South Australia counts long service leave in weeks and in completed years only. Under the Long Service Leave Act 1987 (SA) the first entitlement is 13 weeks after 10 years, and after that the leave grows by 1.3 weeks for each further year (s 5(1)(a); s 5(1)(b)). Part of a year adds nothing until it is complete.
13 weeks after 10 years
then 1.3 weeks for each further year, with pro rata on leaving from 7 completed years
Cashing out needs a written agreement
South Australia lets you take money instead of time while you stay in the job, but only by a written agreement signed after the leave accrues (s 5(1a)).
Section 5(1a), in the Act's words
an individual agreement to that effect is made and recorded in writing and signed by the employer and the worker after the entitlement to the leave accrues
(s 5(1a))
Three things follow from that wording. The agreement is individual, so a clause in the contract you signed when you were hired does not do it. It must be in writing and signed by both of you. And it can only be made after the leave has accrued, which means after you reach 10 years of service, and then again for each later year that is to be cashed out. An employer cannot make you agree: the Act leaves it to the two of you.
Only completed years count
Under section 5(7) an entitlement arises for completed years of service only (s 5(7)). If you leave at 11 years and 11 months, the sum uses 11 years. That cuts both ways for pro rata too: someone who leaves a week short of the anniversary that would have taken them past the threshold is measured on the year before it. In every case, service is measured at the last anniversary.
The opening block covers the whole first decade. After it the Act adds 1.3 weeks for each further year, so the leave grows with each completed year rather than in further blocks (s 5(1)(b)).
Leaving before the full entitlement
From 7 completed years, the Act turns the usual approach around. Instead of listing the reasons that earn a payment, it pays on any ending except the cases set out in section 5(4) (s 5(3) and (4)). The amount is 1.3 weeks' pay for each completed year (s 5(3)).
The exceptions in section 5(4)
There are two, each in its own paragraph of the subsection:
So a resignation is paid pro rata in South Australia, as long as the worker ends the contract lawfully. SafeWork SA's example of a worker ending the contract unlawfully is leaving without the notice the contract or award requires, as Requesting and taking leave explains. Redundancy, dismissal for poor performance and retirement are all paid. Dismissal for serious and wilful misconduct is not, and whether conduct reaches that level is decided on the facts, not by the employer's label.
From 10 years the exceptions fall away: the Act gives payment instead of leave on termination, however the job ends (s 5(2)). The money is paid immediately on termination (s 8(4)(b)). Where the worker has died, the entitlement passes to the personal representative (s 5(5)). The pro rata guide sets these rules beside the other states.
Worked examples with the South Australian numbers
Worked example: resigning with notice before the full entitlement
You started on 14 February 2017 and resign, giving the notice your award requires, with your last day on 20 June 2025. That is 8 years of completed service: past the pro rata threshold, short of the full entitlement. Neither exception in section 5(4) applies on those facts, so the Act gives a payment for 10⅖ weeks (our arithmetic: completed years from 14 February 2017 to 20 June 2025 × 1.3 weeks = 10⅖ weeks).
At an ordinary weekly rate of $1,380.00 (no overtime or penalty rates in it), the payment comes to $14,352.00 (our arithmetic: completed years from 14 February 2017 to 20 June 2025 × 1.3 weeks × $1,380.00 = $14,352.00), made on your last day.
Worked example: cashing out long-accrued leave
You started on 3 August 2011. On 1 September 2026 you and your employer both sign a written agreement to pay out your leave instead of you taking it. Your completed service is 15 years, so the leave accrued is the opening block plus the later years: 19½ weeks (our arithmetic: 13 weeks after 10 years + (completed years from 3 August 2011 to 1 September 2026 − 10 years) × 1.3 weeks = 19½ weeks).
At $1,600.00 a week the agreement covers $31,200.00 (our arithmetic: (13 weeks after 10 years + (completed years from 3 August 2011 to 1 September 2026 − 10 years) × 1.3 weeks) × $1,600.00 = $31,200.00). An agreement signed when you were hired, before any leave had accrued, would not meet section 5(1a).
What counts as service
The Act counts continuous service with the same or a related employer, so moving between companies in the same group does not restart the count (s 3(1)). Section 6 then keeps service unbroken through a list of interruptions, one of which is a return within 2 months after an employer-made break (s 6(1)(i)).
Some of those interruptions keep the chain intact but add no time to it: section 6(2) sets them apart as absences that keep continuity but do not count (s 6(2)). Leave of a kind the section does not name elsewhere, such as unpaid leave, is the usual case: it does not break your service, but the weeks you were away are left out when the years are counted.
Casual, part-time and commission earners
SafeWork SA's guide covers casual workers, who can accrue leave (SafeWork SA). What changes is the weekly rate the leave is paid at when hours move around. For a worker whose hours vary, the rate is worked out from average weekly hours over the last 3 years (s 3(2)(b)). For pay by commission or by result, the Act uses average weekly earnings over 12 months (s 3(2)(a)). The casual and part-time guide covers how a run of separate engagements is treated across the states.
The rate of pay for the leave
The leave is paid at your ordinary weekly rate, which the Act defines as the weekly rate without overtime, shift or penalty rates (s 3(2)). It is the rate at the relevant date the Act sets, not an average over your career, so a pay rise late in your employment lifts the whole payment. Overtime you worked every week still stays out of it.
Taking the leave
- Notice: your employer should give you at least 60 days' notice (s 7(3)). You and your employer can agree to less.
- How it is taken: in one continuous period unless agreed otherwise (s 7(2) and (4)).
- Public holidays: a public holiday inside your leave counts as a day of leave and uses one up (s 7(7)). Unlike most other jurisdictions, South Australia does not add a day for it.
If you and your employer disagree
An inspector can direct an employer in writing to grant the leave or make the payment within a period of at least 14 days, and the maximum penalty for not complying is $5,000 (s 12(6)). A worker can also apply directly to the South Australian Employment Tribunal, which may order the employer to grant the leave or pay, but only up to 3 years after the service ended (s 13(4)).
The first step is SafeWork SA's Resolving disputes page, where a claim can be lodged, or its Help Centre. Whether a cash-out agreement is valid, or whether a dismissal was for serious and wilful misconduct, is for the Tribunal to decide on the evidence.
SafeWork SA's page on Calculating long service leave works through the arithmetic by hand.
Who this Act does not cover
The Act does not apply to workers with leave under another Act or a Fair Work instrument (s 16). If a Fair Work award or enterprise agreement gives you long service leave, its terms apply instead; the national overview explains which instruments those are. Portable long service leave in South Australia comes in two schemes, construction and community services, for workers who change employers within those industries: see portable long service leave.
Sources
- Long Service Leave Act 1987, South Australian Legislation. Checked .
- Requesting and taking leave, SafeWork SA. Checked .
- Who is entitled to long service leave?, SafeWork SA. Checked .
- Resolving disputes, SafeWork SA. Checked .
- Calculating long service leave, SafeWork SA. Checked .
- Portable Long Service Leave Act 2024, South Australian Legislation. Checked .