# How long service leave is worked out, and why there is no single national figure

## The short answer

There is **no uniform long service leave (LSL) entitlement that applies the same way everywhere in Australia**. Despite being a national-system employer under the *Fair Work Act 2009* (Cth), your employees' LSL is, for the vast majority of cases, **governed by the long service leave law of the State or Territory in which the employee works** (or, where one exists, by a pre-modern-award LSL instrument preserved by the Fair Work Act). The amount of leave, when it can first be taken, what counts as continuous service, and how it is paid out all differ by jurisdiction. So the right answer for any given employee **turns on their location**, not on a single national number.

## Which level of law actually governs LSL

It is a common assumption that, because you are covered by the national workplace relations system, a single federal LSL standard applies. It does not.

1. **The National Employment Standards (NES) do not set a substantive LSL entitlement.** The NES in the Fair Work Act cover ten minimum entitlements (annual leave, personal/carer's leave, etc.). Long service leave is the deliberate exception. Section 113 of the Fair Work Act provides that LSL is dealt with by **"applicable award-derived" or, failing that, the relevant State/Territory long service leave law**:
   - If there was an "applicable award-derived long service leave term" preserved from a pre-modernised award as at the relevant date, that term applies (s 113(1)-(3)). These are now rare.
   - Otherwise (the usual case), the employee is **entitled to LSL "in accordance with applicable State or Territory laws"** (s 113(3)). There is also a transitional mechanism (s 113A) for certain pre-2010 agreement-derived entitlements.
   The practical effect: for most national-system employees, **the operative LSL law is the State or Territory statute where they work**, sitting alongside (not replaced by) the NES.

2. **Modern awards and enterprise agreements generally do not contain LSL.** When awards were modernised, LSL was excluded precisely because it remained State/Territory-regulated. So you cannot simply read an entitlement off the relevant modern award.

3. **State and Territory LSL is set by separate statutes**, for example:
   - NSW - *Long Service Leave Act 1955*
   - Victoria - *Long Service Leave Act 2018*
   - Queensland - LSL provisions in the *Industrial Relations Act 2016*
   - Western Australia - *Long Service Leave Act 1958*
   - South Australia - *Long Service Leave Act 1987*
   - Tasmania - *Long Service Leave Act 1976*
   - ACT - *Long Service Leave Act 1976* (and a separate portable scheme Act)
   - Northern Territory - *Long Service Leave Act 1981*

   Each is its own regime with its own qualifying periods, accrual rates, pro-rata triggers, and rules on continuity. Some industries (e.g. construction, contract cleaning, community services, coal mining) also sit under **separate portable LSL schemes** that travel with the worker between employers, which is a further reason there is no one figure.

## Why the figure differs by location (illustrative, not advice)

Because each State/Territory statute is independent, the key numbers genuinely diverge. As a guide to how much they vary (always confirm against the current statute for the employee's State/Territory):

- **Amount after the main qualifying period.** Several jurisdictions provide roughly **2 months (about 8.667 weeks)** of paid LSL after **10 years** of continuous service, with further accrual after that. But the exact amount and the further-service rate are not identical across jurisdictions.
- **When LSL first becomes payable, and pro-rata on termination.** This is where divergence is sharpest. For example:
  - In **NSW**, a pro-rata entitlement can arise after **5 years** in defined circumstances (and the full entitlement attaches at 10 years).
  - In **Victoria**, an employee becomes entitled to take LSL after **7 years**, and pro-rata is generally payable on any termination after 7 years.
  - In **Queensland**, full LSL is generally **after 10 years**, with pro-rata after **7 years** on termination.
  - Other States/Territories use their own qualifying and pro-rata thresholds.
- **What counts as "continuous service"** (treatment of parental leave, unpaid leave, transfers of business, casual/seasonal work) and **how the rate of pay is calculated** (ordinary pay, averaging of variable earnings, loadings) also differ statute to statute.

The upshot: the same length of service and the same salary can produce a **different LSL outcome depending solely on which State or Territory the employee works in** - and under a portable scheme, on which scheme covers the industry.

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

1. **Identify the employee's location** - the State or Territory in which they are based/work. This selects the governing statute.
2. **Check for any preserved award-derived LSL term** (s 113 FWA) or a relevant **portable LSL scheme** for the industry. If either applies, it can displace or supplement the general State/Territory entitlement.
3. **Apply that jurisdiction's statute** to determine:
   - the qualifying period for full LSL and for any pro-rata,
   - the accrual rate (weeks of leave per year of service),
   - what counts as continuous service, and
   - the correct rate of pay for the leave.
4. **Compute the entitlement.** A typical full-entitlement calculation looks like:

   `LSL weeks payable = years of continuous service x (statutory weeks per year for that jurisdiction)`

   and the dollar value is `LSL weeks payable x the statutorily-defined weekly pay rate`.

   *Worked illustration (jurisdiction-dependent inputs):* an employee on a $1,500/week ordinary rate in a State that grants ~8.667 weeks at 10 years would, at 10 years, have ~8.667 weeks x $1,500 = **~$13,000** payable. **This number is illustrative only** - swap in the qualifying period, accrual rate and pay-calculation rule of the employee's actual State/Territory (or portable scheme) and the result changes.

## Bottom line

For a national-system employer under the Fair Work Act, **LSL is overwhelmingly a State/Territory matter** (preserved by s 113 of the Act), with some industries under portable schemes. **There is no single national LSL figure that applies the same way everywhere.** To answer "how is this employee's LSL worked out", you must first ask **where the employee works**, then apply that jurisdiction's long service leave law.

*This is a benchmarking hypothetical, not legal advice. Verify the current State/Territory statute (or applicable portable scheme) for the employee's location before relying on any figure.*