How Much Annual Leave Do You Get?
The National Employment Standards give every full-time and part-time employee 4 weeks of paid annual leave for each year of service, based on their ordinary hours of work. You earn it in hours, not days, so the same share of 4 weeks applies however your hours are spread across the week. A 38-hour week earns 152 hours; the Fair Work Ombudsman’s own example is a part-timer on 20 hours a week, who earns 80 hours a year.
| Ordinary hours a week | Leave a year | Each week | Each fortnight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 38 hours | 152 hours | 2.92 hours | 5.85 hours |
| 30.4 hours | 121.6 hours | 2.34 hours | 4.68 hours |
| 24 hours | 96 hours | 1.85 hours | 3.69 hours |
| 20 hours | 80 hours | 1.54 hours | 3.08 hours |
| 15.2 hours | 60.8 hours | 1.17 hours | 2.34 hours |
| 11.4 hours | 45.6 hours | 0.88 hours | 1.75 hours |
4 weeks a year ÷ 52 = 1/13 of ordinary hours. Shiftworkers covered by the extra week under their award or agreement earn 5 weeks (190 hours on a 38-hour week). Your award or agreement can give more than the NES, never less.
How Annual Leave Accrues
Annual leave starts building from your first day, including during a probation period, and builds gradually through the year rather than arriving all at once. It rolls over from year to year if you do not use it. So after six months of full-time work on 38 hours a week you have about 76 hours, and after 18 months about 228 hours before any leave is taken.
| You are on | Annual leave keeps accruing? |
|---|---|
| Paid annual, sick and carer's, or family and domestic violence leave | Yes |
| Community service leave, including jury duty | Yes |
| Long service leave | Yes |
| Unpaid annual leave, unpaid sick or carer's leave | No |
| Unpaid parental leave | No |
| Annual leave that has been cashed out | No (for the cashed-out leave) |
Fair Work Ombudsman, annual leave, read 5 October 2026. Government Parental Leave Pay is not treated as paid leave: you do not accrue annual leave while receiving it and taking unpaid leave from your employer.
Worked Example: 18 Months on $40 an Hour
Priya works 38 hours a week at a base rate of $40 an hour (that is $79,040 a year) and has been there 18 months. She has taken 38 hours of leave. Her award pays 17.5% leave loading.
- Leave earned: 38 hours × 78 weeks ÷ 13 = 228 hours.
- Leave taken: 38 hours. Balance: 190 hours, or 25 days of 7.6 hours.
- Balance at her base rate: 190 × $40 = $7,600.00.
- Leave loading: 17.5% × $7,600.00 = $1,330.00.
- Value before tax: $8,930.00.
If Priya resigned and was paid this out, it is taxed at her marginal rates: about $2,857 of tax, leaving $6,073. If she were made genuinely redundant, the ATO withholds a flat 32%: $2,858, leaving $6,072.
How Annual Leave Is Paid
When you take annual leave you are paid your current base pay rate for the hours of leave. The base rate leaves out overtime, penalty rates, allowances and bonuses, unless your award or enterprise agreement says otherwise. Many awards add an annual leave loading, usually 17.5%, which is not an NES entitlement: some awards pay a flat 17.5%, others pay the higher of 17.5% or the penalty rates you would have earned. Our leave loading calculator works through the rule for each major award.
On your payslip, annual leave appears as its own line with a running balance in hours. Check that the balance rises each pay by about 5.85 hours a fortnight on a 38-hour week. To see what a pay period nets after tax, use the take-home pay calculator.
Tax on Annual Leave
Annual leave you take while employed is paid and taxed like your normal pay. The tax question arises when leave is paid out as a lump sum. The ATO’s withholding schedule for unused leave on termination (applies to payments from 1 July 2026) sets the treatment:
| Situation | Annual leave and loading withheld at |
|---|---|
| Normal termination (resigning, retiring), leave accrued after 17 August 1993 | Marginal rates, as part of salary and wages |
| Normal termination, leave accrued before 18 August 1993 | 32% |
| Genuine redundancy, invalidity or early retirement scheme | 32%, whatever the accrual date |
ATO, PAYG withholding Schedule 7, read 5 October 2026. Withholding is an estimate; the final tax is settled when you lodge your return.
Unused leave paid on termination is not ordinary time earnings, so no super guarantee is payable on it. For the whole picture of a final pay, including notice and redundancy, see the final pay calculator; to see what leave you have left to be paid out and the loading on it, use the leave payout calculator.
Casuals and Annual Leave
Casual employees do not get paid annual leave. They are paid a casual loading on their hourly rate instead, usually 25%, and can take unpaid time off by agreement. If you work regular hours and no longer fit the definition of a casual, you may be able to move to permanent employment, where annual leave applies. See casual conversion and the casual loading calculator.
