Long Service Leave Calculator — What Have You Earned?
Estimate your long service leave in any state or territory: weeks accrued, when the entitlement vests, what's paid out if you resign or are made redundant, and the tax withheld on the payout.
Your service details
Before you start
Count continuous service with one employer
Your base rate for normal hours — leave out overtime and one-off allowances
Leaving your job?
Long Service Leave Summary
New South Wales — Long Service Leave Act 1955 (NSW)
Leave accrued
0 weeks
Enter your years of service to see your leave
Calculations run in your browser — your pay and service details are never sent to a server.
Long service leave rules by state
Long service leave is state legislation, and the differences are real: the vesting point ranges from 7 to 10 years, and the same decade of service is worth 8.67 weeks in most states but 13 in South Australia and the NT. Click a state for its dedicated calculator and milestone table.
| State | Entitled after | Leave at that point | Pro-rata window |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | 10 years | 8.67 weeks | From 5 years |
| VIC | 7 years | 6.07 weeks | None — full at 7 |
| QLD | 10 years | 8.67 weeks | From 7 years |
| WA | 10 years | 8.67 weeks | From 7 years |
| SA | 10 years | 13 weeks | From 7 years |
| TAS | 10 years | 8.67 weeks | From 7 years |
| ACT | 7 years | 6.07 weeks | From 5 years |
| NT | 10 years | 13 weeks | From 7 years |
General private-sector rules under each state's Act. Inside the pro-rata window, a payout usually depends on why employment ends. Portable industry schemes and public-sector employers differ.
Example: 10 years of service on $2,000 a week
The same service and pay produce very different payouts depending on the state's accrual rate:
Queensland — 8.67 weeks
- Accrual rate
- 8.67 weeks / 10 years
- Leave at 10 years
- 8.67 weeks
- Payout before tax
- $17,333
South Australia — 13 weeks
- Accrual rate
- 13 weeks / 10 years
- Leave at 10 years
- 13 weeks
- Payout before tax
- $26,000
Examples computed with each state's statutory rate. Enter your own figures in the calculator above.
How long service leave works
One employer, one clock
Long service leave rewards continuous service with a single employer. The clock keeps running through paid leave, usually through parental leave and business sales, and normal gaps between casual shifts — but resigning and coming back later restarts it. Full-time, part-time and casual employees all accrue, with pay based on the ordinary rate for normal hours.
The entitlement vests at 7 years in Victoria and the ACT and 10 years elsewhere. Before that, most states open a pro-rata window (from 5 or 7 years) where the accrued weeks are paid out if employment ends in qualifying circumstances — illness, domestic necessity, redundancy or other employer-initiated termination — but usually not on an ordinary resignation.
The payout and the tax
Untaken leave is paid out on termination at your ordinary rate. The tax treatment is what surprises people: the lump sum is withheld under ATO Schedule 7 — a flat 32% for a genuine redundancy, or marginal rates otherwise — and no superannuation is paid on it, unlike leave you actually take. Weigh that against the tax on a bonus or your regular take-home pay, and see how the year settles with the tax return calculator.
State calculators
- New South Wales long service leave calculator
- Victoria long service leave calculator
- Queensland long service leave calculator
- Western Australia long service leave calculator
- South Australia long service leave calculator
- Tasmania long service leave calculator
- Australian Capital Territory long service leave calculator
- Northern Territory long service leave calculator
Long Service Leave FAQs
How is long service leave calculated?
Weeks accrue in proportion to your continuous service with one employer, at a rate set by your state's legislation. Most states grant 8.67 weeks after 10 years (0.87 weeks per year); South Australia and the Northern Territory grant 13 weeks (1.3 weeks per year). The payout value is simply your untaken weeks multiplied by your ordinary weekly pay — base pay for normal hours, excluding overtime and most penalty loadings.
How many years until I get long service leave?
In most states the entitlement vests at 10 years of continuous service. Victoria and the ACT vest at 7 years. Separately, most states open a 'pro-rata window' before vesting — from 7 years in Queensland, WA, SA, TAS and the NT, and from 5 years in NSW and the ACT — where leave can be paid out if employment ends in qualifying circumstances.
Do I get long service leave if I resign?
It depends on your state and your years of service. Past the vesting point (7 or 10 years), untaken leave is paid out on any departure — in Victoria that point is 7 years and any departure qualifies. Inside the pro-rata window, WA pays out on any resignation and South Australia does too provided you resign lawfully (give the required notice), while NSW, Queensland, Tasmania, the NT and the ACT generally require a qualifying reason — illness, incapacity, or a domestic or other pressing necessity. Below the window, resigning forfeits the accrual everywhere.
Do I get long service leave if I'm made redundant?
Usually yes, once you're inside your state's pro-rata window. Redundancy is an employer-initiated termination, which qualifies for a pro-rata payout in every state's window (it isn't misconduct). Past the vesting point the payout is unconditional. Redundancy also changes the tax: the unused-leave payout is withheld at a flat rate instead of marginal rates, and any severance may fall under the separate tax-free redundancy limit.
How is a long service leave payout taxed?
Unused leave paid on termination is taxed under ATO Schedule 7 rather than as ordinary salary. Leaving for a genuine redundancy, invalidity or approved early-retirement scheme, withholding is a flat 32%. Leaving for any other reason, it's withheld at your marginal rate — roughly the extra tax you'd pay with the payout stacked on top of your annual income, which is how this calculator estimates it. The final figure settles at your tax return.
Is superannuation paid on a long service leave payout?
No. Long service leave you actually take is ordinary time earnings, so super is paid on it as usual. But an unused-leave lump sum paid out on termination is not ordinary time earnings — no super guarantee applies to it. That makes taking the leave before you go worth considering, especially close to retirement.
Do casual and part-time employees get long service leave?
Yes — in every state, casual and part-time employees accrue long service leave on the same continuous-service clock as full-timers, provided the employment is genuinely continuous (regular and systematic engagements survive normal gaps between shifts). Payment is based on an averaged ordinary rate — the calculator's weekly pay field takes your average weekly earnings.
Can I cash out long service leave without leaving my job?
Generally no. Most state Acts only allow payment in lieu when employment ends — cashing out while still employed is prohibited in Victoria and restricted elsewhere, though a few states permit limited cash-out by written agreement in specific circumstances. Check your state authority before agreeing to anything; an unlawful cash-out can leave the employer still liable for the leave.
What about construction, cleaning and community services workers?
Those industries run portable long service leave schemes (like QLeave, CoINVEST and the ACT scheme) where service is banked with an industry authority rather than one employer — leave survives moving between employers within the industry. Portable schemes have their own accrual rates and claim rules, so use your scheme's statement rather than this calculator.
Does long service leave transfer when a business is sold?
Yes. When a business changes hands and you keep working in it, your continuous service usually carries over to the new owner, who inherits the accrued liability. Your service also generally survives approved unpaid leave and parental leave, though some absences pause the clock rather than count toward it — the state authorities publish the exact rules.
This is an estimate, not a ruling
Awards, enterprise agreements and portable industry schemes can override the state Acts, and continuous-service questions turn on your circumstances. Confirm your entitlement with your state's industrial relations authority — each state page above links to the official source.
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