Annual leave calculator Australia

Work out paid annual leave under the Fair Work Act National Employment Standards — four weeks a year, five for a defined shiftworker — including how much has built up so far on your ordinary hours. Every answer shows the workings.

Rules checked 15 September 2026 against the Fair Work Act 2009 and the Fair Work Ombudsman. Working in the UK instead? Use the UK holiday entitlement calculator.

How much annual leave do you get in Australia?

Full-time and part-time employees build up four weeks of paid annual leave for each year of service, based on their ordinary hours of work. On a 38-hour week that is 152 hours a year; on a 20-hour week it is 80 hours.

A shiftworker who meets the Fair Work Act definition gets five weeks. Leave accrues progressively through the year, carries over if it is not taken, and casual employees do not accrue it.

Enter your ordinary weekly hours and select “Work out my annual leave”. Your answer and the full workings appear here.

What to do next

How the calculation works

Section 87 of the Fair Work Act 2009 gives every employee other than a casual four weeks of paid annual leave for each year of service, or five weeks for an employee who meets the shiftworker definition in their award or agreement. Leave is measured against your ordinary hours of work, not overtime, and it accrues progressively through the year rather than arriving all at once. Anything not taken carries over to the next year.

So a full-time employee on 38 ordinary hours a week accrues 38 × 4 = 152 hours a year. Half a year of service gives roughly half of that. The calculator works the balance out day by day across the year of service.

Worked examples

Full-time, 38 hours a week

38 × 4 = 152 hours a year, which is 20 working days for someone on five 7.6-hour days.

Part-time, 22.8 hours a week

22.8 × 4 = 91.2 hours a year. Part-time employees get the same four weeks; the hours are simply smaller.

Shiftworker, 38 hours a week

38 × 5 = 190 hours a year. The extra week applies only where the award or agreement defines you as a shiftworker.

Six months of service

Starting 1 January on 38 hours a week, by 30 June that is 181 days of service: 152 × 181 / 365 = 75.38 hours built up.

Leave and pay are different things

This page works out time off. Annual leave is paid at your base rate of pay for your ordinary hours. Annual leave loading — often 17.5% — is not part of the National Employment Standards; it comes from an award, enterprise agreement or your contract, so check yours rather than assuming it applies.

Who this covers, and who it does not

Casual employees do not accrue paid annual leave under the National Employment Standards — casual loading is paid instead.
Long service leave is state and territory law, not the NES. It has its own long service leave calculator.
Public holidays are separate. A public holiday during your annual leave is not deducted from your balance.
Unpaid leave generally does not count as service, so it does not build up annual leave.
Cashing out, personal/carer's leave and parental leave are outside this tool.
Awards, enterprise agreements and contracts can be more generous than the minimum — always check yours.

Common questions

Do part-time employees get four weeks of annual leave?: Yes. Part-time employees accrue the same four weeks, measured against their own ordinary hours. Someone on 20 ordinary hours a week accrues 80 hours a year, not 152.
What happens if I start or leave part-way through the year?: Leave accrues progressively from your first day, so there is no waiting period. If you leave with accrued leave untaken, section 90(2) of the Fair Work Act requires payment of the amount that would have been payable had you taken that leave. The Fair Work Ombudsman says that where annual leave loading would have been paid during employment, it is paid out on termination as well. This calculator shows the base-rate figure only.
Does annual leave keep accruing while I am on leave?: Paid annual leave and paid personal/carer’s leave count as service, so accrual continues. Unpaid leave generally does not count, unless it is a form of leave the Act treats as service, such as community service leave.
Is a public holiday during my annual leave deducted from my balance?: No. Where a public holiday falls on a day you would have worked during annual leave, that day is not deducted from your annual leave balance.
Can I cash out annual leave instead of taking it?: Only where an award, enterprise agreement or (for award-free employees) a written agreement allows it, and only within the limits set there — including keeping at least four weeks accrued. This calculator works out the balance, not whether cashing out is permitted.

Official sources

General information based on published Fair Work Ombudsman guidance and the Fair Work Act, not legal advice.