Earning Money — NSW Year 9 Core Maths
Wages, salaries, overtime, commission, piecework, leave loading, income tax, PAYG, net pay and GST. Six subtopics and 120 practice questions with worked solutions, aligned to MA5-FIN-C-01 and MA4-FRC-C-01.
Earning Money in NSW Year 9
Earning Money is the maths of a pay packet: how much you earn, how much tax comes out, and what you keep. Year 9 Core students work with hourly wages and annual salaries, overtime and penalty rates, commission and piecework, leave loading, income tax, PAYG withholding and net pay, using Australian examples such as a \(17.5\%\) leave loading and \(10\%\) GST.
The six subtopics below cover wages and salaries, overtime, commission, piecework and leave loading, income tax, PAYG and net pay, and GST. Earning Money is one of the 13 topics in NSW Year 9 Core Maths and belongs to the Number and Algebra strand. Earning and taxation come under the Stage 5 Core outcome MA5‑FIN‑C‑01, and GST revises percentage work from the Stage 4 outcome MA4‑FRC‑C‑01. The same skills lead to compound interest and depreciation in Year 10, and to budgeting for a first job.
Subtopics
Earning Money: common questions
How do you convert an annual salary to a weekly wage?
Divide by \(52\), the number of weeks in a year. A salary of \(\$53\,248\) a year is \(53\,248 \div 52 = \$1024\) a week. For a fortnight divide by \(26\), and for a month divide by \(12\).
What is time-and-a-half?
Time-and-a-half is \(1.5\) times the normal hourly rate, often paid for overtime or weekend work. If the normal rate is \(\$26\) an hour, time-and-a-half is \(26 \times 1.5 = \$39\) an hour. Double time is twice the normal rate.
What is leave loading?
Leave loading is an extra payment on top of normal pay during annual leave, commonly \(17.5\%\) in Australia. On four weeks' normal pay of \(\$3600\), the loading is \(0.175 \times 3600 = \$630\), so the holiday pay is \(\$4230\).
What is the difference between gross pay and net pay?
Gross pay is the total earned before anything is taken out. Net pay is what is left after tax and other deductions, such as union fees or health insurance. If gross pay is \(\$840\) and \(\$126\) tax is withheld, net pay is \(\$714\).
Which NESA outcome covers Earning Money in Year 9?
Wages, overtime, commission, piecework, leave loading, income tax, PAYG and net pay are Stage 5 Core content under MA5‑FIN‑C‑01. GST calculations revise percentage work from the Stage 4 outcome MA4‑FRC‑C‑01.