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Long Service Leave Calculator SA (South Australia)13 weeks after 10 years under the Long Service Leave Act 1987 (SA)

South Australia pays the largest entitlement in the country: 13 weeks after 10 years of continuous service, then 1.3 weeks for every year after that, at the same rate whether you are full-time, part-time or casual. A pro-rata payment becomes available once you complete 7 years, worth 1.3 weeks for each COMPLETED year — 8½ years pays 10.4 weeks, not 11.05. Before 10 years it is not payable if you are dismissed for serious and wilful misconduct or you end the contract unlawfully, such as by walking out without working your notice; from 10 years even a misconduct dismissal does not remove it.

Official ATO ratesUpdated FY2026-27Free foreverNo signup required

Long Service Leave Calculator — South Australia

$

Ordinary time only — no overtime. About $83,200 a year.

Are you still employed?
Long service leave you can take
13.00 weeks
$20,800 gross at $1,600 a week · 65.0 working days

How SA works it out

Continuous service10 yr 3 mth 2 wk 0 d
Service paid on (completed years only)10.0000 years
Rate1.3000 weeks per year
Accrued to date13.00 weeks
Qualifying period (10 years)reached
Takeable as leave now13.00 weeks

Tax on the payout (ATO)

Gross payout$20,800.00
Post-17 Aug 1993 at your marginal rate (32.0%)-$6,656.00
Tax withheld-$6,656.00
In your hand$14,144.00

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 $105,000 for the year that includes it, or the final pay calculator for the whole termination payment.

Not modelled: unpaid leave and other absences that do not count as service; long service leave you have already taken; portable schemes (building and construction, contract cleaning, community services, security, black coal); an award or agreement that replaces the Act; and pay averaging where your hours changed. A day is taken as one fifth of a week ($320.00 here). Check the balance on your payslip against this figure and ask payroll about any gap.

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Long service leave is not annual leave: annual leave is the federal four weeks a year in the annual leave calculator.

How Much Long Service Leave You Get in South Australia

SafeWork SA administers the Long Service Leave Act 1987 and investigates claims lodged on its long service leave claim form free of charge. SA counts entitlement in calendar weeks: 13 weeks at 10 years, then 1.3 weeks — 9.1 calendar days — for each further completed year.

The Long Service Leave Act 1987 (SA) accrues 1.3000 weeks for every year with one employer. At 10 years you can take 13 weeks; after that, 1.3 weeks (9.1 days) for each subsequent year, which can be taken as it accrues with the employer's approval. Only completed years are paid; a part year is dropped.

Continuous serviceWeeks accruedWeeks you can takeWorth at $1,600 a week
7 years9.10—$14,560
8 years10.40—$16,640
10 years13.0013.00$20,800
11 years14.3014.30$22,880
15 years19.5019.50$31,200
20 years26.0026.00$41,600

Accrued is what is paid out when the job ends and a pro-rata entitlement exists; a dash means the 10-year qualifying period has not been reached.

Pro-Rata Long Service Leave in South Australia

From 7 years the accrued balance is paid however the job ends. Before 10 years it is withheld for serious and wilful misconduct, or where you end the contract unlawfully by not working your notice.

How South Australian Long Service Leave Pay Is Worked Out

Leave is paid at your ordinary weekly rate: your normal weekly pay excluding overtime, shift premiums and penalty rates, on the day leave starts or payment in lieu is made. A higher rate you are acting in on that day counts, and if a pay rise lands while you are on leave, the remaining weeks are paid at the new rate.

Hours are averaged over 3 years. Someone full-time for at least the last 3 years gets 13 weeks of full-time hours at the current rate; part-time, casual and mixed workers are paid on their average hours over the previous 3 years; commission, target and piece workers on their average income over the previous 12 months. A casual's rate includes the casual loading.

Payment is due in advance for the whole period, on normal paydays, or as agreed — and immediately when employment ends. Once you reach 10 years, dismissal for misconduct cannot take the entitlement away: it must be paid out in full.

