Self-employed contractors in Australia: incidence and characteristics

In Australia, a growing number of employed people work as self-employed contractors rather than employees. This paper presents an analysis of the incidence of contractor-type employment and the characteristics of contractors. Self-employed contractors are defined as 'employed persons who operate their own business without employees and supply labour services to clients on an explicit or implicit commercial contract basis'. The paper investigates: changes in the proportion of employed persons working as self-employed contractors over the past two decades; the proportion of employed persons working as self-employed contractors; the proportion of these contractors that are dependent contractors (employed on contractor-client terms but with work arrangements consistent with them being an employee); the characteristics of self-employed contractors compared with employees; the characteristics of dependent compared with independent contractors (those working on contractor-client terms and with work arrangements consistent with them being a contractor). Key findings include: definitions of self-employed contractors and dependent contractors are not straightforward; self-employed contractors are a diverse group; self-employed contractors are employed in all occupational groups and industries; the share of self-employed contractors among employed persons in Australia increased by at least 15 per cent over the two decades to 1998. Show less