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.

Each scheme is funded by a levy rather than by your wages. In NSW it is charged on the cost of building work and paid by whoever applies for the approval; in Tasmania employers contribute a percentage of ordinary pay. The scheme, not the employer, records your service and pays your long service leave when you claim it.

In Queensland the levy is 0.575% of the cost of building and construction work of $150,000 or more, of which 0.35% funds QLeave's long service leave scheme. The QLeave levy calculator works out what a project owes.

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 scheme guides and calculators

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. The full entitlement usually comes at about 10 years of credited service, but the earlier pro-rata door varies: 5 years in NSW construction, and only if you leave the industry for good; 7 years with TasBuild when your employment ends; 6 years for a redundancy under Coal LSL. Service is credited from the days your employer reports, capped each year (220 days in NSW, 260 with TasBuild).

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.

Black coal mining (Coal LSL, national)

Eligible black coal employees accrue 13/416 of their weekly hours, capped at 35, for every week in the industry: 455 hours after 8 years full-time, with any number of coal employers. It is paid at the base rate with monthly bonuses, replaces state long service leave, and a redundancy opens payment from 6 years. Coal mining long service leave calculator.

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.

Other portable sectors

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.