The Queensland Department of Employment and Industrial Relations defines three different types of employment structures:

A full time role is generally 38 hours to 40 hours per week. Full time employees will enter into a contract of employment with the employer, which will entitle you to receive wages and other employment conditions and benefits as outlined in this agreement.

Some of the benefits full time workers receive include annual leave, guaranteed regular and rostered weekly hours that should not be altered without notice and guaranteed weekly earnings.

To work in a full time role, you must have a permanent visa. This could be a work sponsorship visa, skilled migrant or residency visa. Find out more

In a part-time role, you would generally be working a regular number of hours each week; however this would be less than full-time employees. Part-time employees generally receive an hourly rate of pay, equivalent to the normal full-time rate.

Part-time employees are entitled to accrue holiday and other leave entitlements on a pro rata basis according to the ratio of hours worked to ordinary hours. Part-time employees also receive paid annual leave benefits.

If you are on a student visa, you can only work 20 hours a week, and this can be in either part-time or casual roles.

Lots of students work in casual jobs, such as working as a shop assistant or in a restaurant. This can be because they like the flexibility to work around school/university or because it suits their employer.

Casual jobs are normally paid on an hourly or daily rate.

As well as offering flexibility, casual work also usually pays a higher hourly rate because you receive an extra payment or loading on top of the basic hourly rate. This is to make up for not receiving the other benefits paid to permanent workers, such as sick leave. Casuals also receive an additional 1/12th of the hourly rate for each hour worked for holiday pay.

On a student visa, you can work up to 20 hours in a casual role.