Where the numbers come from when counting casuals

Uni Sydney is offering continuing jobs to 69 casuals out of the 4173 total staff assessed for continuing positions (universities are obliged to by changes to the Fair Work Act)

This seems less a pool than an ocean of casually employed people when compared to the numbers in the university’s report to the national Charities Commission for 2019. This states the university employed 1841 casuals, that’s individuals not EFTS which universities and the Commonwealth prefer for reports.  The figure was down, presumably due to COVID-19 cuts, to 1014 in 2020.

CMM asked about the difference and Uni Sydney replied that the Charities Commission requires numbers on people who “claimed hours” during the final pay period of a year.

However, for the casual conversion process the university used payroll and timesheet data for all casual staff employed “immediately prior” to the specified date, March 27.

“The different figures highlight the seasonal nature of our workforce, and help to explain why the majority of staff were not considered eligible under the FWA amendments,” the university explains.

So, how many people at Uni Sydney are casuals who rely on that employment for their primary income, as distinct to others who work intermittently and/or not much? Ditto for every other university.