State and territory legislation
Portable long service leave, accrued by your state's rules
There is no single Australian long service leave entitlement. Victoria opens the door at 7 years, New South Wales and Queensland at 10, and what you get paid when you leave depends on why you left. Seven and a half years in Victoria is 6.5 weeks accrued, worth $10,400 at $1,600 a week. Pick your state below.
8.67 weeks
NSW and Queensland entitlement at 10 years of continuous service
1 in 60
the Victorian accrual: one week for every 60 weeks of continuous employment
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Long service leave by state: NSW, Victoria and Queensland compared
Last updated
Weeks accrue at almost exactly the same rate in all three states. What differs, and differs sharply, is when you can take the leave and whether it is paid out when you leave. This table shows the same worker under each Act.
Computed with this page's own formulas from the entitlements published by NSW Industrial Relations, the Workforce Inspectorate Victoria and Business Queensland: NSW and Queensland 8.6667 weeks at 10 years, Victoria one week per 60 weeks of continuous employment from 7 years. Weeks are rounded to two decimals, so a regulator's own example that rounds to one decimal can differ by 0.03 of a week. Qualifying reason means the termination reasons each Act lists, such as illness, incapacity, domestic or other pressing necessity, death, or dismissal for a reason other than serious and wilful misconduct.
| Continuous service | Weeks accrued | NSW: payable if you left today | Victoria: payable if you left today | Queensland: payable if you left today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 years | 4.33 | 4.33, qualifying reason only | Nothing | Nothing |
| 7 years | 6.07 | 6.07, qualifying reason only | 6.07, any reason | 6.07, qualifying reason only |
| 8 years | 6.93 | 6.93, qualifying reason only | 6.93, any reason | 6.93, qualifying reason only |
| 10 years | 8.67 | 8.67, any reason | 8.67, any reason | 8.67, any reason |
| 12 years | 10.40 | 10.40, any reason | 10.40, any reason | 10.40, any reason |
| 15 years | 13.00 | 13.00, any reason | 13.00, any reason | 13.00, any reason |
- A worker who resigns at 8 years' service walks away with about 6.93 weeks of long service leave in Victoria and nothing in Queensland or New South Wales unless the reason for leaving qualifies: the same tenure, the same accrual, a different Act.
- All three states accrue long service leave at roughly 0.867 of a week per year of continuous service, which is 8.67 weeks at 10 years and 13 weeks at 15.
- Victoria is the only one of the three where the entitlement opens at 7 years rather than 10, and where the payout on termination at that point does not depend on why the employment ended.
Cite this page
“Long service leave by state: NSW, Victoria and Queensland compared”, Long Service Leave Calculator, https://longserviceleavecalc.com/ (updated 2026-08-15). Computed with this page's own formulas from the entitlements published by NSW Industrial Relations, the Workforce Inspectorate Victoria and Business Queensland: NSW and Queensland 8.6667 weeks at 10 years, Victoria one week per 60 weeks of continuous employment from 7 years. Weeks are rounded to two decimals, so a regulator's own example that rounds to one decimal can differ by 0.03 of a week. Qualifying reason means the termination reasons each Act lists, such as illness, incapacity, domestic or other pressing necessity, death, or dismissal for a reason other than serious and wilful misconduct.
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Read next
The longer answers, with sources.
Long service leave NSW: 2 months at 10 years, and the 5 year rule
The NSW Long Service Leave Act 1955: 8.67 weeks at 10 years, 4.33 weeks per additional 5 years, pro-rata from 5 years for a qualifying reason, and continuous service.
Long service leave Victoria: 7 years, and one week per 60
The Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic): entitlement at 7 years, accrual of one week per 60 weeks, payment however employment ends, and the regulator's worked examples.
Long service leave Queensland: 8.6667 weeks at 10 years
Queensland's Industrial Relations Act 2016: 8.6667 weeks at 10 years, 13 weeks at 15, pro-rata from 7 years for a qualifying reason, and the casual hours formula.
Long service leave by state and territory: who to ask
Long service leave is state and territory law, so there is no single Australian entitlement. Which agency governs each state, and what overrides the state Act.
What this is based on
- Long service leave in Australia is state and territory legislation, not federal. The Fair Work Ombudsman states that most employees' entitlement to long service leave comes from long service leave laws in each state or territory, and that those laws set how long an employee must work to get it and how much they get (Fair Work Ombudsman: long service leave). There is no single national entitlement and this site does not publish one.
