In the Northern Territory long service leave is time off, not money, for as long as you stay in the job. The Long Service Leave Act 1981 (NT) forbids paying it out while you are employed, gives 1.3 weeks for each completed year of service, and lets you take it after 10 years (s 8(1)).
10 years
of continuous service before the leave can be taken, built up at 1.3 weeks for each completed year of service
No cashing out while you are employed
Section 10(4) binds both sides: an employer shall not pay to an employee, and an employee shall not accept, any amount in lieu of long service leave
(s 10(4)). The government's own page says the same thing in fewer words: there is no cashing in of leave instead of taking it (NT Government).
That has practical consequences. An offer to swap part of your leave for a lump sum, however convenient, is something the Act does not let an employer pay or an employee accept. The only time long service leave turns into money is when employment ends, under the rules below.
Leave in blocks
The Territory counts in completed years and releases leave in blocks. The opening block arrives at 10 years, and after that the Act adds further leave at the end of each further 5 years (s 8(3)). Between blocks nothing new can be taken. Part years add nothing either: the government page notes no accrual for part years (NT Government).
The money side is worked out under section 11(3) as 1.3 times weekly pay for each completed year (s 11(3)). The Act gives its own example: the amount payable to the employee is $7,800, being the sum of $15 x 40 hours x 1.3 weeks for each of the 10 years of continuous service
(s 11(4)).
When the job ends after you qualify
From the full entitlement on, the employer must make a payment for the leave credit when employment ends (s 10(1)). The government page describes it as untaken credit for each completed year, paid on resignation (NT Government).
There is one exception. If you are dismissed for serious misconduct, the employer must still pay at least the leave for completed 10-year and 5-year blocks (s 10(1A)). Years beyond the last completed block are not part of the minimum the Act sets. If the employee dies, the money goes as a payment to the personal representative on request (s 10(3)).
Worked example: resigning, then the same service ending in a misconduct dismissal
You started on 4 March 2013, earn $34.00 an hour for 38 hours a week, and have taken no long service leave. Your last day is 10 October 2025, after 12 years of completed service; the extra months do not count.
If you resign, the payment covers every completed year: 15⅗ weeks (our arithmetic: completed years from 4 March 2013 to 10 October 2025 × 1.3 weeks = 15⅗ weeks), which by the section 11(3) formula is $20,155.20 (our arithmetic: $34.00 × 38 × 1.3 weeks × completed years from 4 March 2013 to 10 October 2025 = $20,155.20).
If instead you are dismissed for serious misconduct on that day, section 10(1A) sets the minimum at the completed opening block only: 13 weeks (our arithmetic: 10 years × 1.3 weeks = 13 weeks), or $16,796.00 (our arithmetic: $34.00 × 38 × 1.3 weeks × 10 years = $16,796.00). If the employee disputes that the conduct was serious misconduct, the question is decided on the facts; the process is described under disputes below.
Leaving before the full entitlement
Pro rata starts at 7 years, in the three cases in s 10(2), and runs up to the full entitlement (s 10(2)). These are the departures it pays:
- retirement age:
on or subsequent to attaining the age at which he or she may retire
(s 10(2)(a)) - dismissal for anything other than serious misconduct:
on the termination of employment by the employer for a reason other than serious misconduct
(s 10(2)(b)) - leaving because you have to:
on account of illness, incapacity or domestic or other pressing necessity of such a nature as to justify so ceasing to be an employee
(s 10(2)(c))
Nothing is paid in the band for any ending not listed in s 10(2), and that includes an ordinary resignation (s 10(2)). Redundancy is a dismissal for a reason other than misconduct, and the government page uses it as its example. The amount is 1.3 weeks for each completed year, and the government page confirms it covers completed years only (s 10(2)). Death in this band is dealt with separately, through the personal representative.
Worked example: made redundant before the full entitlement
You started on 1 February 2017 and your job is made redundant from 1 August 2025. Your service is 8½ years (our arithmetic: completed months from 1 February 2017 to 1 August 2025 ÷ 12 = 8½ years), but only 8 years are completed. Redundancy is one of the section 10(2) cases, so the Act provides 10⅖ weeks (our arithmetic: completed years from 1 February 2017 to 1 August 2025 × 1.3 weeks = 10⅖ weeks).
At $1,200.00 a week of ordinary pay, that is $12,480.00 (our arithmetic: completed years from 1 February 2017 to 1 August 2025 × 1.3 weeks × $1,200.00 = $12,480.00). Had you resigned to change jobs on the same date, the Act would provide nothing.
The pro rata guide sets the Territory's grounds beside the other jurisdictions.
Taking the leave
- Notice: the employer must give at least 2 months' notice unless the employee agrees (s 8(7)). The Act gives the employer the say over when the leave starts, with that much warning.
- Splitting it up: leave is taken in one period, or up to 3 of at least 4 weeks by agreement (s 8(6)(b)).
- Public holidays: a public holiday during the leave is part of it, and the leave is not extended (s 9). The government page adds that weekends are part of the leave too.
Pay during the leave
Leave is paid at pay including over-award payments and usual bonuses (s 7(2)). Some payments stay out, which matters in remote work: section 7(2) leaves out overtime, penalty rates and certain allowances, naming district, site and climatic allowances. A district or site allowance paid every week for years still does not lift your leave pay.
Casual and part-time work
The Act's definition of an employee takes in full-time, part-time and casual employees (s 7(1)). Where hours change, section 11(1) uses average weekly hours in each year of service (s 11(1)). So a year of short shifts lowers the hours for that year without dragging down the years around it. The casual and part-time guide explains how broken casual engagements are treated.
Continuous service
The Act counts continuous service with the employer (s 12(1)). A sale of the business does not reset it, the government page says (NT Government). If your employment is interrupted, service stays continuous on re-employment within 2 months of an interruption (s 12(4)(e)). Unpaid absences keep the chain intact but are not counted as employment (s 12(5)). In the government page's words, there is no accrual during workers compensation or unpaid leave (NT Government).
Who is outside the Act
The Act does not apply to people with long service leave under another law or award (s 6(2)). The government page names NT and Australian Government employees and NT Build workers (NT Government). Where the Act applies, a contract cannot undercut it: there can be no agreement for less than the Act (s 17(1)). Construction workers in the NT Build scheme are covered by that scheme instead; see portable long service leave (NT Build).
Disputes and enforcement
Under section 15, a person authorised by the Minister may investigate whether the Act has been complied with (s 15(1)). In practice the first call is to the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment (OCPE), and if a complaint is not resolved, the next step is an OCPE investigation and possible referral to the Solicitor for the NT for a decision (NT Government). Breaching the Act carries a maximum of 8 penalty units or 6 months' imprisonment, and a prosecution must start within 3 years of the act or omission (s 18(1); s 18A).
Whether a departure fits section 10(2), or whether a dismissal was for serious misconduct, is decided on the facts if it is disputed. The Northern Territory Government's Long service leave page is the official starting point.
Sources
- Long Service Leave Act 1981, Northern Territory Legislation. Checked .
- Long service leave, Northern Territory Government. Checked .
- About us, NT Build. Checked .