You can cash out long service leave while you are still employed only in Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania, by agreement once the leave has accrued, and in Queensland through two narrow routes. In Victoria it is an offence, NSW and the Northern Territory bar it, and the ACT Act does not deal with it at all. In every jurisdiction, unused leave turns into money when the job ends, once you have passed that state's service threshold and, in some states, left for a qualifying reason. Below are the rule in each of the eight jurisdictions, the section that creates it, what a lawful agreement has to contain, and a dollar example for each.
Long service leave comes from state and territory Acts, so none of this follows the national rules for cashing out annual leave, which sit in the Fair Work Act and your award or agreement.
Key takeaways
- Victoria: paying or accepting money instead of long service leave is an offence for both sides unless another Act or your award or agreement permits it (s 34).
- NSW and the NT: barred while you are employed (NSW s 4(8), NT s 10(4)). In NSW a breach carries up to 20 penalty units.
- WA: allowed by a written agreement signed by both of you, only for fully accrued 10-year and 5-year blocks, and never for less than the ordinary pay the leave would have earned (s 5).
- South Australia: allowed from 10 years by an individual agreement recorded in writing and signed after the leave accrues. Your balance drops by what you are paid (s 5(1a), s 5(6)).
- Tasmania: you can elect to take payment instead of leave, by agreement with your employer, once you are entitled (s 10).
- Queensland: only where an award or agreement provides for it and you sign an agreement, or where the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC) orders it on compassionate or financial hardship grounds (s 110).
- ACT: the Act neither permits nor bans it.
- Super: paid on leave cashed out while you stay, not on unused leave paid when you leave.
Cashing out long service leave, state by state
A cash-out means money in place of leave while the job carries on. Three jurisdictions say no, three say yes by agreement, Queensland says yes only through an instrument or a commission order, and the ACT is silent.
| Jurisdiction | Cash out while employed? | What it takes | Section |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | No | Neither side may pay or accept money instead of leave. Payment in lieu happens only when the job ends (s 4(5)) | s 4(8); penalty s 10(1) |
| Victoria | No | An offence for the employer to pay and the employee to accept, unless another Act or your award or agreement permits it | s 34(1), (2) |
| Queensland | Only two ways | An award or agreement that provides for it plus a signed agreement, paid under that instrument; or a QIRC order on your application, on compassionate or financial hardship grounds | s 110(2) to (4) |
| WA | Yes, by written agreement | Signed by both; completed 10-year and 5-year blocks only; at least the ordinary pay the leave would have attracted; not before the leave accrues | s 5(1) to (3), s 8(2) |
| South Australia | Yes, from 10 years | Individual agreement recorded in writing and signed by both after the entitlement accrues; paid at the ordinary weekly rate just before payment; balance reduced | s 5(1a), s 5(6), s 8(3a) |
| Tasmania | Yes, by agreement | You elect, with your employer's agreement, once you are entitled to a period of leave | s 10 |
| Northern Territory | No | The employer must not pay and the employee must not accept any amount in lieu, except as s 10 provides | s 10(4) |
| ACT | Not addressed | No section permits it and none makes it an offence; payment in lieu applies only when employment ceases | s 11A, s 11C, s 14(1) |
Long Service Leave Act 1955 (NSW), current version from 1 July 2025; Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic), Authorised Version No. 006; Industrial Relations Act 2016 (Qld), reprint current from 1 January 2026; Long Service Leave Act 1958 (WA), consolidation 04-m0-00; Long Service Leave Act 1987 (SA), Version 1.7.2017; Long Service Leave Act 1976 (Tas), current from 10 December 2018; Long Service Leave Act 1981 (NT), reprint as in force at 14 October 2015; Long Service Leave Act 1976 (ACT), Republication No 29. All read 30 September or 5 October 2026. Links are in each state section below.
