In Australia, if you have a permanent position as an academic at a University, you would typically earn an annual salary. This would typically be paid fortnightly, every fortnight of the year. This assumes you are working for the entire year (except of course for annual leave, public holidays, etc.).
Of course, there are plenty of causal academic roles such as research assistants, teachers and so on. These are often linked to the completion of specific roles. For example, if you tutor a unit, then you'll typically be paid for the amount of teaching you do and only for the weeks that teaching is occurring.
While we don't use the term "faculty" as much in Australia, I imagine when we do, it would typically apply to those academic staff on salary.
As a side note, Australian academics are typically allowed to earn additional income doing external work if their supervisor provides approval.