Related Calculators and Guides
- Annual Leave Guide: cashing out, directions to take leave, shutdowns
- Leave Payout Calculator: unused leave paid out when you leave
- Leave Loading Calculator: the 17.5% by award
- Sick Leave Calculator: personal/carer’s leave, 10 days a year
- Long Service Leave Calculator: by state
Frequently Asked Questions
Annual leave questions and answers
How is annual leave calculated in Australia?
Full-time and part-time employees get 4 weeks of paid annual leave a year, based on their ordinary hours. That is 1 hour of leave for every 13 ordinary hours worked. On a 38-hour week it is 152 hours a year, about 2.92 hours a week and 5.85 hours a fortnight. A part-timer on 20 hours a week earns 80 hours a year.
How many hours of annual leave do I get on a 38-hour week?
152 hours a year (4 weeks × 38 hours), which is 20 days of 7.6 hours. It builds gradually from your first day, so after six months you have about 76 hours. Unused leave rolls over each year.
Do part-time employees get annual leave?
Yes. Part-time employees get the same 4 weeks, pro rata to their ordinary hours. The Fair Work Ombudsman's own example is a part-timer on 20 hours a week, who accumulates 80 hours a year, the equivalent of 4 weeks of work for her.
Do casual employees get annual leave?
No. Casual employees do not get paid annual leave under the National Employment Standards. They are instead paid a casual loading, usually 25% on top of the hourly rate. A casual who no longer meets the definition of casual employment can ask to become permanent, after which annual leave applies.
Do shiftworkers get 5 weeks of annual leave?
Some do. Shiftworkers are entitled to more than 4 weeks if their award or enterprise agreement includes shiftwork provisions and defines them as employees who receive the additional week under the NES. If that applies to you, you get 5 weeks, or 190 hours on a 38-hour week. Check your award or agreement.
Does annual leave keep building while I am on other leave?
It keeps building while you are on paid leave (annual, sick and carer's, family and domestic violence), community service leave including jury duty, and long service leave. It does not build during unpaid annual leave, unpaid sick or carer's leave or unpaid parental leave, and not on leave that has been cashed out.
How is annual leave paid?
Annual leave is paid at your current base pay rate for all hours of leave taken. That excludes overtime, penalty rates, allowances and bonuses, unless your award or enterprise agreement says otherwise. Many awards add a 17.5% leave loading on top, which is not part of the NES.
Do I get paid out for unused annual leave when I leave?
Yes. When employment ends, your employer must pay the annual leave you have accumulated and not taken, even if your award, agreement or contract says otherwise. It is paid at the same amount as if you had taken the leave, including any leave loading you would have received.
How is a payout of unused annual leave taxed?
On a normal termination (such as resigning), unused annual leave and leave loading accrued after 17 August 1993 are taxed at your marginal rates, as part of your salary and wages for the year. If you are made genuinely redundant, or leave on invalidity or under an early retirement scheme, the ATO's withholding rate on unused annual leave and loading is a flat 32%. Leave accrued before 18 August 1993 on a normal termination is also withheld at 32%.
Is super paid on an unused annual leave payout?
No. The ATO treats unused leave on termination, including annual leave, leave loading and long service leave, as not ordinary time earnings and not qualifying earnings, so no super guarantee is payable on it. Super is payable on annual leave you take while still employed.
How we worked this out▼
Annual leave earned = ordinary hours a week × weeks of service × (4 ÷ 52), which is the National Employment Standards entitlement of 4 weeks a year based on ordinary hours (5 weeks for qualifying shiftworkers). The Fair Work Ombudsman’s example, 20 hours a week earning 80 hours a year, comes out exactly. Weeks of service = years × 52 + months × 52/12; leave out time on unpaid leave. Balance = earned minus taken, valued at the base hourly rate, with leave loading added at 17.5% if selected.
Payout tax follows the ATO’s Schedule 7: on a normal termination the payout is added to the year’s income and taxed at marginal rates with the Medicare levy (the difference between two runs of the site’s tax engine); on genuine redundancy a flat 32% is withheld. Your salary for the tax estimate is your hourly rate × weekly hours × 52. National Employment Standards minimum; your award, agreement or contract can give more. General information, not advice.
Sources & References
- 1Annual leave— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 2Payment for annual leave— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 3PAYG withholding Schedule 7: unused leave payments on termination— Australian Taxation Office
- 4Fair Work Act 2009, sections 86–90— Federal Register of Legislation
Last verified: 5 October 2026. Our content is based on the latest information from official Australian government sources.
Anita Bell
AuthorFounder & Senior Bookkeeper
Accountancy degree (2015); certified in Xero, QuickBooks Online, MYOB, Saasu, Zoho and Reckon One
Anita Bell earned her accountancy degree in 2015 and has worked as a senior bookkeeper with Prime Bookkeeping for over 5 years. This built her skills in Australian and New Zealand tax legislation and industry regulations. She is certified in Xero, QuickBooks Online, MYOB, Saasu, Zoho and Reckon One, and works with payroll and rostering software including Gusto, Deputy, Tsheets and KeyPay. She has strong experience in hospitality, building and construction, financial services, real estate, ecommerce, and medical and health services.
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