Two other lump sums are often mistaken for a cash-out. One is the payout of unused leave when employment ends, which every Act provides for once you pass its threshold (see below). The other is the NSW option of paying a period of leave in full on the day it starts. Neither is a cash-out: one is paid because the job has ended, the other is pay for leave you are actually taking.
Victoria: cashing out is an offence
Section 34 of the Long Service Leave Act 2018 binds both parties. Your employer "must not give an employee a payment in lieu of long service leave, or in lieu of any part of long service leave", and you "must not accept" one. The single exception is a payment permitted by that Act, another Act or "the relevant fair work instrument". Unless your award or agreement allows it, a Victorian employee cannot trade leave for cash, however willing the employer is.
The Victorian Government's own answer to the question is short: "No. In most circumstances, it is an offence to give or receive payment for long service leave instead of the employee taking the break from work." The regulator is the Workforce Inspectorate Victoria, called the Wage Inspectorate Victoria until 12 December 2025.
The money comes when the job ends instead. After 7 years of continuous employment you are entitled to leave equal to 1/60th of your total continuous employment (s 6). When employment ends, for any reason, the full balance "is due and payable to the employee on that day" (s 9(1)(b)). Before 7 years, nothing is payable.
Eight years with one employer, ordinary pay $1,500.00 a week (an illustrative figure, not an award rate).
- Cash-out while staying: $0.
- If the job ends at 8 years: 8 × 52 = 416 weeks. 416 ÷ 60 = 6.9333 weeks. 6.9333 × $1,500.00 = $10,400.00, payable on the last day.
Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic), s 6, s 9(1)(b), s 34(1) and (2), Authorised Version No. 006 (amendments as at 12 December 2025), read 30 September 2026. Victorian Government, Victoria's long service leave laws, updated 12 December 2025.
NSW: barred while you work, paid when you leave
Section 4(8) of the Long Service Leave Act 1955 closes the door from both sides. An employer shall not pay a worker "in lieu of any long service leave or part thereof", "nor shall any such payment be accepted by the worker". The one exception is the payment due when employment ends under s 4(5). Breaching any provision of the Act carries a penalty of up to 20 penalty units (s 10(1)). NSW Industrial Relations sums it up: "Long service leave cannot be cashed out."
What NSW does give you is a say in how leave you actually take is paid. Under s 4(7) the employer can pay it in full when the leave begins, on your normal pay days as if you were still working, or in any other way the two of you agree. You still take the time off, and that is what separates an up-front lump sum from a cash-out.
When you leave, unused leave is paid for any reason from 10 years, and between 5 and 10 years only for the reasons the Act lists, which do not include a plain resignation. The amounts by years and reason are in long service leave payout in NSW.
Twelve years, $1,500.00 a week.
- Cash-out while staying: $0.
- Leaving at 12 years, for any reason: the Act pays a proportion of 3 months (13 weeks) for 15 years. 12 ÷ 15 × 13 = 10.4 weeks. 10.4 × $1,500.00 = $15,600.00.
- Taking the 10-year block as leave instead: 8 2/3 weeks × $1,500.00 = $13,000.00, which the employer may pay in one sum on the first day of the leave (s 4(7)(a)).
Long Service Leave Act 1955 (NSW), s 4(2)(a)(ii), s 4(5)(a), s 4(7), s 4(8) and s 10(1), current version for 1 July 2025 to date, read 5 October 2026. NSW Industrial Relations, Long service leave FAQs (FAQ 51), page modified 22 June 2026, read 5 October 2026.
Queensland: an instrument and a signed agreement, or a QIRC order
Queensland's long service leave sits in the Industrial Relations Act 2016, and s 110 sets out the only two ways to be paid instead of taking it.
- Instrument plus agreement. A relevant industrial instrument or federal industrial instrument (your award or agreement) "provides for the employee to be paid for all or part of the entitlement", and you and your employer "agree by a signed agreement the payment may be made" (s 110(2)). The payment is then made under that instrument.
