Portable long service leave in South Australia

In South Australia, construction workers accrue portable long service through the Construction Industry Long Service Leave Board. Service accrues with the industry, so changing employers does not send you back to the start.

Scheme of record: Portable Long Service Leave (SA Construction). Governed by the Construction Industry Long Service Leave Act 1987 (SA). Your service statement and any claim go through the scheme directly, at saplsl-construction.org.au.

How the scheme works

Ordinary long service leave is an entitlement against one employer: leave the job and, past a certain point, you start again. Construction does not work that way. Workers move between builders constantly, projects end, and a rule that demanded a decade with one company would leave almost nobody in the industry with an entitlement at all.

A portable scheme fixes that by attaching the service to the worker. Covered employers pay a levy to Portable Long Service Leave (SA Construction) rather than carrying a long service liability on their own books, and the scheme records the days you work in the industry. Move from one covered employer to another and your recorded service keeps accumulating.

South Australia keeps its construction scheme separate from the statewide statutory entitlement, which is unusually generous by national standards: the Long Service Leave Act 1987 (SA) gives 13 weeks at ten years where most states give around 8.67. A construction worker needs to understand which of the two applies to them, because the comparison is not the same as it is interstate.

Portable versus statutory SA long service leave

These are two separate entitlements under two separate Acts, and confusing them is the most common mistake workers make. The comparison below uses the statutory figures for South Australia.

Statutory SA LSLPortable scheme
Governing Act
Long Service Leave Act 1987 (SA)Construction Industry Long Service Leave Act 1987 (SA)
Service accrues with
One employer, continuouslyThe industry, across employers
Full entitlement
13 weeks at 10 yearsSet by the scheme under its own Act
Administered by
Your employerPortable Long Service Leave (SA Construction)
Changing jobs
Generally resets your serviceService continues
We do not publish the scheme's qualifying-service figures here, deliberately. Every portable scheme sets its own qualifying service under its own Act, the numbers differ between jurisdictions, and only Portable Long Service Leave (SA Construction) holds what you have actually been credited. Getting that figure from a third-party site rather than your own scheme is how people end up claiming too early. Use the scheme portal.

You cannot be paid twice for the same period. Where a portable scheme covers a period of service, that period is generally not also claimable as statutory long service leave from the employer. Our South Australia long service leave page covers the statutory side, including how pro-rata works on termination.

The mistake that costs people years

Confusing the two entitlements. Because SA statutory LSL is more generous than most, workers sometimes assume the portable scheme simply mirrors it. It does not. The scheme is governed by its own Act with its own qualifying service, and the figures are not interchangeable.

The pattern is the same across every jurisdiction: the entitlement is real, but it is only as good as the record. Ask for a statement, check the days against your own work history, and raise gaps while the employers involved still exist and still have records.

What work is covered

Coverage is defined by the Construction Industry Long Service Leave Act 1987 (SA)and is narrower than "anyone on a building site". It generally turns on the type of work performed rather than your job title, which means two people on the same site can have different coverage. Office-based and purely administrative roles are commonly outside the scheme even where the employer is a builder.

Because the definitions are technical and change with amendments, check the current coverage list published by Portable Long Service Leave (SA Construction) rather than relying on a summary. If you are unsure whether your role qualifies, the scheme will assess it.

Claiming and being paid out

Claims go to the scheme, not your employer. Payment is generally at a rate set by the scheme rather than by your current pay packet, so the amount can differ from what a statutory long service leave payout would produce for the same period.

Tax treatment follows the ordinary rules for leave payments. A long service leave payout taken on termination is taxed differently from leave taken as time off, and the difference can be significant. See how leave payouts are taxed and, if the payment is tied to a redundancy, genuine redundancy and tax.

The portable long service leave hub lists the scheme for all eight states and territories, plus the separate national coal mining scheme and the contract cleaning and community services schemes. For the statutory entitlement, use the long service leave calculator or read pro-rata long service leave for how termination affects it, and long service leave after 10 years for what the full statutory milestone pays in each state.

Working in South Australia more broadly? The South Australia leave calculator covers annual leave, personal leave and final pay under SA rules, and SA public holidays lists the gazetted dates. Construction pay rates are on the Building and Construction Award page.

Q & A

Portable LSL in SA.

The questions construction workers ask most about the scheme.

What is portable long service leave in South Australia?
It is a construction-industry scheme where your long service accrues with the industry rather than with a single employer. Portable Long Service Leave (SA Construction) administers it under the Construction Industry Long Service Leave Act 1987 (SA). Employers pay a levy into the scheme instead of carrying the liability themselves, so changing employers does not reset your service.
Do I lose my portable service if I change employers?
No. That is the entire point of a portable scheme. Provided both employers are covered by the scheme and your service is recorded, your credited service continues to build across the move. This is the key difference from statutory long service leave under the Long Service Leave Act 1987 (SA), which requires continuous service with one employer.
Is portable long service leave the same as SA long service leave?
No, they are separate entitlements under separate Acts. Statutory SA long service leave under the Long Service Leave Act 1987 (SA) gives 13 weeks after 10 years with one employer. The portable scheme is governed by the Construction Industry Long Service Leave Act 1987 (SA) and sets its own qualifying service. You cannot be paid twice for the same period of service.
How do I check how much portable service I have?
Through Portable Long Service Leave (SA Construction) directly, using its online worker portal. We do not publish qualifying-day figures here because each scheme sets its own under its own Act, and only the scheme holds your actual recorded service. Check your statement annually rather than at the point you want to claim.
What happens to my portable service if I leave the construction industry?
Your recorded service does not vanish immediately, but schemes treat long absences from covered work differently from ordinary job changes, and rules vary by jurisdiction. Contact Portable Long Service Leave (SA Construction) before a long break rather than after, because the treatment of inactive service is one of the most common causes of an unexpected shortfall.
Who registers me with the scheme?
Registration and the lodging of service returns are primarily employer obligations, but the consequence of a failure lands on the worker, whose service simply is not recorded. If you have worked in South Australia construction and have never received a service statement, contact Portable Long Service Leave (SA Construction) to check whether you are registered.