The contract promised no set hours - but the Commission looked at what really happened
A casual painting teacher at TAFE was not really casual at all, the Fair Work Commission has found - despite a contract that guaranteed him no set hours.
The decision, handed down on September 2, 2026, is a practical signal for HR teams that rely on casual contracts to keep staffing flexible. It shows how little the label on the contract matters when the day-to-day reality looks permanent.
The employee is a trade-qualified painter who began casual teaching for the Technical and Further Education Commission on April 1, 2022. His hours grew steadily - from an average of about 5.65 per week in 2023 to just over 12 per week in 2025, spread across three campuses.
On December 14, 2025, he formally notified TAFE in writing that he no longer met the definition of a casual employee, using the process set out in the Fair Work Act. TAFE rejected the notification eight days later. When conciliation failed to resolve the dispute, he asked the Commission to step in and decide.
The Commission found that the employee did not meet the definition of a casual employee when he gave notice.
His contract was not ambiguous. It stated plainly that "there is no guarantee regarding the days or hours that you may be employed." But the Commission looked past the paperwork to what it described as the "real substance, practical reality, and true nature" of the arrangement - the test required under the Act.
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