- A commission order. Without such a clause, the payment "may be made only if the payment is ordered by the commission on application by the employee" (s 110(3)), and the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission can order it only "(a) on compassionate grounds; or (b) on the ground of financial hardship" (s 110(4)).
Neither route works on your employer's say-so alone. The first needs a clause in an instrument; the second needs your application and a commission order.
Ten years, no award or agreement clause allowing cash-out, serious financial hardship.
- The only path is an application to the commission.
- If it orders payment of the full 10-year entitlement: 8.6667 weeks × $1,500.00 = $13,000.05. The Act writes the 10-year entitlement as 8.6667 weeks (s 95(2)(a)), which is why the figure runs 5 cents above the $13,000.00 that 8 2/3 weeks gives in WA and Tasmania.
Leaving before 10 years is a separate question, covered in pro-rata long service leave in Queensland.
Industrial Relations Act 2016 (Qld), ch 2 pt 3 div 9, s 95(2)(a) and s 110(2) to (4), reprint current from 1 January 2026, read 30 September 2026.
WA: by written agreement, for completed blocks only
Western Australia lets you and your employer agree that you forgo all or part of your long service leave, and s 5 of the Long Service Leave Act 1958 attaches four conditions.
- In writing, signed by both of you (s 5(1)(b)).
- An adequate benefit instead. A benefit "is not adequate unless the employee is paid at least the amount of ordinary pay the employee would have received had the employee taken the long service leave or part of the leave" (s 5(1)(a), s 5(2)). A discounted cash-out is not lawful.
- Only after the leave accrues. "Nothing in this section enables the employer and employee to reach the agreement before the employee's entitlement to long service leave has accrued" (s 5(3)).
- Only the completed blocks. The agreement can cover only the leave in s 8(2)(a) and (b): 8 2/3 weeks for the first 10 years, then 4 1/3 weeks for each further 5 years.
The block rule is the one most people miss. Leave earned since your most recent completed block (s 8(2)(c)) cannot be cashed out. It becomes money only when the next block completes or when the job ends.
- 8 2/3 weeks × $1,500.00 = $13,000.00, the lowest lawful amount.
- Super guarantee on the cash-out at 12%: $13,000.00 × 12% = $1,560.00.
- Resigning that day instead: the payout is still $13,000.00, but the super on it is $0.
- Cashable now: the 10-year block only, 8 2/3 weeks = $13,000.00.
- Not cashable: 2 ÷ 10 × 8 2/3 = 1.7333 weeks, worth $2,600.00, which waits for the 15-year block or the end of the job.
- Leaving at 12 years: 12 ÷ 10 × 8 2/3 = 10.4 weeks = $15,600.00, the two amounts together.
Long Service Leave Act 1958 (WA), s 5(1) to (3), s 8(2) and s 9(2), consolidation 04-m0-00 from 31 January 2025, read 30 September 2026. Super: ATO, What payments are qualifying earnings, Tables 6, 7 and 13, read 9 September 2026.
South Australia: by written agreement from 10 years
In South Australia, a worker entitled to long service leave under s 5(1) "becomes entitled to a payment in lieu of the long service leave or a part of the long service leave if an individual agreement to that effect is made and recorded in writing and signed by the employer and the worker after the entitlement to the leave accrues to the worker" (s 5(1a)). The s 5(1) entitlement is 13 weeks for the first 10 years, then 1.3 weeks for each later year.
- Individual means individual. The Act defines an individual agreement as one "individually negotiated between the employer and the worker", and excludes an enterprise agreement (s 3(1)).
- The rate. The payment is worked out at your ordinary weekly rate immediately before it is made, leaving out any amount for accommodation your employer provides (s 8(3a)).
- The balance. Whatever is paid comes off your entitlement (s 5(6)).
Before 10 years the Act has no cash-out provision. The rules for leaving between 7 and 10 years are in pro rata long service leave in SA.
- Entitlement: 13 + (2 × 1.3) = 15.6 weeks.
