How many years before I can take long service leave?

Ten years of continuous service with one employer in New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, and seven years in Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. Each year of service then adds to the balance at the Act's rate, and most Acts let you take it in more than one block.

Do I get paid out long service leave if I resign before ten years?

It depends on the jurisdiction. Victoria and Western Australia pay out pro-rata from seven years whatever the reason you leave. South Australia pays completed years from seven years. New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, the ACT and the NT pay pro-rata only in set circumstances such as illness, domestic necessity, death or an employer-initiated termination, and a plain resignation often gets nothing until the full period.

Does a change of business owner reset my service?

Usually not. Every Act treats service with a transferred business as continuing with the new employer, so your accrual carries over and the new owner inherits the liability. The position is different if you were genuinely terminated, paid out and re-hired after a break, which is why the terms of a sale should be read carefully.

Do casual and part-time employees accrue long service leave?

Yes, in every jurisdiction, provided the service is continuous under that Act's rules. Part-timers accrue the same weeks and are paid at their ordinary weekly pay. Casuals are paid at an average of their earnings over a period the Act specifies, and short breaks between engagements are generally ignored, so regular casual work over many years builds a real entitlement.

Can long service leave be cashed out?

Generally no while you are employed; most Acts prohibit cashing out, and Victoria makes an agreement to cash out an offence. The leave is paid out as money only when employment ends. Some enterprise agreements and portable schemes allow a cash payment in limited cases, so check the instrument that covers you before relying on this.

What pay rate is long service leave paid at?

Ordinary pay for your normal hours at the time the leave is taken or paid out, excluding overtime and usually excluding allowances and penalty rates, with each Act setting its own averaging rule for casuals and for people whose hours changed. The value shown here uses the weekly pay you entered, so update it after a pay rise.

Long Service Leave Calculator

Australia

Calculates long service leave under the Act of each Australian state and territory: the weeks accrued at your years of service, whether you have passed the qualifying period to take it, whether a pro-rata payout can apply if you leave earlier, and the cash value. Eight years in New South Wales accrues 6.93 weeks, with the first leave available at ten years.

Enter your values

State or territory

Where you work. Each state and territory has its own Act with its own accrual rate and qualifying period.

Years of continuous service with this employer

years

From your start date to today, including paid leave. Use 0.25 for a quarter year. A sale of the business usually keeps service continuous.

Ordinary weekly pay

Your usual gross weekly pay for ordinary hours, before overtime. Part-timers and casuals use an average over the period the Act specifies.

Ordinary hours per week

hours

Used only to show the balance in hours, the way payroll systems record it. Full-time is 38.

Long service leave already taken

weeks

Weeks of long service leave already taken with this employer. Enter 0 if none.

Your situation

A payout before the full qualifying period depends on the state's pro-rata rule and why employment is ending.

Runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere.

Results

Worked example. Edit the values and press Calculate

Long service leave accrued

6.93 weeks

0.8667 weeks for each year of service under the Long Service Leave Act 1955 (NSW).

Available to take now
0.00 weeks
Nothing is available yet; the accrual keeps building.
Entitlement status
Not yet entitled: 10 years needed in NSW.
Years until the full entitlement
2.00 years
Leave can first be taken after 10 years of continuous service in NSW.
Accrual rate
0.8667 weeks per year
32.9 hours a year on 38.0 ordinary hours a week.
Balance in hours
263.5 hours
Accrued less taken, at your ordinary weekly hours.
Value of the available leave
$0.00
At the ordinary weekly pay entered. Paid at the rate current when the leave is taken or paid out.
Pro-rata rule in NSW
After 5 years, only when the employer ends the job for a reason other than serious misconduct, or you leave because of illness, incapacity or a pressing domestic necessity, or on death.

Why use this calculator

Long service leave is the one entitlement that differs in every Australian jurisdiction, and the differences are large: thirteen weeks after ten years in South Australia and the Northern Territory against eight and two-thirds in most states, leave available after seven years in Victoria and the ACT against ten elsewhere, and pro-rata payouts that are automatic in Victoria and Western Australia but conditional in New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania.

Generic calculators pick one state and silently apply it to everyone. This one carries each Act's accrual rate, qualifying period and pro-rata trigger, applies them to your years of service, and shows the whole country side by side so you can see what a move or a resignation date would change. It values the leave at your weekly pay so a termination payout can be checked against the employer's figure.

How to use it

Choose the state or territory you work in, which decides the Act that applies.
Enter your years of continuous service with the current employer from your start date, using quarter years for part years; a transfer of the business to a new owner usually keeps service continuous.
Enter your ordinary gross weekly pay from your payslip, which values the leave, and your ordinary hours per week so the balance can also be shown in hours as payroll records it.
Enter any long service leave already taken in weeks.
Finally choose whether you are still employed and want to know if you can take leave, or whether employment is ending and you want the payout, because the pro-rata rules only apply on termination.

