The honest answer is: it depends on what you actually need. Permanent staff are cheaper over the long run for consistent full-time work. Locums are almost always cheaper — and far more practical — for gap cover, short-term needs, and unpredictable demand. Here’s how to think through it.

The real cost of a permanent employee

A podiatrist or physiotherapist on a $90,000/yr salary doesn’t cost you $90,000. Once you add the true employment costs, the number is significantly higher.

• Superannuation (12%): $10,800/yr
• Annual leave (4 weeks plus leave loading at 17.5%): ~$7,500/yr
• Personal/sick leave (10 days): ~$3,400/yr in lost productivity
• Workers compensation insurance: varies by state, typically 1–2% of payroll (~$900–$1,800/yr)
• Recruitment cost: recruiter fees often run 12–18% of first-year salary, or significant internal time if you hire yourself

A $90,000 salary employee costs closer to $110,000–$115,000/yr before you factor in recruitment, onboarding, or any termination costs. That’s around $55–$58/hr on a standard 38-hour week across 48 working weeks.

The real cost of a locum

Locums are independent contractors. They carry their own professional indemnity insurance, sort their own superannuation, and have no leave entitlements. When a locum quotes $80/hr, that rate already includes their 12% superannuation — it’s built in.

You pay the locum’s rate plus HeyLucy!’s 20% fee. So $80/hr becomes $96/hr to the clinic. No super on top, no leave loading, no workers comp, no payroll tax.

Here’s the key difference: with a permanent employee, super is added to their salary cost. With a locum, it’s already factored into their quoted rate.

On the surface, $96/hr looks expensive compared to $55/hr for your permanent hire. But that comparison only holds if your permanent employee is fully productive for every hour you’re paying. In practice, they’re not — leave, sick days, public holidays, slow periods, and onboarding time all reduce the value.

A worked example: 6-week gap cover

Your senior podiatrist goes on parental leave for six weeks. You need someone to cover four clinical days per week.

Option A — Locum through HeyLucy!

• Locum rate (including their 12% super): $80/hr × 8hr day = $640/day
• HeyLucy! service fee (20%): $128/day
• Total per day: $768
• 4 days × 6 weeks = 24 days
• Total cost: $18,432

Option B — Source through a traditional recruiter

• Recruiter on-hire rate for the same locum: ~$130–$150/hr
• 24 days × 8 hours × $140/hr average
• Total cost: ~$26,880

Option C — Hire a permanent part-timer for 6 weeks

In practice, this rarely works. Good candidates won’t take a six-week contract, and if they do, the recruitment cost and onboarding time eat most of the first two weeks.

When permanent staff wins

If you have consistent, full-time demand and you’re keeping someone busy 38+ hours a week across 48+ weeks a year, a permanent hire is usually more cost-effective over time. The true hourly cost works out lower, and you get continuity — patient relationships, institutional knowledge, team culture.

Permanent staff also makes sense when the role requires deep clinic integration: front-desk relationships, practice management software access, complex ongoing patient caseloads where continuity of care matters.

When a locum wins

• Covering parental leave, extended sick leave, or sudden departures
• Testing demand in a new location before committing to a permanent hire
• Scaling up for a busy period without a long-term commitment
• Filling specialist skill gaps your permanent team doesn’t cover
• Any engagement under roughly three months

The flexibility is worth the higher hourly rate. You’re not managing HR risk, accruing leave liabilities, or facing an awkward conversation when the work dries up.

One more thing

If you use a locum and want them back, mark them as a preferred locum on HeyLucy!. Future shifts go to them first before hitting the open marketplace. It’s the middle ground — the flexibility of locum work with the relationship continuity of a regular contractor.