- Payment: 6 × $1,500.00 = $9,000.00, at the rate in force just before payment.
- Super at 12%: $9,000.00 × 12% = $1,080.00.
- Balance left: 15.6 - 6 = 9.6 weeks.
Long Service Leave Act 1987 (SA), s 3(1), s 5(1), (1a) and (6), s 8(3a), Version 1.7.2017, read 5 October 2026. Super: ATO, What payments are qualifying earnings, Table 6, read 9 September 2026.
Tasmania: by agreement once you are entitled
Section 10 of the Long Service Leave Act 1976 provides: "Where an employee becomes entitled to a period of long service leave under this Act, he may, by agreement with his employer, elect to accept payment in lieu of the period of long service leave to which he is so entitled".
Two points follow from the wording. The election is yours, made with your employer's agreement. And it opens only once you are entitled to a period of leave, which s 8(2)(a)(i) sets at "8 2/3 weeks' long service leave in respect of the first 10 years' continuous employment".
Choosing payment instead of the leave: 8 2/3 weeks × $1,500.00 = $13,000.00.
Long Service Leave Act 1976 (Tas), s 8(2)(a)(i) and s 10, version current from 10 December 2018, read 30 September 2026.
Northern Territory and the ACT: no cash-out route in the Act
Northern Territory. Section 10(4) of the Long Service Leave Act 1981 reads: "Except as provided by this section, an employer shall not pay to an employee, and an employee shall not accept, any amount in lieu of long service leave to which the employee is entitled under this Act." Leave accrues at 1.3 weeks for each completed year of continuous service (s 8(1)), and payment on leaving is also counted in completed years (s 11(2)), so part years are dropped.
- Cash-out while staying: $0.
- On leaving: 12 completed years × 1.3 = 15.6 weeks. 15.6 × $1,500.00 = $23,400.00. The extra 6 months add nothing.
ACT. The Long Service Leave Act 1976 (ACT) does not deal with cashing out while you are employed. No section permits it and no offence prohibits it. Its payment-in-lieu provisions (s 11A, s 11C) apply only once employment ceases, and the employer then has 90 days to pay (s 11A(4)). The Act also has effect "notwithstanding any award or agreement to the contrary" (s 14(1)). With nothing in the Act for a cash-out to rest on, check what your award or agreement says before signing anything. Your ACT entitlement can be worked out with the ACT leave calculator.
Long Service Leave Act 1981 (NT), s 8(1), s 10(4) and s 11(2), reprint as in force at 14 October 2015 (REPL021), read 30 September 2026. Long Service Leave Act 1976 (ACT), s 11A, s 11C and s 14(1), Republication No 29 effective 19 November 2025, read 30 September 2026.
The lawful way to get the money: leaving the job
Every Act turns unused long service leave into a payment when employment ends, provided you have passed its threshold. In NSW and the NT that is the only lawful way to receive the leave as cash instead of time off, and in Victoria it is unless another Act or your award or agreement allows otherwise. In WA it is the only way to be paid for service since your last completed block.
| Jurisdiction | First paid on leaving at | Paid for any reason from | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | 5 years, listed reasons only | 10 years | A plain resignation before 10 years pays nothing |
| Victoria | 7 years | 7 years | Due on the last day (s 9(1)(b)); nothing before 7 years |
| Queensland | 7 years, s 95(4) reasons only | 10 years | A plain resignation before 10 years pays nothing |
| WA | 7 years | 7 years, unless dismissed for serious misconduct | After 10 years, serious misconduct still pays untaken completed blocks |
| South Australia | 7 years | 10 years | From 7 to 10 years, not paid on dismissal for serious and wilful misconduct or if you end the contract unlawfully; completed years only |
| Tasmania | 7 years, s 8(3) reasons only | 10 years | A plain resignation before 10 years pays nothing |
| Northern Territory | 7 years, s 10(2) reasons only | 10 years | A plain resignation before 10 years pays nothing; completed years only; after 10, serious misconduct pays completed blocks only |
| ACT | 5 years, s 11C reasons only | 7 years | Employer must pay within 90 days (s 11A(4)) |
Which reasons count in each state, and the amounts they produce, are set out in pro-rata long service leave thresholds by state. To see what a payout leaves you with after tax, use the long service leave tax calculator.
