QLeave levy calculator.

How much is the QLeave levy?

The combined levies equal 0.575% of the total cost of the building and construction work, or $5.75 for every $1,000. The Regulation sets three separate percentages, and three bodies share the money:

Rates from s 8 of the Building and Construction Industry (Portable Long Service Leave) Regulation 2024. QLeave levy calculator page, last reviewed 1 July 2026: “The total levy rate from 1 July 2020 is 0.575%.” No GST is charged on the levy.

The levy applies to all building and construction work in Queensland, maintenance included, where the total cost is $150,000 or more excluding GST. It is a levy on the total cost, not on the part above $150,000, so a job at $149,999 pays nothing and a job at $150,000 pays $862.00.

How the levy is calculated

Start with the cost of work: the total of all costs, excluding GST, that relate directly and indirectly to the building and construction work. QLeave lists the value of all labour and materials (including materials supplied by the owner), plant, equipment, design, project management, consultancy, prefabricated goods, commissioning and installation. The QBCC home warranty is included too. The Act measures it as the total of all costs excluding GST “less any exempt costs” (s 73(1)), and it can be worked out from the contract price; where there is none, or the price does not reflect all the costs, QLeave may decide the cost (s 73(2), (3)).

• GST: left out. A quote of $550,000 including GST is a cost of work of $500,000 and a levy of $2,875.00.
• Building for a buyer: notify the full price the buyer pays, excluding GST. QLeave's example is a $350,000 house, notified at $350,000.
• Building on your own account: a developer building a spec home notifies its own cost, indirect costs included, with the margin left out. QLeave's example is a $300,000 build cost, notified at $300,000.
• Feasibility studies and EIS: the costs of preparing a feasibility study or an environmental impact statement are exempt costs, so they come off before the $150,000 test. A $160,000 job with $20,000 of feasibility study costs has a cost of work of $140,000 and pays nothing.
• Rounding: each of the three amounts is rounded to the nearest dollar, with 50c rounded down (Act s 72(2)). At $150,000 the safety levy is $187.50, which rounds to $187, so the total is $862.00, not $862.50. At $150,001 it is $187.50125, which rounds to $188: $863.00. QLeave's own page describes the rate as $5.75 for every $1,000 “or part thereof”, but the Act rounds each amount to the dollar, and QLeave issues the official figure.

Worked examples

Each part rounded to the nearest dollar, 50c down. Feasibility study and EIS costs come off before the $150,000 test (Act s 73(1)); the government employee share comes off after it (Regulation s 7(3)). The calculator also takes volunteer labour and donated materials off after the test, which is an assumption: the sections of the Act and Regulation we read do not set that order.

Who pays the QLeave levy?

Notifying QLeave is the job of the person the work is done for, or someone acting for them. Paying follows this order:

1. Work for the Commonwealth: the contractor engaged by the Commonwealth pays.
2. Work for a local government, government entity or non-Queensland government entity: that council or entity pays.
3. An application to an assessment manager for a development permit for building, plumbing or drainage, or operational work: the applicant pays.
4. Every other case: the person the work is done for pays.

When you must notify and pay

• Before the permit: notify and pay before a development permit is issued under the Planning Act 2016 or the Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018. If no permit is needed, before the work starts.
• Two offences: failing to notify and failing to pay before the permit or the start of work are separate offences. Interest accrues daily, compounding at the rate set under the Taxation Administration Act 2001 for unpaid tax.
• Costs go up: if costs rise by more than $50,000, finalise your levy within 30 days of completing the work.
• Big jobs: where the cost of work exceeds $10 million and the job will take more than a year, QLeave may allow the levy to be paid by instalments.
• Cancelled work: a refund is available where the work has not been carried out and is not to be carried out. You can also ask QLeave to review the levy it determined, under s 87 of the Act.

QLeave levy exemptions

Contact QLeave on 1300 753 283 or [email protected] about an exemption before you pay. Read together, s 7(4) and s 7(5) of the Regulation leave no levy at all on resources operational work at a mine site; confirm that case with QLeave.

Is QLeave compulsory?

Yes, for the people who carry the legal duties. A project owner (or whoever the work is done for) must notify QLeave of all building and construction work in Queensland of $150,000 or more excluding GST, maintenance included, and pay the levy; penalties apply for failing to notify. An employer in the industry must register. For workers, registration costs nothing.

QLeave registration for employers and workers

• Employers: you must register with QLeave if you are an employer in Queensland's building and construction industry, including a sole trader or partner who employs workers on wages. Penalties apply for failing to register. The register of employers is in Part 6, Division 2 of the Act.
• Workers: registration is free, and the employer is required to add service to the worker's record.

For what a registered worker can claim and when, see portable long service leave in Queensland.

What the levy funds

The 0.35% share is invested to provide funds for long service leave entitlements. Workers receive one service credit for every day they work, up to 220 a year, and once they have 2,200 credits (at least 10 years in the scheme) QLeave pays 8.67 weeks of long service leave. The worker side, including claims, is covered on portable long service leave in Queensland.

How the levy changed

Office of Industrial Relations decision after the May 2019 consultation; start date from the QLeave levy calculator.

Contract cleaning and community services levies

QLeave runs two other portable schemes, funded differently: employers pay a share of wages, not a levy on projects.

• Contract cleaning: 0.5% of workers' ordinary wages paid in the return period, from 1 July 2026, paid each quarter with an employer return within 14 days of the quarter ending (14 April, 14 July, 14 October and 14 January).
• Community services: 1.35% of workers' ordinary wages, per the QLeave community services employer FAQ (last reviewed 1 June 2026). Employers in the industry have had to register since 1 January 2021, and levy payments are not refunded when a worker moves on.

Queensland and NSW levies compared

Builders working across the border can check the NSW figure with the NSW construction long service leave calculator.

Related calculators and guides

• Portable long service leave in Queensland for the worker side of QLeave.
• Portable long service leave by state, the directory of every scheme.
• NSW construction long service leave calculator for the NSW levy and payments.
• Building and Construction Award pay rates for construction classifications.