Long Service Leave in the Australian Capital Territory

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Work out your long service leave entitlement under the Long Service Leave Act 1976 (ACT). Enter your service and weekly pay below to see your leave in weeks and its dollar value. The calculator is set to the Australian Capital Territory, and you can switch states if you need to.

ACT at a glance

How ACT long service leave builds up

You accrue 1/5 of a month per year of service, which is 0.8667 weeks per year, and 7 years gives 6.0667 weeks. Accrual is fractional, not completed-years-only: 7 years 6 months is 6.5 weeks. In South Australia only completed years count, so this is the most common ACT confusion.

The calculator shows the working with the ACT rule: 1/5 of a month per year = 0.8667 weeks per year of continuous service. Figures are rounded for display; the engine accrues fractions, so the displayed weeks may differ by a cent or two from hand maths on rounded weeks.

Leaving between 5 and 7 years

If employment ends after 5 but before 7 years, a pro-rata amount is payable only in special circumstances, at ordinary remuneration for a period bearing to 2 months the same proportion as your completed years and months bear to 10 years (5 years → 4.3333 weeks; 6 years → 5.2 weeks; 6 years 6 months → 5.6333 weeks). The only qualifying grounds are:

• resignation because of illness or incapacity, or a domestic or other pressing necessity that justifies the termination;
• resignation on or after minimum retiring age — the age set by your award or agreement if one applies, otherwise 65 (the calculator does not check age);
• death — payment goes to the legal personal representative;
• termination by the employer for a reason other than serious and wilful misconduct (redundancy qualifies under this ground).

Ordinary resignation does not qualify between 5 and 7 years, so the payout is $0. Under 5 years there is no entitlement on any exit, including death. At 7 or more years, untaken credit is payable on termination for any reason, including dismissal for serious misconduct (s 11A). The employer must pay within 90 days after employment ceases.

What counts as continuous service in the ACT

Changing between full-time, part-time and casual work does not break continuity. In a business transmission, service is deemed uninterrupted and the new employer inherits the liability. Service outside the ACT may not contribute.

The 2-week illness cap is an ACT trap: illness or injury leave beyond 2 weeks in a year is non-counting, even though the first 2 weeks count.

Casual employees are covered if their work is regular and systematic with an expectation of continuing work. Public employees are not covered by this Act.

How ACT long service leave is paid — ordinary remuneration

Long service leave is paid at ordinary remuneration: salary or wages plus allowances for skill, qualifications, and board and lodging, plus usually-paid bonus, performance pay or incentive amounts, plus the value of board and lodging provided. It excludes overtime payments and penalty rates. Skill, qualification and board/lodging allowances are included — only allowances that are not to be taken into account for overtime rates are excluded. This differs from WA and SA, where allowances are blanket-excluded; do not copy their allowances line.

Part-time or casual workers are paid on their average hours per week over the 12 months immediately before entitlement multiplied by ordinary remuneration on that day. If you moved from full-time to part-time or casual within 2 years before entitlement, ordinary remuneration is your total salary and wages over the 5 years ending on entitlement ÷ 5.

Commission workers: enter the average weekly rate for the year. The calculator takes a single weekly pay figure, so for commission work its dollar figure is an estimate: work out your average weekly rate first and enter that as your weekly pay. If your hours have varied, enter your average weekly hours.

Granting and payment: leave is granted as soon as practicable after accrual at an agreed time. Without agreement, the employer gives written notice that leave must be taken after 60 days from the notice. Payment is in advance for the whole period, or at normal paydays if agreed.

Public holidays: the leave period increases by 1 day for each public or award holiday falling during it. The calculator cannot model this, as it depends on your leave dates.

Scope: these are the Long Service Leave Act 1976 (ACT) minimums, covering most ACT private-sector employees not covered by an award or agreement, or where it has no long service leave provisions. An award, agreement or contract can be more generous, not less. Building and construction, contract cleaning and community sector workers may be under the Long Service Leave (Portable Schemes) Act 2009 instead.

Worked examples

A1 — 7 years, still employed. Full-time, 38 hours a week at $40 an hour ($1,520 a week), 7 years of service: 6.0667 weeks = 230.53 hours = $9,221.33.

A2 — 10 years, still employed. Same pay, 10 years: 8.6667 weeks = 329.33 hours = $13,173.33.

A3 — Illness resignation after 6 years. Same pay, employment ends by resignation because of illness after 6 years: pro-rata applies: 5.2000 weeks = 197.60 hours = $7,904.00.

A4 — Part-time, ends after 5 years. Part-time, 30 hours a week at $40 an hour ($1,200 a week), employment ends by redundancy after exactly 5 years: 4.3333 weeks = 130.00 hours = $5,200.00.

ACT vs other states

ACT gives 6.0667 weeks at 7 years, earlier than SA (13 weeks at 10 years) and WA (8⅔ weeks at 10 years), but its 5-year pro-rata window is the narrowest: only special circumstances qualify, while WA pays pro-rata from 7 years for almost any exit and SA pays from 7 years for any lawful ending. ACT accrual is fractional, unlike SA's completed-years-only rule. Compare the state pages or use the all-states calculator:

Frequently asked questions

Related calculators

This calculator provides general information and estimates only. It is not legal, tax or financial advice. Awards, agreements and contracts may give you more, never less than the ACT LSL Act minimums. Confirm your entitlement with your employer or WorkSafe ACT.