# Long Service Leave for National-System Employees

## Short answer

There is **no single national long service leave (LSL) figure** that applies the same way everywhere in Australia. For most employees, LSL is governed by **State and Territory legislation**, not by the Fair Work Act. Because each State and Territory has its own LSL Act, the entitlement an employee accrues — and when they can take it — **turns on where the employee is located**.

## Which level of law governs LSL

Even though your business is a national-system employer under the **Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)**, long service leave is a special case:

- The **National Employment Standards (NES)** deal with LSL only in a transitional/preserved way. The NES does **not** set a uniform national LSL entitlement for most employees.
- Under the Fair Work Act, an employee's LSL generally continues to be governed by:
  - an **applicable pre-modern award–derived (preserved) LSL entitlement**, where one exists; or, far more commonly,
  - the **relevant State or Territory long service leave legislation**.
- A minority of employees are covered by older federal **pre-reform award** or **agreement-based** LSL terms, but for the **majority** the operative law is the **State/Territory LSL Act** for the place where the employee works.

So the correct way to answer the employee is: *"Your LSL is worked out under the long service leave law of the State or Territory you work in"* — not under a single Commonwealth rule.

## Why there is no uniform figure

Each jurisdiction sets its own:

- **qualifying period** (the years of continuous service needed before LSL is payable),
- **rate of accrual** (how many weeks of leave per year of service),
- rules on **pro-rata payment on termination**,
- treatment of **continuous service**, parental leave, transfers of business, and casual/seasonal work.

These differ between **NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory**, and there are also separate **portable LSL schemes** in some industries (e.g. building and construction, contract cleaning, community services in certain States). Because the qualifying periods and accrual rates are **not identical**, the same length of service can produce a **different LSL outcome depending on location**.

## How to work out a particular employee's entitlement

1. **Identify the governing instrument.** Check first whether a preserved federal/award-derived LSL term applies to the employee. If not (the usual case), go to the State/Territory Act.
2. **Identify the employee's location/jurisdiction.** The applicable LSL Act is generally that of the State or Territory where the employee works.
3. **Check for a portable scheme.** If the employee works in an industry with a portable LSL scheme in that jurisdiction, that scheme may apply instead.
4. **Apply that Act's rules** for:
   - the qualifying period before any entitlement arises,
   - the accrual rate (weeks per year of service),
   - what counts as continuous service,
   - any pro-rata entitlement on termination.
5. **Calculate** the weeks of LSL using that jurisdiction's formula, paid at the rate the relevant Act prescribes (commonly the employee's ordinary pay, with averaging rules for variable hours).

## Bottom line

- LSL for most national-system employees is set by **State/Territory law**, with limited preserved federal exceptions.
- There is **no uniform Australia-wide LSL entitlement** — the qualifying period and accrual rate **vary by jurisdiction**.
- To give the employee a figure, you must apply the **specific LSL Act (or portable scheme) for the State or Territory in which they work**.

*This is a general explanation for benchmarking purposes, not legal advice. Confirm the position under the specific legislation of the relevant jurisdiction.*