GD Accounting Glossary
Glossary › Independent Contractor

Independent Contractor

A self-employed person engaged for results rather than employed for time — different tax, super, and legal treatment.

An independent contractor runs their own business and is engaged to deliver outcomes, invoicing for their work — unlike an employee paid wages under the direction of an employer.

The distinction is legal substance, not the label used in an agreement: control, tools, risk, and delegation all count. Misclassifying employees as contractors exposes a business to back-pay, unpaid super, and penalties.

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