The eight Acts listed under the state table, termination provisions read 30 September 2026 (NSW s 4(2) and s 4(5), Vic s 9, Qld s 95, WA s 8 and s 9(2), SA s 5, Tas s 8(3), NT s 10(2) and s 11, ACT s 11A and s 11C).
Super is paid on a cash-out, not on a payout
Long service leave cashed out while you stay employed counts as ordinary time earnings and qualifying earnings, so your employer owes super guarantee on it (12% in the ATO's own example). Unused leave paid when the job ends attracts none, "regardless of the reason for termination". The full rules, including leave you take and portable scheme payments, are in super on long service leave.
ATO, What payments are qualifying earnings, Tables 6, 7 and 13, read 9 September 2026. ATO draft ruling LCR 2026/D1, paragraph 67, read 9 September 2026.
Construction and other portable schemes
Construction and some other industries run portable long service leave schemes. Service is recorded across employers and the scheme, not your employer, makes the payment, under its own Act and claim rules rather than the state Acts above.
- NSW building and construction. The scheme pays a long service payment, and its Act states that "leave from employment is not an entitlement under this Act" (s 30A(1)). The Long Service Corporation says "The payment for 10 years of recorded service is 8.67 weeks' pay, equivalent to 2 months." You can claim after 10 years of service and then every 5 years, or after 5 years if you are permanently leaving the industry. Estimate yours with the NSW construction long service leave calculator.
- Queensland building and construction (QLeave). A claim for leave requires that "you must not be working during the claim period". To claim on leaving the industry you need at least 1,540 service credits, or 7 years registered with QLeave (or an interstate scheme) and at least 1,155 service credits. Worker claims are capped at $2,548 a week from 1 July 2026. More in portable long service leave in Queensland (QLeave).
- Other schemes set their own rules. Start from portable long service leave by state.
Building and Construction Industry Long Service Payments Act 1986 (NSW), s 30A(1), current version for 21 December 2024 to date, and Long Service Corporation claiming page, modified 24 July 2026, both read 5 October 2026. QLeave, Claim long service leave (building and construction workers), last reviewed 29 June 2026, read 6 October 2026.
Worked examples side by side
The same illustrative worker on $1,500.00 a week, with no leave taken, in each example above. The right-hand column assumes the job ends on the same date for a reason that pays in full.
| Worker | Cash available while staying | Paid if the job ends instead |
|---|---|---|
| Victoria, 8 years | $0 | $10,400.00 (6.9333 weeks) |
| NSW, 12 years | $0 | $15,600.00 (10.4 weeks) |
| Queensland, 10 years, financial hardship | $13,000.05, only if the commission orders it | $13,000.05 (8.6667 weeks) |
| WA, 10 years | $13,000.00 at least | $13,000.00 (8 2/3 weeks) |
| WA, 12 years | $13,000.00 at most | $15,600.00 (10.4 weeks) |
| South Australia, 12 completed years | Up to $23,400.00 (15.6 weeks); $9,000.00 for 6 weeks | $23,400.00 (15.6 weeks) |
| Tasmania, 10 years | $13,000.00 | $13,000.00 (8 2/3 weeks) |
| Northern Territory, 12 years 6 months | $0 | $23,400.00 (15.6 weeks) |
In South Australia, a worker who cashes out 6 weeks and leaves later is paid for the 9.6 weeks left: 9.6 × $1,500.00 = $14,400.00 at the same rate. The cash-out figures in WA and South Australia attract 12% super; the payouts do not (see super).