What each result means

Long service leave accrued: Weeks of leave earned so far at the Act's rate, whether or not you can take it yet. Accrual is linear, so every year adds the same amount.
Available to take now: Weeks you can request now: the full accrual less leave taken once the qualifying period is reached, otherwise nothing.
Payable on termination: Weeks the employer must pay out when employment ends: the accrual after the qualifying period, or the pro-rata amount if service is between the pro-rata trigger and the qualifying period and the Act's conditions are met.
Entitlement status: Whether you have reached the qualifying period, are in the pro-rata window, or are still accruing with nothing payable yet, under the selected jurisdiction.
Years until the full entitlement: How much more continuous service is needed before leave can be taken. Unpaid absences and some breaks extend this.
Accrual rate: Weeks earned per year of service under the Act, also shown as hours on your weekly hours so it can be matched to a payroll accrual.
Balance in hours: The accrued balance less leave taken, converted to hours at your ordinary weekly hours, the unit most payroll systems display.
Value of the available leave: Available weeks multiplied by ordinary weekly pay. Leave is paid at the rate current when taken, so a later pay rise lifts the value.
Pro-rata rule in NSW: When the selected jurisdiction pays out accrued leave on termination before the full qualifying period, and the conditions attached.
Pro-rata rule in VIC: When the selected jurisdiction pays out accrued leave on termination before the full qualifying period, and the conditions attached.
Pro-rata rule in QLD: When the selected jurisdiction pays out accrued leave on termination before the full qualifying period, and the conditions attached.
Pro-rata rule in WA: When the selected jurisdiction pays out accrued leave on termination before the full qualifying period, and the conditions attached.
Pro-rata rule in SA: When the selected jurisdiction pays out accrued leave on termination before the full qualifying period, and the conditions attached.
Pro-rata rule in TAS: When the selected jurisdiction pays out accrued leave on termination before the full qualifying period, and the conditions attached.
Pro-rata rule in ACT: When the selected jurisdiction pays out accrued leave on termination before the full qualifying period, and the conditions attached.
Pro-rata rule in NT: When the selected jurisdiction pays out accrued leave on termination before the full qualifying period, and the conditions attached.

The formula

Accrued weeks equal years of continuous service multiplied by the Act's accrual rate: 0.8667 weeks per year in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, WA, Tasmania and the ACT, and 1.3 weeks per year in SA and the NT. Leave can be taken once service reaches the qualifying period, ten years in most jurisdictions and seven in Victoria and the ACT. On termination before that, a pro-rata payout of the accrual applies from five years in NSW and the ACT and seven elsewhere, subject to each Act's conditions; SA and the NT pay completed years only. Available leave equals the entitled accrual less leave taken, and value equals available weeks multiplied by ordinary weekly pay.

How this number is used in practice

The resignation date decides the payout. An employee in Queensland leaving voluntarily at nine years and eleven months receives nothing, because Queensland's pro-rata rule between seven and ten years applies only to illness, domestic necessity, death or an employer-initiated termination; one month later the full 8.67 weeks is payable.

In Victoria or Western Australia the same person would be paid pro-rata from seven years whatever the reason, and in South Australia from seven years on completed years. Checking the table before handing in notice is worth weeks of pay.

Service is counted with the employer, not the job, and survives most changes of ownership, so staff of a business that is sold keep their accrual with the new owner. Casual and seasonal workers accrue in every jurisdiction provided service is continuous under the Act's rules, which is often missed.

Industry portable schemes for building and construction, contract cleaning, security and community services use different rates and let service follow the worker between employers, so people in those industries should check the scheme rather than this general rule.

Worked examples

New South Wales, 8 years of service, $1,500 a week, still employed
6.93 weeks accrued at 0.8667 weeks a year, but nothing available yet: leave can first be taken at 10 years, 2 years away. The accrued leave is worth $10,400 at your pay.
Victoria, 7.5 years, $1,800 a week, still employed
6.50 weeks accrued and all of it available, because Victoria lets you take leave after 7 years. Worth $11,700.
South Australia, 8 years, $1,400 a week, resigning
10.40 weeks accrued at 1.3 weeks a year, and the pro-rata rule pays 8 completed years, 10.40 weeks, worth $14,560 on leaving for any reason other than serious and wilful misconduct.
Queensland, 12 years, 4 weeks already taken, $1,600 a week
10.40 weeks accrued, 6.40 weeks still available after the 4 taken, worth about $10,240.

When people use it

Checking whether you have reached the qualifying period before asking for a block of long service leave.
Deciding when to resign so that a pro-rata or full payout applies.
Verifying the long service leave line on a final pay or a payslip.
Comparing entitlements between states before accepting an interstate transfer.
Estimating an employer's long service leave liability for a small team.

