Long service leave calculator

Long service leave is set by each state and territory, not by the National Employment Standards. Choose where the work is done, enter your continuous service, and see the weeks accrued — and, separately, whether they can be taken or paid.

How much long service leave do you get in Australia?

It depends on the state or territory. Most jurisdictions give 8.67 weeks after ten years (New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania), then a further 4.33 weeks every five years. South Australia and the Northern Territory give 13 weeks after ten years. Victoria and the ACT are shorter: about 6.07 weeks after seven years.

Accruing leave and being entitled to it are different things. Leave builds up from your first day, but you can normally only take it once you complete the qualifying period, and a payment when you leave earlier depends on why you left.

State or territory where the work is done

Long service leave is state and territory law. There is no national rule and no default here.

Completed years of continuous service with this employer

Continuous service with one employer, including any service carried over when the business changed hands.

Has the employment ended, and how?

Below the qualifying period, whether anything is payable depends on this.

Ordinary weekly pay (optional, A$)

Used only to show what the accrued weeks are worth. Overtime and most penalty rates are excluded from ordinary pay.

Does any of this apply?Building and construction, contract cleaning, community services or coal miningThe service spans more than one state or territoryA pre-2010 award or a preserved agreement deals with long service leave

Choose a jurisdiction and your length of service. Everything is worked out in your browser — nothing you type is sent anywhere.

This is not annual leave, and not a national entitlement

Annual leave comes from the Fair Work Act and is the same everywhere: four weeks a year, five for shiftworkers. Long service leave comes from eight separate Acts and differs in almost every detail — the qualifying period, the number of weeks, what counts as continuous service, and what happens when you leave. Use the annual leave calculator for the national entitlement.

Coverage by jurisdiction

Long service leave qualifying periods and entitlements by Australian state and territory
Jurisdiction	Qualifying period	Leave at that point	Earliest pro-rata	Act
New South Wales	10 years	8.67 weeks	5 years, reason-dependent	Long Service Leave Act 1955 (NSW)
Victoria	7 years	6.07 weeks	Qualifying period only	Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic)
Queensland	10 years	8.67 weeks	7 years, reason-dependent	Industrial Relations Act 2016 (Qld), ss.95–107
South Australia	10 years	13.00 weeks	7 years, reason-dependent	Long Service Leave Act 1987 (SA), s.5
Western Australia	10 years	8.67 weeks	7 years, reason-dependent	Long Service Leave Act 1958 (WA)
Tasmania	10 years	8.67 weeks	7 years, reason-dependent	Long Service Leave Act 1976 (Tas), s.8
Australian Capital Territory	7 years	6.07 weeks	Qualifying period only	Long Service Leave Act 1976 (ACT)
Northern Territory	10 years	13.00 weeks	7 years, reason-dependent	Long Service Leave Act 1981 (NT)

Rules checked 2026-09-17 against the state and territory Acts and their official guidance pages, each linked above.

When this tool will not give a figure

Some situations are legal questions rather than arithmetic, and a confident number would be misleading. The calculator stops and explains instead when:

A portable scheme applies. Building and construction, contract cleaning, community services and coal mining have industry schemes with their own qualifying periods and administering bodies — service follows the worker between employers rather than being lost.
Service spans more than one state or territory. Which Act applies turns on where the employment is connected, and Queensland case law shows even limited local service can engage a second Act.
A pre-2010 award or preserved agreement deals with long service leave. Section 113 of the Fair Work Act lets those instruments displace the state Act entirely.
Any Northern Territory termination below ten years. The 13 weeks and 1.3 weeks a year come from the NT Government's guidance, but sections 10 and 11 of the NT Act — which set the pro-rata rules and the rate of pay — could not be read directly. No pro-rata figure is shown for the NT at all.
A money estimate where the pay basis is unverified. A dollar figure is offered only for New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and the ACT, where the Act's basis of pay was confirmed. Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory show weeks only.

Worked examples

Victoria, nine years, still employed

One sixtieth of nine years = 7.8 weeks. Past the seven-year qualifying period, so it can be taken. On A$1,500 a week that is A$11,700 before tax.

NSW, twelve years, resigning

0.86667 weeks a year x 12 = 10.4 weeks. Past ten years, so the balance is paid out whatever the reason for leaving.

ACT, seven years, at A$560 a week

A$560.00 x 6.0667 weeks = A$3,397.35. This is WorkSafe ACT's own published example, reproduced exactly by this calculator.

South Australia, ten years

13 weeks under section 5, then 1.3 weeks for every further year — no five-year blocks. South Australia is the only jurisdiction where a plain resignation at seven years is paid out. Weeks only: the SA pay basis was not confirmed.

Common questions

Do casuals get long service leave?: In several jurisdictions, yes. NSW, Victoria and Western Australia all count casual and part-time service towards continuous service. Regular, systematic casual work is the usual test; long unexplained gaps can break continuity.
Does long service leave carry over if the business is sold?: Generally yes — a transfer of business usually preserves accrued service with the new owner. The detail differs by jurisdiction, and unusual restructures need advice.
What is ordinary pay for long service leave?: Your normal pay for your ordinary hours. It generally excludes overtime and most penalty rates; casual loading is usually included. Where pay varies, an average is used. The NT's guidance describes using the rate at the end of employment instead of an average.
Can long service leave be cashed out?: Only in limited circumstances, and the rules differ by jurisdiction. Check with the regulator for your state or territory before agreeing to anything.

Limits of this tool

It estimates accrued weeks from completed years. Periods of unpaid leave, workers' compensation absence, parental leave or seasonal gaps are treated differently in each jurisdiction and are not modelled.
Whether a resignation was really due to illness or pressing necessity, or a dismissal really involved serious and wilful misconduct, is a legal characterisation that decides eligibility in the pro-rata band. The result says “it depends” rather than guessing.
Some details in the Tasmanian, ACT, South Australian and Northern Territory Acts could not be confirmed line by line and are flagged with the result.
General information based on official sources, not legal advice.

Official sources

Related calculators

Annual leave calculator — the four weeks under the National Employment Standards.
Accrued annual leave balance
All Australian calculators