Long service leave

Learn more about long service leave and where to go for help.

On this page:

About long service leave

An employee gets long service leave after a long period of working for the same employer.

Most employees’ entitlement to long service leave comes from long service leave laws in each state or territory. These laws set out:

  • how long an employee must work to get long service leave (for example, after 7 years)
  • how much long service leave the employee gets.

In some states and territories, long serving casuals are eligible for long service leave.

To find out about long service leave entitlements, contact the long service leave agency in your state or territory:

Tip: Read our fact sheet

We have a fact sheet on long service leave that covers in detail:

  • long service leave and the National Employment Standards
  • the interaction between state and territory laws and enterprise agreements
  • minimum long service leave entitlements.

Go to the fact sheet now: Long service leave.

Pre-modern awards

The state and territory long service leave laws don’t apply when there are long service leave entitlements in a federal pre-modern award that would have covered an employer and their employees before 1 January 2010.

In this case, the long service leave entitlement comes from the pre-modern award which will set out:

  • how long an employee has to be working to get long service leave (for example, after 7 years)
  • how much long service leave the employee gets.

Example: Long service leave in a pre-modern award

Lesley has been working part-time for 12 years at a butcher shop.

The butcher shop is part of a chain of stores throughout Melbourne, Victoria and is covered by the Meat Award.

Under Lesley’s federal pre-modern award, there was a clause covering long service leave. This means that Lesley’s long service leave entitlement comes from her federal pre-modern award, not the Victorian long service leave legislation.

To find long service leave entitlements in a federal pre-modern award, you can:

Before you call us, we recommend you look at our Before you call page.

Enterprise agreements

Enterprise agreements made from 1 January 2010 can include long service leave terms. This includes terms about portable long service leave and cashing out long service leave.

To find out more, go to our Library article: Long service leave in enterprise agreements.

Portable long service leave

Some Australian states and territories have legislation to provide employees in some industries with access to portable long service leave. These industries include:

This means an employee keeps their long service leave entitlement even if they work on different projects for one or more employers.

Building and construction

For the building and construction industry, contact AusLeave.

Coal mining

For the coal mining industry, contact Coal Mining Industry LSL Funding Corporation.

Contract cleaning

For the contract cleaning industry, contact the authority in your state or territory:

Community services

For community services workers in Victoria, contact the Portable Long Service Authority.

Security

For security workers in Victoria, contact the Portable Long Service Authority.

Payment for long service leave

How much an employee is paid for long service leave depends on where they get their entitlement from. Find out more from our Payment of long service leave page.

Source reference for page: Fair Work Act 2009 section 113

Tools and resources

Related information

Tags
Leave (eg. holiday leave, sick leave)
Long service leave