Taking Long Service Leave in South Australia

Leave should be taken in one continuous period as soon as practicable after it falls due. Separate periods, as short as one day, need both sides to agree. An employer can direct you to take leave only with at least 60 days' notice.

Every day after the leave starts counts as a day of leave, weekends and public holidays included: 13 weeks starting Monday 1 August ends Monday 31 October. Leave at half pay needs the employer's agreement.

Casual, Part-Time and Continuous Service in South Australia

Full-time, part-time and casual workers accrue at the same 1.3 weeks a year — employment status does not change the rate. A casual's contracts must form a continuous series; a prolonged gap or a clear termination can break it. Weeks that do not count as service (such as unpaid leave) must be added on before the 10 years is reached.

Parental leave — employer-funded or government-funded — does not break service but does not count towards it, so it has to be made up before 10 years is reached. Periods of apprenticeship count where you are re-employed by the same employer within 12 months of finishing it.

Cashing Out Long Service Leave in South Australia

Once you complete 10 years, you and your employer can agree to a cash payment instead of some or all of the leave. SafeWork SA says the agreement must be in writing and signed by both of you, it is paid at your current ordinary weekly rate, and the employer must give you a written statement of the payment and the leave left. Your employer cannot force you to take cash instead of leave.

Portable Long Service Schemes in South Australia

Two groups in South Australia accrue through portable schemes instead of the 1987 Act.

Also outside the SA Act

  • SA and Commonwealth public sector employees
  • construction industry workers covered by the Construction Industry Long Service Leave Act 1987 (SA)
  • community services workers covered by the Portable Long Service Leave Act 2024 (SA)
  • workers whose long service leave comes from a pre-modernised award, or an award or agreement with its own long service leave terms

Tax, and How SA Compares

Tax on a payout is federal, so it is the same in South Australia as everywhere: the ATO unused-leave schedule is set out on the hub. A 10-year SA entitlement of 13.00 weeks at $1,600 a week is $20,800 gross — see take-home pay on $105,000 for the year it lands in. For the other seven Acts side by side, see long service leave in every state.

How this calculator works▼
  • Weeks = years of continuous service × 1.3000, the rate SafeWork SA publishes. Only completed years are paid; a part year is dropped.
  • Payout = weeks × the weekly pay you enter. The calculator does not apply the SA averaging or ordinary-pay rules described above, so enter the figure those rules give you.
  • SafeWork SA's published worked example is reconciled to this formula in the test suite. Source: https://www.safework.sa.gov.au/workers/wages-and-conditions/long-service-leave/accruing-leave, read 10 October 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

SA long service leave questions and answers

How much long service leave do you get after 10 years in South Australia?

13.00 weeks. Long Service Leave Act 1987 (SA) accrues 1.3000 weeks for every year of continuous service, and 10 years is the point at which you can take it — 13 weeks. 1.3 weeks (9.1 days) for each subsequent year, which can be taken as it accrues with the employer's approval.

How much long service leave do you get after 7 years in South Australia?

9.10 weeks has accrued, but SA does not let you take long service leave until 10 years. Seven years does matter for another reason: it is the point at which a pro-rata payment becomes possible if the job ends.

Do you get long service leave paid out if you resign in South Australia?

Yes. From 7 years of continuous service SA pays the accrued balance however the employment ends — resignation, dismissal, redundancy or death, unless before 10 years you are dismissed for serious and wilful misconduct or you end the contract unlawfully.

How is long service leave pay calculated in South Australia?

Leave is paid at your ordinary weekly rate: your normal weekly pay excluding overtime, shift premiums and penalty rates, on the day leave starts or payment in lieu is made. A higher rate you are acting in on that day counts, and if a pay rise lands while you are on leave, the remaining weeks are paid at the new rate.

Do casual employees get long service leave in South Australia?

Full-time, part-time and casual workers accrue at the same 1.3 weeks a year — employment status does not change the rate. A casual's contracts must form a continuous series; a prolonged gap or a clear termination can break it. Weeks that do not count as service (such as unpaid leave) must be added on before the 10 years is reached.

