Just wondering if it's better to choose contract or permanent role considering that I'm the secondary income earner and my partner has a stable permanent job. What's the pro's cons?

Eh? What? There is no right or wrong answer to your question, it is your choice. Strangers on the internet cannot answer this for you.

I've been contracting for 13 years and it's worked out great for us. My OH is a permanent public servant so his job is as safe as it's possible to be. As long as one of you has a regular guaranteed income then it's worth the risk of the other being out of work for a few months between contracts.

The pros are a higher pay rate.

There aren't any cons for me.

Not asking you to "choose" for me - the question was directed at the pros and cons of contracting vs permanent!

Thanks NickyC for your reply. As a contractor is one entitled to super or not?

Depends on how you're set up. Someone has to pay your super - could be your employer or it could be you.

For many years I was contracted via my own company. I was responsible for my own super then but I charged a higher rate to take account of it.

Currently I'm contracted directly with no agency involved. Employer pays super for me - but of course it comes out of my rate really.

Bottom line is - yes you have to have super, and yes you'll be paying it .

sounds like your after the difference between the 2. in which case google it. shorts has a point

Contract

I am a contractor. My hourly rate includes 9% super - which I think is standard practice.

Always go contract. Permanent is for people who like to be paid less.

;-)

Permie is for people without balls. If they want to get rid of you they will anyway - whether permie or contract. One of you is perm so its a no brainer

Too true. My recent experience has been that when it comes to Spanish Archer time it makes no difference.

Scenario:
Contractor works for a company for 5 years at $100k/year = $500k total
Permie works for same company for 5 years at $60k/year = $300k total

Firing time comes and both are laid off. Contractor walks away with f**k all. Permie walks away with, say, a $30k payout, so a total over 5 years of $330k. Whoopee f**king doo - contractor is ahead by $170k. Also because the contractor can be fired at any time, he's been clever and put away a fair amount of the extra he has earned into his 'unemployment' fund, so is sitting pretty and goes on holiday. Permie will go through that $30k in no time if he can't find a job. Contractor is better off emotionally as he is prepared to be laid off at any time. Permie is a quivering wreck because of his 'betrayal'.

There is no legal requirement to pay super if you are self-employed. That's only for the employed because employed people are not as good financial managers as the self-employed (or so the government thinks).

Then there is a downturn in the market and projects are put on hold, contracts are being finished and no new contract roles are becoming available. Contractors start to compete for perm roles with permies or drop their rates heavily just to compete with the other thousand contractors competing for the one contract...

Shit happens. Dropping rates is okay as you are still ahead in the long term. As for going permie? It would take several years of unemployment for me to want to go down that road. I would rather go and work in another part of the country or overseas before going permie.

I am a natural born contractor.

Contractors get a higher hourly rate to compensate for the fact that they don't get paid sick leave or paid holidays and have to make their own superannuation arrangements. I was a contractor and am now a casual staff employee and the hourly rate is the same except that now my employer takes out the 9% super before paying me whereas before I paid it myself. And in my particular case there were good reasons why the switch made sense.

To change the subject slightly, whether you are a contractor or an employee, don't think that the statutory 9% super contribution is going to be enough to fund your retirement - you will need to top that up considerably to be able to retire comfortably.