# Long Service Leave for a Victorian Employee

## Short answer

The employee's long service leave (LSL) entitlement is governed by **Victorian state law**: the **Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic)**. The level of government whose law applies here is the **State** government (Victoria), not the Commonwealth (federal) government.

There is no single national LSL figure that applies uniformly across Australia, so I cannot and will not give one. LSL is set jurisdiction by jurisdiction.

## Why state law, not federal

A common assumption is that because the employer is a "national-system employer" covered by the **Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)**, all of the employee's entitlements must come from that federal Act. For long service leave, that assumption is wrong.

The Fair Work Act sets out the National Employment Standards (NES), which cover things like annual leave, personal/carer's leave, and notice. But long service leave is treated specially. The NES (in s 113 of the Fair Work Act) generally **preserves the operation of state and territory long service leave laws**. In effect, for most national-system employees, LSL continues to be governed by the applicable state or territory LSL legislation rather than by a federal LSL standard. There is no general standalone LSL entitlement created by the Fair Work Act that displaces the state schemes.

So the chain of reasoning is:

1. The employee works in **Victoria**.
2. The employer is a national-system employer under the **Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)**.
3. The Fair Work Act's NES does **not** create a uniform national LSL entitlement; instead it preserves applicable state/territory LSL laws.
4. Therefore the governing law is the **Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic)**, a law made by the **State** of Victoria.

## The jurisdiction, stated plainly

- **Level of government:** State (Victoria).
- **Governing statute:** Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic).
- **Not** governed by a single Australia-wide federal LSL figure, because none exists in a uniform form.

## Why there is no single national figure

Each state and territory has its own LSL legislation, with its own qualifying period, accrual rate, and rules on pro-rata entitlement on termination. Because those statutes differ, the amount of leave and when it becomes payable depend on **where the employee works**. Quoting one national number would misstate the law. The correct approach is to identify the relevant jurisdiction first (here, Victoria) and then apply that jurisdiction's Act.

(There are some narrow exceptions to the general "state law governs LSL" position, for example certain pre-modern-award entitlements preserved under the Fair Work Act, and some industry-specific portable LSL schemes such as for construction. None of those changes the general answer for a typical Victorian employee: state law, the Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic), applies.)

## Note on approach

I treated this as a benchmarking hypothetical about which law governs LSL, not as legal advice. The key point the question tests is that "national-system employer under the Fair Work Act" does **not** mean federal law sets LSL. I identified the level of government (State), named the specific governing statute for Victoria (Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic)), explained the Fair Work Act s 113 carve-out that preserves state/territory LSL laws, and explained why no single uniform national LSL figure exists. Figures (qualifying period, accrual rate) were deliberately not quoted because the task asked which law applies, not for a computed entitlement, and because those values are jurisdiction-specific.