Can you cash out long service leave in South Australia?

Once you complete 10 years, you and your employer can agree to a cash payment instead of some or all of the leave. SafeWork SA says the agreement must be in writing and signed by both of you, it is paid at your current ordinary weekly rate, and the employer must give you a written statement of the payment and the leave left. Your employer cannot force you to take cash instead of leave.

Do weekends and public holidays count as long service leave days in South Australia?

Yes. SafeWork SA says every day after the leave starts counts as a day of long service leave, including weekends and public holidays, so they do not extend the leave.

How is long service leave worked out for part-time and casual workers in SA?

On the average number of hours worked over the previous 3 years, at the current ordinary rate (including casual loading for casuals). A worker who has been full-time for at least the last 3 years is paid on full-time hours; commission, target and piece workers are paid on their average income over the previous 12 months.

Does parental leave count towards long service leave in SA?

It does not break continuous service, but it does not count as service either, whether employer-funded or government-funded (unless an enterprise agreement says otherwise). The time has to be made up: 12 months of maternity leave pushes the 10-year point back by 12 months.

13.00 weeks. Long Service Leave Act 1987 (SA) accrues 1.3000 weeks for every year of continuous service, and 10 years is the point at which you can take it — 13 weeks. 1.3 weeks (9.1 days) for each subsequent year, which can be taken as it accrues with the employer's approval.

9.10 weeks has accrued, but SA does not let you take long service leave until 10 years. Seven years does matter for another reason: it is the point at which a pro-rata payment becomes possible if the job ends.

Yes. From 7 years of continuous service SA pays the accrued balance however the employment ends — resignation, dismissal, redundancy or death, unless before 10 years you are dismissed for serious and wilful misconduct or you end the contract unlawfully.

Leave is paid at your ordinary weekly rate: your normal weekly pay excluding overtime, shift premiums and penalty rates, on the day leave starts or payment in lieu is made. A higher rate you are acting in on that day counts, and if a pay rise lands while you are on leave, the remaining weeks are paid at the new rate.

Full-time, part-time and casual workers accrue at the same 1.3 weeks a year — employment status does not change the rate. A casual's contracts must form a continuous series; a prolonged gap or a clear termination can break it. Weeks that do not count as service (such as unpaid leave) must be added on before the 10 years is reached.

Once you complete 10 years, you and your employer can agree to a cash payment instead of some or all of the leave. SafeWork SA says the agreement must be in writing and signed by both of you, it is paid at your current ordinary weekly rate, and the employer must give you a written statement of the payment and the leave left. Your employer cannot force you to take cash instead of leave.

Yes. SafeWork SA says every day after the leave starts counts as a day of long service leave, including weekends and public holidays, so they do not extend the leave.

On the average number of hours worked over the previous 3 years, at the current ordinary rate (including casual loading for casuals). A worker who has been full-time for at least the last 3 years is paid on full-time hours; commission, target and piece workers are paid on their average income over the previous 12 months.

It does not break continuous service, but it does not count as service either, whether employer-funded or government-funded (unless an enterprise agreement says otherwise). The time has to be made up: 12 months of maternity leave pushes the 10-year point back by 12 months.

Related Calculators

Long service leave in your state

Work out the rest of your pay: annual leave · final pay · redundancy pay · take-home pay

What this covers. How many weeks you have accrued, what the balance is worth at your ordinary pay, and how the ATO taxes a payout — so you can check the figure on your payslip or final pay. It is not legal advice, and it does not cover disputes, dismissal or whether an award or agreement displaces the Act. For those, contact SafeWork SA or the Fair Work Ombudsman. Figures verified 10 October 2026.

Sources & References

  1. 1
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    Payment of entitlement— SafeWork SA
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    Portable Long Service Leave (Construction Industry Long Service Leave Act 1987)— Portable Long Service Leave (Construction Industry Long Service Leave Act 1987)
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
    Long service leave— Fair Work Ombudsman

Last verified: 10 October 2026. Our content is based on the latest information from official Australian government sources.

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People reading this page usually work these out too.