FAQ

In South Australia, most employees accrue long service leave under the Long Service Leave Act 1987 and must be employed with one employer for ten years to be entitled to long service leave (or seven years for a pro-rata payment). Following the success of the Construction Industry Long Service Leave Act 1987 in the construction industry, the Portable Long Service Leave Act 2024 was introduced to the community services sector in South Australia. It was agreed that workers in the sector were largely unable to remain with the same employer for 10 years due to the funding from grants and donations, allowing predominantly short-term contract based employment opportunities. The portable scheme allows workers to accrue long service leave benefits for work covered by the scheme, regardless of the number of employers they have worked for.

If you are performing work covered by the scheme, your employer will be required to register you. We record the time you spend working in the sector and when you are eligible for long service leave, we make payment to you.

The scheme covers community services work performed in South Australia. Please refer to the eligibility information for more details.

Your employer is required to register you with SA Portable Long Service Leave - Community Services if you are eligible. You will also be able to complete the Worker Registration Application form online after scheme commencement.

When you are first registered, we will issue you with a registration number. You'll need to register for access to the Worker Portal when you log into your account for the first time. It's a good idea to check your record on a regular basis to ensure all of your employers have registered you. If you don't know your worker registration number or password, please contact us.

Once you have accrued 120 Months of service (equivalent to 10 years) you will be eligible to take 13 weeks of long service leave.

You will be credited with 3 Months of service per quarter if you worked for one or more shifts in an eligible role. If you didn't work in the quarter, but you were paid for leave from an eligible role, you'll also receive 3 Months of service for that quarter.

You can record a maximum of 12 Months of service per financial year.

Unless you remain with your employer for more than 7 years and become eligible to an entitlement under the Long Service Leave Act 1987, your service to the sector prior to the commencement of the scheme will not be recognised. We have no discretion on this matter.

You will accrue 1.3 weeks of leave for every 12 Months of service that you record.

Yes, if your apprenticeship is in the community services sector, your employer will be required to register you with SA Portable Long Service Leave - Community Services. There is no cost for your employer, and during a 4-year apprenticeship you will accrue 5.2 weeks of long service leave.

Yes, if you are a casual worker performing work in the community services sector (as defined in the Act), your employer will be required to register you.

You will be able to have a break of up to 2 yeasrs (if you have accrued less than 60 Months of service) or up to 3 years (if you have accrued more than 60 Months but less than 84 Months of service). If you have accrued more than 84 Months of service you will be able to be absent indefinitely without forfeiting your accrued service.

Please refer to the Moving In and Out of the Scheme.

If you would like to accrue long service leave as a Self-Employed Contractor or Working Director, you may choose to join our voluntary Self-Employed Contractor or Working Director scheme. You may not be registered as an employee if you become self-employed or the director of a company.

If you have not accrued the 120 Months of service required to take long service leave, but you have accrued more than 84 Months of service and you do not intend to work within the community services sector within the next 12 months, you can apply for a pro-rata payment. You will be paid the monetary equivalent of the weeks of leave you have accrued at the time you cease employment.

Please note that by claiming a pro-rata payment, you will break your service for long service leave purposes. This means that you will need to accrue a further 84 Months of service (equivalent to 7 years) before you will qualify for any further benefit from the scheme.

You will be able to update your contact detail at any time by logging into your Worker Portal or by contacting us.

The levy payments made by employers are pooled into a fund that pays long service leave entitlements to workers and covers scheme administrative costs. If you do not accrue 84 Months of service you are not eligible to claim a payment. We have not discretion in this matter.

Yes, long service leave will be required to be taken in whole days and the minimum period will be 1 week (7 days).

Claims will be made online through your Worker Portal. If you are currently registered, your employer will be required to approve your request prior to payment.

The rate you will be paid per week will be calculated from your average ordinary weekly earnings within the last 3 years as recorded by us at the time you take your leave.

If you have not had service recorded recently, your rate of pay will be calculated based on your average rate of pay over the last 3 years recorded.

Rates may vary if your claim includes periods of service accrued under the Long Service Leave Act 1987 or as a Self-Employed Contractor or Working Director.

Yes, we are required to withhold tax. Long service leave payments will be taxed in accordance with the Australian Taxation Office PAYG withholding weekly tax table, and leaving the sector claims will be taxed in accordance with the Australian Taxation Office tax table for unused leave payments on termination of employment.

We will pay you as a long service leave day. Your employer will not pay you for the public holiday.

You are not able to extend your leave, however you may apply for periods of long service leave consecutively. The minimum period for long service leave is 1 week (7 days). You'll need to complete a new claim through the Worker Portal for each period of leave.

If you have worked in community services roles interstate, you may be registered with the portable long service leave scheme in that State or Territory. Currently no agreement exists between schemes to recognise service recorded in other jurisdictions, however there are provisions in the Portable Long Service Leave Act 2024 for the recognition of interstate service when such an agreement exists. If you are or have been registered interstate, it's a good idea to contact us and provide details of the state(s) and membership number(s) for your other accounts.

If you are now working in South Australia and you are about to be de-registered by a scheme in another State, you should advise that scheme of your registration in South Australia. Please download a copy of your latest service statement from your Worker Portal and send it to them for reference.