Tips

Keep a record of your start date and any unpaid leave; continuous service is the whole argument in a dispute.
If you are close to the qualifying period, the table shows how much a few more months are worth before you resign.
Ask whether your employer is covered by a portable scheme if you work in construction, cleaning, security or community services; those schemes accrue across employers.
Taking leave after a pay rise pays it at the new rate, in every jurisdiction.
Long service leave usually cannot be cashed out while employed; the value here is for a payout on leaving or for planning time off.
Part-year and part-time service still counts; only the pay rate is averaged, not the years.

What it assumes, and where it stops being accurate

Only the general private-sector Act of each state or territory is modelled. Portable long service leave schemes, public-sector by-laws, enterprise agreements and pre-2018 Victorian transitional rules are not.
Service is treated as continuous for the years entered. Unpaid leave, breaks and periods excluded by the Act extend the time needed and should be left out of the years.
Pro-rata payouts are shown as potentially payable when the service threshold is met; whether they are actually payable depends on the reason employment ends, as the pro-rata rule on the page describes.
The value uses the weekly pay entered. Each Act defines ordinary pay differently for casuals, commission earners and people whose hours changed, and pays leave at the rate current when it is taken.
Leave can be taken only in the blocks and with the notice each Act allows; the calculator shows the entitlement, not the scheduling rules.

Terms used on this page

Continuous service: Unbroken employment with one employer, including paid leave and most absences the Act permits, measured from the start date.
Qualifying period: The years of continuous service after which long service leave can be taken: ten in most jurisdictions, seven in Victoria and the ACT.
Pro-rata long service leave: A proportionate payout of accrued leave when employment ends after a shorter period, available only in the circumstances each Act allows.
Portable long service leave: Industry schemes that let service accrue across employers in construction, cleaning, security and community services.

Questions people ask

How many years before I can take long service leave?: Ten years of continuous service with one employer in New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, and seven years in Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. Each year of service then adds to the balance at the Act's rate, and most Acts let you take it in more than one block.
Do I get paid out long service leave if I resign before ten years?: It depends on the jurisdiction. Victoria and Western Australia pay out pro-rata from seven years whatever the reason you leave. South Australia pays completed years from seven years. New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, the ACT and the NT pay pro-rata only in set circumstances such as illness, domestic necessity, death or an employer-initiated termination, and a plain resignation often gets nothing until the full period.
Does a change of business owner reset my service?: Usually not. Every Act treats service with a transferred business as continuing with the new employer, so your accrual carries over and the new owner inherits the liability. The position is different if you were genuinely terminated, paid out and re-hired after a break, which is why the terms of a sale should be read carefully.
Do casual and part-time employees accrue long service leave?: Yes, in every jurisdiction, provided the service is continuous under that Act's rules. Part-timers accrue the same weeks and are paid at their ordinary weekly pay. Casuals are paid at an average of their earnings over a period the Act specifies, and short breaks between engagements are generally ignored, so regular casual work over many years builds a real entitlement.
Can long service leave be cashed out?: Generally no while you are employed; most Acts prohibit cashing out, and Victoria makes an agreement to cash out an offence. The leave is paid out as money only when employment ends. Some enterprise agreements and portable schemes allow a cash payment in limited cases, so check the instrument that covers you before relying on this.
What pay rate is long service leave paid at?: Ordinary pay for your normal hours at the time the leave is taken or paid out, excluding overtime and usually excluding allowances and penalty rates, with each Act setting its own averaging rule for casuals and for people whose hours changed. The value shown here uses the weekly pay you entered, so update it after a pay rise.

Use this with

Long Service Leave Calculator answers one part of the question. These pick up where it stops: Annual Leave Calculator, Overtime Pay Calculator, Statutory Redundancy Pay Calculator, Notice Period Pay Calculator, Salary After Tax Calculator and Hours Calculator.

Where these figures come from

AustraliaLast reviewed 2026-10·How we build and check calculators

Figures and rules on this page follow Australian law and ATO guidance.

NSW Government: Long service leave. Long Service Leave Act 1955 (NSW)
Business Victoria: Long service leave, an overview. Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic)
Business Queensland: Long service leave entitlements and continuous service. Industrial Relations Act 2016 (Qld)
WA Government: Long service leave when employment ends. Long Service Leave Act 1958 (WA)
SafeWork SA: Long service leave. Long Service Leave Act 1987 (SA)
WorkSafe Tasmania: Pro rata long service leave. Long Service Leave Act 1976 (Tas)
WorkSafe ACT: Long service leave guidance note. Long Service Leave Act 1976 (ACT)
NT Government: Long service leave. Long Service Leave Act 1981 (NT)

Long Service Leave Calculator produces an estimate for general information. It is not financial, tax, medical, legal or engineering advice. read the full disclaimer. Spotted a wrong number? Report it and it gets fixed. The form picks up this calculator and the inputs you used.