South Australia's numbers.
Deliberately, so the figure above stays conservative and defensible. Real costs that sit on top:
On that last point: four weeks annual leave, ten days paid personal leave and the public holidays for your state come out of the hours you are paying for. In South Australia the Fair Work Ombudsman lists sixteen public holidays, the most of any state. That is real, and it is why the cost per worked hour is higher again than the cost per paid hour.
The figures above are one role in one state. The calculator does the same arithmetic on whatever rate, state and employment basis you put in, including the casual loading alternative. Nothing you type leaves your browser and there is no email wall.
Open the employee cost calculator, or if you want to know what the role should pay before you cost it, check the award floor and market band for 17 roles.
Need the role filled?
GET MY SHORTLISTTerms first, then names. You pay nothing until your hire starts.
Roughly 15 to 20 per cent for a permanent employee below the payroll tax threshold. The worked example on this page comes to 15.6 per cent, made up of superannuation, leave loading and workers compensation. Above the payroll tax threshold it rises to about 21 per cent.
No. The superannuation guarantee is paid on ordinary time earnings, which excludes overtime. It is 12 per cent for the 2026-27 financial year.
No, and this is the most common error. It is 17.5 per cent of four weeks' wages, which comes to about 1.35 per cent of the annual figure. It also only applies where the award or agreement provides it.
Only once your total Australian wages cross your state or territory threshold. In South Australia that is $1.5 million a year, so most small employers pay none. Every jurisdiction sets its own threshold and rate.
Not automatically. A casual attracts a loading of about 25 per cent in most modern awards instead of paid leave, and superannuation and workers compensation still apply. The calculator compares both on your own numbers.
Award floors from the Fair Work Ombudsman P.A.C.T award summaries, superannuation from the ATO, workers compensation from the state scheme, and payroll tax from the relevant state revenue office. Each is named with its effective date under the table, and all were checked on 27 July 2026.