The Australian Capital Territory measures long service leave in months. Under the Long Service Leave Act 1976 (ACT) you earn ⅕ of a month a year, and the leave becomes yours to take, or to be paid out, after 7 years with one employer (s 4).
⅕ of a month a year
with the entitlement after 7 years, and pro rata on some departures from 5 years
Leave counted in months, not weeks
The Act never turns its rate into weeks. Section 4 sets it in these words: An employee accrues long service leave at the rate of 1/5 of a month’s leave for each year of service.
(s 4)
Its months are calendar months, as the territory's Legislation Act 2001 defines them: a month runs from a day to the corresponding day of the next month. A period of leave measured in months therefore runs from the day it starts to the matching day of a later month, and any fraction left over is a share of a month.
Because the rate is the same every year, there are no blocks to wait for after you qualify: the Act gives leave for each year completed after the 7th (s 3(2)). Each entitlement arises at the end of the period of service (s 3(3)).
If an employer, payroll software or an online tool shows ACT long service leave in weeks, it has made its own conversion: the Act gives none.
Who the Act covers
The ACT Act has a limited reach. WorkSafe ACT describes it as covering private sector employees outside an award or agreement (WorkSafe ACT). Employees under a federal award or enterprise agreement may have long service leave under it instead, and WorkSafe ACT points them to the Fair Work Ombudsman to find out which law applies. Territory public servants are outside it as well, because the Act's definition of an employee does not include a public employee (LSL Act 1976 (ACT)). Where the Act does apply, awards or agreements cannot reduce the Act's rights (s 14).
Leaving after you qualify: paid whatever the reason
After you have the entitlement, the reason you go makes no difference. Section 11A applies where a person’s employment ceases for any reason
and the person still has leave to their credit (s 11A(2)(a)). The employer must pay the credit, which is the leave accrued less any you have taken, within 90 days after employment ends (s 11A(4)(b)). Resignation, dismissal for misconduct, redundancy and death are all treated the same way. Late payment is an offence carrying up to 50 penalty units (s 6, s 8, s 11A, s 13E).
Leaving a little earlier: the band before you qualify
Section 11C covers people who leave with at least 5 years of service and less than 7 years (s 11C(1)(b)). Here the reason matters, and the Act lists the cases that are paid:
- you leave because of illness or a pressing need:
by the person because of illness or incapacity or a domestic or other pressing necessity of such a nature to justify the termination
(s 11C(1)(a)(i)) - you retire:
by the person upon or after attaining the minimum retiring age
(s 11C(1)(a)(ii)) - you die, and the payment goes to your legal personal representative:
by the death of the person
(s 11C(1)(a)(iii)) - your employer ends the job:
by the employer for a reason other than the person’s serious and wilful misconduct
(s 11C(1)(a)(iv))
Section 11C leaves out other resignations, and serious and wilful misconduct (s 11C(1)(a)). In plain terms, a resignation to take another job pays nothing under the Act here, and nor does a dismissal for serious and wilful misconduct. Redundancy is a termination by the employer and is paid.
The amount is set by proportion: the leave bears to 2 months the same proportion as the number of years or months of service completed by the person bears to 10 years
(s 11C(2)). That proportion comes to the same rate per year as section 4, and it counts completed months as well as years, so a part year is not thrown away. Before the band starts, the Act provides nothing on leaving. The pro rata guide compares this band with the other jurisdictions.
Two departures worked through
Worked example: made redundant before qualifying
You started on 6 July 2019 and your position is made redundant, with your last day on 6 October 2025. That is 75 months, or 6¼ years (our arithmetic: completed months from 6 July 2019 to 6 October 2025 ÷ 12 = 6¼ years): inside the section 11C band. Your employer ended the job for a reason other than misconduct, so the Act provides a payment for 1¼ months (our arithmetic: completed months from 6 July 2019 to 6 October 2025 ÷ 12 × ⅕ = 1¼ months) of ordinary remuneration.
Had you resigned on the same date to take another job, none of the section 11C cases would apply and the Act would provide no payment.
Worked example: resigning after qualifying
You started on 14 April 2016 and resign to move interstate, with your last day on 14 April 2025, the anniversary of your start. You have 9 years of completed service and have taken no long service leave, so your credit under section 11A is 1⅘ months (our arithmetic: completed years from 14 April 2016 to 14 April 2025 × ⅕ = 1⅘ months). The reason for leaving plays no part.
If your ordinary remuneration is $7,500.00 a month, the payment is $13,500.00 (our arithmetic: completed years from 14 April 2016 to 14 April 2025 × ⅕ × $7,500.00 = $13,500.00). The time limit for paying it is the one in section 11A(4).
Taking the leave
- Notice: your employer must give you at least 60 days' written notice, unless agreed (s 6(2) and (3)).
- Public holidays: you get one extra day for each public holiday inside your leave, so a period that crosses Christmas ends later (s 9(2)).
- Cashing out: the Act has no rule on cashing out while employed (s 11A).
Continuous service and what interrupts it
The Act counts continuous service with a particular employer (s 2G(1)). Section 2G then lists interruptions that do not break that service, one of which is a return within 2 months of an interruption (s 2G(2)(e)). Most of those interruptions keep the chain intact but are left out of the count (s 2G(5)). So an interruption on that list will not reset your service to zero, but it will push your qualifying date back.
Casual and part-time employees
The definition of employee in the dictionary of the Act is explicit: it includes part-time and casual employees (LSL Act 1976 (ACT)). When hours vary, the weekly figure is worked out from average weekly hours over the 12 months before entitlement (s 7(2)). For someone who has moved from full-time to part-time work, section 7(3) uses wages over the last 5 years divided by 5. The casual and part-time guide sets these tests beside the other states.
Ordinary remuneration
The ACT pays leave on ordinary remuneration, a wider measure than base wages: it is salary or wages plus listed allowances and regular bonuses (LSL Act 1976 (ACT)). Salary or wages for this purpose leaves out overtime and penalty rates.
Complaints and enforcement
Under the Act, a written complaint goes to the registrar and authorised officers (s 13D(1)). An authorised officer can then give the employer a notice to comply within 28 days, and the Act allows a review by the ACAT on the employer's application (s 13E(1)). Penalties are expressed in penalty units, worth $160 for an individual and $810 for a corporation (LSL Act 1976 (ACT)).
WorkSafe ACT administers the Act for the territory and is the first contact (WorkSafe ACT). Its Long service leave page links the Act and its calculation guidelines. Whether a pressing necessity justified a resignation, or whether conduct was serious and wilful misconduct, is decided on the evidence, not by either party's description of it.
The Long Service Leave Act 1976 on the ACT Legislation Register is Republication No 29, effective 19 November 2025.
Portable schemes
ACT Leave runs portable schemes for construction, community sector, security and services (ACT Leave). Its ACT Leave site has the details; portable long service leave explains how those schemes work.
Sources
- Long Service Leave Act 1976, ACT Legislation Register. Checked .
- Legislation Act 2001, ACT Legislation Register. Checked .
- Long service leave, WorkSafe ACT. Checked .
- ACT Leave, ACT Leave (ACT Government). Checked .