## Governing law

Being a national-system employer under the *Fair Work Act 2009* does **not** produce one national long service leave entitlement. Although long service leave is referred to in the National Employment Standards, the Fair Work Act does not prescribe a uniform accrual figure.

For most employees, the operative minimum comes from the **long service leave legislation of the state or territory in which the employee’s employment is located or has the necessary territorial connection**. It is generally the employee’s work location—not the employer’s registered office—that matters. Interstate, overseas or mobile service can require a closer territorial-connection analysis.

Certain employees may instead or additionally be affected by:

- pre-1 January 2010 award-derived long service leave terms preserved by the Fair Work Act;
- an enterprise agreement or contract providing more generous benefits;
- a public-sector or occupation-specific regime; or
- a portable long service leave scheme, such as one covering construction, cleaning, security or community services.

## General state and territory benchmarks for 2025–26

These are the headline entitlements under the ordinary private-sector schemes, before applying special termination, portability or industry rules:

| Employment location | General statutory benchmark |
|---|---|
| **New South Wales** — *Long Service Leave Act 1955* | 2 months after 10 years’ service, plus 1 month for each further 5 years |
| **Victoria** — *Long Service Leave Act 2018* | Accrues at 1 week for each 60 weeks of continuous employment and can generally be taken after 7 years |
| **Queensland** — *Industrial Relations Act 2016* | 8.6667 weeks after 10 years, with further accrual thereafter |
| **Western Australia** — *Long Service Leave Act 1958* | 8.667 weeks after 10 years, plus 4.333 weeks for each further 5 years |
| **South Australia** — *Long Service Leave Act 1987* | 13 weeks after 10 years, generally accruing at 1.3 weeks per year |
| **Tasmania** — *Long Service Leave Act 1976* | 8⅔ weeks after 10 years, plus 4⅓ weeks for each further 5 years |
| **Australian Capital Territory** — *Long Service Leave Act 1976* | Accrues at one-fifth of a month per year and can generally be taken after 7 years—about 6.07 weeks at 7 years |
| **Northern Territory** — *Long Service Leave Act 1981* | 13 weeks after 10 years, plus 6.5 weeks for each further 5 years |

Pro-rata payment on termination may become available before the normal access point, but the minimum service period and permitted reasons for termination or resignation differ by jurisdiction.

For a particular employee, the employer must therefore:

1. identify the state or territory law connected with the employment;
2. check for any preserved award term, enterprise agreement, special industry or portable scheme;
3. calculate continuous service under that law, including its rules for absences, transfers and changes of employer;
4. apply the local accrual and access or termination rules;
5. deduct leave already taken; and
6. value the remaining leave under the jurisdiction’s ordinary-pay, hours and averaging rules.

Accordingly, **there is no single long service leave figure that applies in the same way throughout Australia**.