Court Victory Confirms Permanent Casual Work Model is Unlawful

The Federal Court delivered a decision in WorkPac v Rossato, reaffirming that work which is regular, ongoing, and permanent in nature is not genuinely "casual" and therefore attracts entitlements like paid annual leave. CFMEU National President Tony Maher stated: "This is a fantastic decision that ends the 'permanent casual' rort in the coal mining industry. Employers must now stop labeling full-time roles as casual to avoid security and entitlements. When a job is full-time, it is permanent and deserves the security and pay that come with it." The decision supports casual coal miner Paul Skene's prior victory in WorkPac v Skene (2018), where Skene, a fly-in-fly-out haul truck driver employed as a casual by WorkPac but supervised by Rio Tinto, successfully claimed backpaid annual leave. His work followed a seven days-on, seven days-off roster for over a year, performing the same duties as permanent employees. WorkPac v Rossato aimed to overturn the 2018 ruling by redefining "casual" work as potentially permanent without entitlements. WorkPac, supported by industry groups, argued that misclassification could lead to "double-dipping" (claiming casual loadings and leave entitlements), a claim dismissed as unfounded. The 2018 decision revealed that 40% of coal miners were misclassified as casuals, earning one-third less with no job security. The Union estimates $10.5 billion in unpaid entitlements owed to misclassified workers.