Arithmetic on the sections cited in each state section above, Acts read 30 September and 5 October 2026. $1,500.00 a week is an illustrative input, not an award rate.
For the amount you would be paid on leaving in your state, use the long service leave calculator and open the Payout tab.
Common questions
Can you cash out long service leave in Victoria?
No. Section 34 of the Long Service Leave Act 2018 makes it unlawful for your employer to pay and for you to accept money instead of the leave, unless another Act or your award or agreement allows it. From 7 years, the whole balance is paid on your last day if the job ends.
Can you cash in long service leave?
Yes in WA, South Australia and Tasmania, by agreement once the leave has accrued. In Queensland only under an award or agreement clause plus a signed agreement, or by a commission order on compassionate or hardship grounds. No in Victoria, NSW and the Northern Territory. The ACT Act does not deal with it.
Can I cash out long service leave in NSW after 10 years?
Not while you keep the job: s 4(8) applies at every length of service. Reaching 10 years changes what happens when you leave, because from then the balance is paid whatever the reason. Your employer can also pay a period of leave you take in one sum when it starts (s 4(7)).
Can you cash out long service leave in WA?
Yes, by an agreement in writing signed by both of you, once a 10-year or further 5-year block has accrued. You must receive at least the ordinary pay you would have had on leave, and service since the last block cannot be included (s 5).
Can you cash out long service leave in Queensland?
Only two ways: your award or agreement provides for it and you sign an agreement with your employer, or the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission orders it on your application, on compassionate or financial hardship grounds (s 110).
Can you cash out long service leave in SA before 10 years?
The Act's cash-out provision does not reach that far. Section 5(1a) applies to a worker entitled under s 5(1), and that entitlement starts at 13 weeks after 10 years. From then on, an individual written agreement signed after the leave accrues is required.
Is super paid on cashed out long service leave?
Yes, if it is cashed out while you remain employed, because it counts as qualifying earnings. Unused leave paid when you leave attracts none. The detail is in super on long service leave.
Can my employer make me cash out my long service leave?
None of the provisions that allow it lets an employer act alone. WA requires an agreement signed by both of you (s 5(1)), South Australia an individual agreement signed by both (s 5(1a)), Tasmania your election by agreement (s 10), and Queensland a signed agreement under an instrument or your own application to the commission (s 110).
Can I cash out portable long service leave?
It depends on the scheme. NSW building and construction pays a long service payment rather than leave (s 30A(1)), including after 5 years if you leave the industry for good. QLeave requires that you are not working during a claim for leave. Other schemes are on portable long service leave by state.
Long Service Leave Act 1955 (NSW), current version for 1 July 2025 to date, read 5 October 2026. NSW Industrial Relations, Long service leave FAQs, modified 22 June 2026, read 5 October 2026. Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic), Authorised Version No. 006, read 30 September 2026. Victorian Government, Victoria's long service leave laws, updated 12 December 2025. Industrial Relations Act 2016 (Qld), reprint current from 1 January 2026, read 30 September 2026. Long Service Leave Act 1958 (WA), consolidation 04-m0-00 from 31 January 2025, read 30 September 2026. Long Service Leave Act 1987 (SA), Version 1.7.2017, read 5 October 2026. Long Service Leave Act 1976 (Tas), current from 10 December 2018, read 30 September 2026. Long Service Leave Act 1981 (NT), REPL021, read 30 September 2026. Long Service Leave Act 1976 (ACT), Republication No 29, read 30 September 2026. ATO, What payments are qualifying earnings, and draft ruling LCR 2026/D1, read 9 September 2026. Building and Construction Industry Long Service Payments Act 1986 (NSW) and Long Service Corporation, read 5 October 2026. QLeave, Claim long service leave, last reviewed 29 June 2026, read 6 October 2026.
Author & reviewer
Sarah has spent over a decade advising Australian SMBs on Fair Work, NES compliance, and payroll. Based in Sydney, she has worked across hospitality, retail and professional services.