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People reading this page usually work these out too.
The ACT reaches the entitlement fastest of any jurisdiction: 6.0667 weeks of paid leave after just 7 years of continuous service, then a further fifth of a month each year. If a public holiday or award holiday falls during your long service leave, the leave is extended by a day. A pro-rata payment can be owed from as little as 5 years where the job ends through illness, incapacity, pressing necessity, retirement, death, or a dismissal short of serious and wilful misconduct — and it is worked out on completed years and months.
Long service leave you take as leave is taxed like ordinary pay. This schedule is for an unused balance paid out when the job ends. See take-home pay on $95,000 for the year that includes it, or the final pay calculator for the whole termination payment.
Long service leave in the ACT comes from the Long Service Leave Act 1976 (ACT), administered by WorkSafe ACT. It accrues at 0.8667 weeks for every year of continuous service with one employer. At 7 years you can take 6.0667 weeks of paid leave; after that, a further 1/5 of a month (0.8667 weeks) for each subsequent year of continuous service.
| Continuous service | Weeks accrued | Weeks you can take | Worth at $1,600 a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 years | 4.33 | — | $6,933 |
| 7 years | 6.07 | 6.07 | $9,707 |
| 8 years | 6.93 | 6.93 | $11,093 |
| 10 years | 8.67 | 8.67 | $13,867 |
| 12 years | 10.40 | 10.40 | $16,640 |
| 15 years | 13.00 | 13.00 | $20,800 |
| 20 years | 17.33 | 17.33 | $27,733 |
| 25 years | 21.67 | 21.67 | $34,667 |
“Accrued” is what is paid out when employment ends and a pro-rata entitlement exists. “Can take” is what you can use as leave while still employed — a dash means the 7-year qualifying period has not been reached.
A pro-rata payment first becomes possible at 5 years of continuous service in the ACT. Below that, nothing is owed however the job ends.
Between 5 and 7 years the payment is owed only where one of these applies:
A plain resignation for a better job is not on that list. From 7 years the accrued balance is paid out however the employment ends, and it covers your whole period of continuous service — not just the years past the milestone.
Whatever is owed is paid in your final pay, with unused annual leave and any notice. Work the whole thing out with the final pay calculator, and remember that annual leave is a separate entitlement handled by the annual leave calculator.
Full-time and part-time employees, including piece-rate workers, are covered; WorkSafe ACT says casual employees may also be covered. Service outside the ACT may not count towards the total.
Because the entitlement is measured in weeks, a part-timer earns the same number of weeks as a full-timer and is paid at their own ordinary weekly rate. Put your actual weekly pay into the calculator above rather than a full-time equivalent.
WorkSafe ACT's Long Service Leave Guidance Note does not address cashing out. Check with WorkSafe ACT before agreeing to anything.
Tax on long service leave is federal, so it is the same in the ACT as everywhere else. Leave you take is taxed like ordinary pay. An unused balance paid out at termination follows the ATO's unused-leave schedule:
| Leave accrued | Resignation, retirement or dismissal | Genuine redundancy or invalidity |
|---|---|---|
| Before 16 August 1978 | 5% taxed at marginal rates | 5% taxed at marginal rates |
| 16 Aug 1978 – 17 Aug 1993 | Flat 32% | Flat 32% |
| After 17 August 1993 | Marginal rate | Flat 32% |
For anyone who started work after 17 August 1993, only the last row applies. A 7-year ACT entitlement of 6.07 weeks on $1,600 a week is $9,707 gross, landing in a year worth about $92,907 — see take-home pay on $95,000 for what that leaves after tax. The calculator above applies the same split to your own dates.
If one of those describes you, the figures on this page are not yours. WorkSafe ACT is the regulator for the Act itself; for a federal award or agreement, contact the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94.
ACT is one of eight jurisdictions with its own Act. The qualifying period runs from 7 years (Victoria and the ACT) to 10, and the rate from 0.8667 weeks a year to 1.3 (South Australia and the Northern Territory).
| State | Take leave at | Weeks then | Pro-rata from |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | 10 years | 8.67 | 5 years |
| VIC | 7 years | 6.0667 | 7 years |
| QLD | 10 years | 8.6667 | 7 years |
| WA | 10 years | 8.667 | 7 years |
| SA | 10 years | 13 | 7 years |
| TAS | 10 years | 8.667 | 7 years |
| ACT | 7 years | 6.0667 | 5 years |
| NT | 10 years | 13 | 7 years |
The long service leave hub sets all eight side by side, including what each pays if you resign at 8 years.
8.67 weeks. Long Service Leave Act 1976 (ACT) accrues 0.8667 weeks for every year of continuous service, and you could already take leave from 7 years. A further 1/5 of a month (0.8667 weeks) for each subsequent year of continuous service.
6.07 weeks, and you can take it — ACT is one of only two jurisdictions where the qualifying period is 7 years rather than 10.
Only from 7 years if you simply resign. Between 5 and 7 years ACT pays a pro-rata amount only where one of these applies: you resign because of illness, incapacity, or a domestic or other pressing necessity serious enough to justify it; you leave on or after reaching the minimum retiring age; you die; the employer ends the employment for a reason other than your serious and wilful misconduct. From 7 years the accrued balance is paid however the employment ends.
Long Service Leave Act 1976 (ACT) accrues 0.8667 weeks for each year of continuous service, paid at your ordinary weekly rate at the time you take the leave or the job ends. It is worked out on completed years and months.
Full-time and part-time employees, including piece-rate workers, are covered; WorkSafe ACT says casual employees may also be covered. Service outside the ACT may not count towards the total.
WorkSafe ACT's Long Service Leave Guidance Note does not address cashing out. Check with WorkSafe ACT before agreeing to anything.
Tax is federal, so it is the same in every state. If your service started after 17 August 1993, the payout is taxed at your marginal rate when you resign, retire or are dismissed. If you leave through genuine redundancy, invalidity or an early retirement scheme, the ATO withholds a flat 32% instead. No tax is withheld from unused leave paid after an employee's death.
WorkSafe ACT lists: employees covered by an award or agreement that contains long service leave provisions; ACT and Commonwealth public sector employees; employees in the ACT's portable schemes — building and construction, contract cleaning, community sector and security. If you are in one of those groups, your long service leave comes from somewhere else — check with the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94 or your scheme.
Last verified: 28 August 2026. Our content is based on the latest information from official Australian government sources.
Employment & Workplace Rights Editor
B.Com (Hons), Cert IV Financial Planning
Penny is a financial journalist and workplace compliance specialist with over a decade of experience writing about Australian employment law, Fair Work entitlements, and payroll. She has contributed to publications covering industrial relations and personal finance, and previously advised small businesses on award interpretation and pay compliance.
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