Note: The below is intended to provide a general overview of long service leave (LSL)
entitlements across Australia in relation to employees engaged in private industry, whose LSL entitlement is not provided for by
portable long service leave legislation, an Enterprise/Collective Agreement or a transitional or pre-modern award.
Long service leave entitlements can be very complex, particularly in relation to an employee who has worked in multiple states/territories or even countries, where there has been a transfer of business, or when the employee has taken leave without pay or been on worker's compensation for a period of time.
Similarly, calculating the rate of pay an employee should receive when they take LSL may not be straightforward.
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State/Territory |
Legislation |
Entitlement |
| Australian Capital Territory |
Long Service Leave Act 1976 |
Accrual: 7 years of service = 6.0667 weeks of LSL. For each year after this, employees are entitled to additional long
service leave accrual. Long service leave accrual occurs at a rate of 1/5 of a month of long service leave every year. Termination: employees with 5 years continuous service are entitled to be paid out their accrued LSL on a pro-rata basis in the event employment ends due to an employee’s death or retirement, if the employee terminates employment due to illness, incapacity, domestic or other pressing necessity or if the employer terminates employment for any reason other than serious and wilful misconduct. Applies to: all private sector employees including full time, part-time and casual employees. Public holidays: do not count as a day of leave (i.e. LSL is increased by one day for each public holiday). |
| New South Wales |
Long Service Leave Act 1955 |
Accrual: 10 years service = 2 months (8.67 weeks) of LSL. Termination: will be paid out after 5 years service (pro-rata) if the employee resigns due to illness, incapacity or other domestic or pressing necessity. If an employee is terminated after 10 years of service they will be paid out their remaining long service leave balance plus any additional entitlement accrued to date. Applies to: full time, part-time and casual employees. Public holidays: do not count as a day of leave (i.e. LSL is increased by one day for each public holiday). |
| Northern Territory |
Long Service Leave Act 1981 |
Accrual: 10 years service = 13 weeks of LSL. Employees accrue an additional 6.5 weeks of leave for each period of 5 years
service thereafter. Termination: employees with 7-10 years service are entitled to be paid out their accrued LSL on a pro-rata basis in the event their employment ends due to retirement, the employer terminates employment not for serious misconduct or due to illness, incapacity, domestic or other pressing necessity. Applies to: full time, part-time and casual employees. Public Holidays: Shall be deemed to be part of the long service leave and the period of leave shall not be increased because of the holiday. |
| Queensland |
Industrial Relations Act 2016 |
Accrual: 10 years service = 2 months (8.67 weeks) of LSL. For the next five years of service after this, they are entitled
to take an additional 4.33 weeks of paid long service leave. Termination: If an employee is terminated after 10 years of service they will be paid out their remaining long service leave balance plus any additional entitlement accrued to date. Employees terminated after 7 years of service are entitled to be paid out their LSL on a pro-rata basis if the termination is due to; death, illness or incapacity, a domestic or other pressing necessity, if the employer dismisses the employee, except in the case of termination due to conduct or performance and in the event of a successful unfair dismissal claim. Applies to: full time, part-time and casual employees. Public Holidays: Long service leave is exclusive of a public holiday that falls during the period of the leave. |
| South Australia |
Long Service Leave Act
1987 |
Accrual: 10 years service = 13 weeks of LSL. Each year thereafter = an additional 1.3 weeks of leave. Termination: employees with 7-10 years service are entitled to be paid out 1.3 weeks of leave for each year of service. Applies to: full time, part-time and casual employees, although part-time and casual employees receive payment is based on the average weekly hours worked over the past three years of service, or ordinary hours worked per week. Public Holidays: Every day occurring after the commencement of a period of long service leave (including public holidays and days on which the worker would not normally have been required to work) will be counted as a day of that leave. |
| Tasmania |
Long Service Leave Act 1976 |
Accrual: 10 years service = 8.66 weeks of LSL. For every five years of service after this, employees are entitled to an
additional 4.33 weeks of leave. Termination: employees with 7-10 years service are entitled to be paid out their accrued LSL on a pro-rata basis in the event their employment ends due to retirement, the employer terminates employment not for serious misconduct or due to illness, incapacity, domestic or other pressing necessity. Applies to: full-time, part-time and casual employees, as well as trainees and apprentices. Public Holidays: Long service leave under this Act is not inclusive of any trade holiday, public holiday, statutory holiday as defined in the Statutory Holidays Act 2000 , or annual leave to which an employee is entitled under the terms of his employment occurring during the period when the leave is taken. |
| Victoria |
Long Service Leave Act 2018 |
Accrual: 7 years of service = total weeks of service / 60 (approximately 365/60 = 6.08 weeks of long service leave). Termination: If an employee is terminated after 7 years of service they will be paid out their remaining long service leave balance plus any additional entitlement accrued to date. Applies to: full-time, part-time, casual, seasonal and fixed-term agreements. Public Holidays: Long service leave does not include any public holiday occurring, or annual leave taken, during the period when the long service leave is taken. |
| Western Australia |
Long
Service Leave Act 1958 |
Accrual: 10 years service = 8.67 weeks of leave. Each year of service thereafter entitles the Employee to an additional
4.33 weeks of leave. Termination: employees with 7-10 years of service are entitled to be paid out their accrued LSL on a pro-rata basis in the event they are terminated not for serious misconduct. Applies to: full time, part-time and casual employees. Public Holidays: The period of long service leave is increased by one day for each such public holiday. |
| 'Domestic or Other Pressing Necessity' - ACT, NSW, NT, Qld and Tas |
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The phrase 'domestic or other pressing necessity' is a little confusing and has been subject to a significant number of disputes. Generally speaking, the phrase refers to a circumstance in which an employee resigns from their employment to accommodate their personal circumstances of their personal circumstances. The personal circumstances do not have to be the sole reason for the resignation, but they must be a motivating factor in the decision to resign. Examples:
Let EzieR make LSL easier for you! |
Find answers to the most commonly asked human resources and employment relations questions in one place.
Should you be paying into a portable long service leave fund? Check out this EzieR list for all portable LSL legislation in Australia.