The operative document the offer letter sits on.
The offer letter is the headline; the employment contract is what governs the engagement. Permanent or casual, fixed-term or ongoing, US or AU — the structure is the same, the clauses that matter differ.
We publish the four most useful variants. Standard for permanent full-time and part-time hires. Casual for AU hourly-rate engagement with the Fair Work loading. Fixed-term for defined-end-date roles. NSW-specific for workplaces where state long service leave matters.
Standard employment contract
A complete permanent employment contract — full-time or part-time, US and AU variants — covering position, compensation, leave, IP, confidentiality, termination, and the standard boilerplate.
Casual employment contract (AU)
An AU-compliant casual employment contract — hourly rate with itemised loading, casual conversion rights, no firm advance commitment language, and the modern-award reference kept current..
Fixed-term employment contract
A fixed-term employment contract with a defined end date, treatment of early termination, and the Fair Work limits on fixed-term engagement (AU).
Employment contract — New South Wales
An NSW-specific employment contract referencing the Industrial Relations Act, the Long Service Leave Act (NSW), and the modern-award framework.
Three questions before you draft.
- Offer letter or employment contract — which one?
- Both, usually. The offer letter is the headline document the candidate reads at acceptance; the contract is the operative legal document that governs the engagement. Most US workplaces let the offer letter double as the contract; AU practice typically separates them.
- What's the difference between casual and fixed-term?
- Casual = no firm advance commitment, hourly rate with loading, no leave accrual. Fixed-term = defined end date, salary or hourly, leave accrues pro-rated. Both differ from permanent — the standard contract covers permanent full-time and part-time.
- Do I need a state-specific contract in AU?
- Useful where long-service-leave differs materially. NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA each have their own LSL Act with different accrual and pro-rated entitlements. The jurisdiction-neutral standard contract is fine for most; state-specific is cleaner when LSL matters.