Portable long service leave.

What portable long service leave is

Standard long service leave rewards years of service with a single employer. That model does not fit construction, where workers routinely move between builders and sub-contractors. To solve this, every Australian state and territory runs a portable long service leave scheme for the building and construction industry. Your service is credited to a central scheme, so moving employers within the industry does not reset your clock.

Registered employers pay a levy into the scheme based on the construction work they carry out. The scheme, not the employer, records your service and pays your long service leave when you claim it. The levy is never deducted from your wages.

Find your state scheme

Each jurisdiction has one construction-industry authority that holds your record. Register with the scheme in the state where you work, and check your service balance directly with them.

State construction schemes at a glance

How much do you get, and when?

Each scheme sets its own qualifying days and accrual basis, so the figures are not identical across the country. As a general guide, construction schemes let you claim paid long service leave after the equivalent of about 10 years of credited service, with pro-rata access usually available earlier (commonly after 7 years) when you leave the industry. Service is credited from the days your registered employer reports, capped each year.

Moving interstate

The construction schemes recognise each other through a reciprocal arrangement. Service you build up in one state can usually be carried across when you move, so you do not lose credit. Apply through the scheme in the state where you intend to claim, and notify both schemes before you move so your record transfers without gaps.

Other industries with portable schemes

Construction is the largest, but it is not the only industry with portable long service leave. If you work in one of these sectors, your scheme is separate from both the construction schemes and statutory state LSL.

If you work at a black coal mine, the Black Coal Mining Award has no long service leave clause: eligible employees accrue long service leave under the Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave) Administration Act 1992, which applies instead of state and territory long service leave laws.

Not in a portable scheme?

Most employees are covered by statutory long service leave under their state or territory Act, based on continuous service with one employer. Work out that entitlement with the long service leave calculator, or open your state page for the exact trigger years and accrual rate that apply to you.