- New South Wales: NSW Industrial Relations states that the Long Service Leave Act 1955 entitles full-time, part-time and casual workers to 2 months (8.67 weeks) paid long service leave on completion of 10 years' continuous service, and one month (4.33 weeks) for each additional 5 years' service, with a month defined as 4 1/3 weeks. Pro-rata applies between 5 and 10 years only where the employment ends for a qualifying reason, and after 10 years for any reason (NSW Industrial Relations).
- Victoria: the Workforce Inspectorate states that most Victorian workers qualify after at least 7 years of continuous employment with one employer, and that long service leave accrues at one week for every 60 weeks of continuous service, about 0.866 of a week each year. Where employment ends before 7 years, no payment is due; at or after 7 years the full accrued but untaken entitlement is payable however the employment ends (Workforce Inspectorate Victoria).
- Queensland: Business Queensland states that employees are entitled to take 8.6667 weeks after 10 years' continuous service, a further 4.3333 weeks after another 5 years (13 weeks in total), and that beyond 15 years leave can be accessed as it accrues. Below 7 years there is no entitlement; between 7 and 10 years a pro-rata payment on termination applies only where the reason qualifies; at 10 years or more the payout is automatic (Business Queensland).
- The accrual rate works out at about 0.867 of a week a year in all three states, so the weeks accrued column is effectively common ground. Everything that actually differs is in the qualifying period and the termination rules, which is why this calculator reports those separately.
- This tool covers NSW, Victoria and Queensland because those are the three schemes we have read end to end. The ACT, Northern Territory, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia have their own Acts with different qualifying periods and accrual rates, and we do not guess at them. The by-state guide names the responsible agency for each.
- Separate portable long service leave schemes apply in several industries, including building and construction, contract cleaning and community services, and the black coal mining industry runs a national scheme through Coal LSL. If you have changed employers within one of those industries your entitlement may not come from the general state Act at all.
- Some employees take long service leave from a pre-modern award or an enterprise agreement instead of the state Act. The Fair Work Ombudsman states that state and territory long service leave laws do not apply where entitlements sit in a federal pre-modern award that covered the employer before 1 January 2010.
- Ordinary pay is defined differently in each state, and generally excludes overtime and shift penalties. NSW additionally takes the higher of ordinary remuneration at the prescribed date and the average over the previous five years for some workers. The single weekly figure here is an approximation: verify the rate before relying on a dollar amount.
- Continuous service is not the same as elapsed time. Agreed unpaid leave and unpaid parental leave commonly do not count as service in NSW even though they do not break it, which pushes a milestone later. Absences for illness or injury generally do count. Check your own absences against your state's rules before trusting a milestone date.
Long Service Leave Calculator is an independent information site operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd. It is not affiliated with NSW Industrial Relations, the Workforce Inspectorate Victoria, Business Queensland, the Fair Work Ombudsman or any government body, and nothing here is legal or accounting advice, confirm your entitlement with your state's long service leave agency before acting.
Straight answers
How much long service leave do I get in Australia?
It depends on your state. Long service leave is state and territory legislation, not federal. NSW and Queensland give 8.67 weeks at 10 years of continuous service, while Victoria accrues one week per 60 weeks and lets you take it from 7 years.
After how many years do you get long service leave?
7 years in Victoria, and 10 years in New South Wales and Queensland before you can take the leave. Queensland allows a pro-rata payment on termination from 7 years and New South Wales from 5 years, but only where the reason for leaving qualifies.
Do I get paid long service leave if I resign?
In Victoria, yes, once you have 7 years' continuous employment, however the employment ends. In New South Wales and Queensland, resigning below the 10 year mark only pays out if the reason qualifies, for example illness, incapacity or a domestic or other pressing necessity.
How is long service leave accrued?
At roughly 0.867 of a week for each year of continuous service in all three states covered here. Victoria expresses it as one week for every 60 weeks of continuous employment; New South Wales and Queensland express it as 8.6667 weeks at the 10 year milestone.
Does unpaid leave count towards long service leave?
Usually not, though it does not break your service either. NSW Industrial Relations states that agreed unpaid leave and unpaid parental leave do not count as service, so the milestone moves later by the length of the absence, while absence for illness or injury does count.
Why does this calculator only cover three states?
Because those are the three schemes we have read end to end and can reproduce against the regulators' own worked examples. For the ACT, Northern Territory, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia we name the responsible agency rather than publish a figure we have not verified.
Sources
Your state's rules, not a national average.
Weeks accrued, what you can take now, and what is payable if you left today.
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