Payments and reimbursements
Information about your obligations and reimbursement claims when paying long service benefits directly to workers.
On this page
Paying employee long service entitlements
Reimbursement for long service payments made to workers
Before you make a long service leave payment
Paying employee long service entitlements
If you have employed a worker for a long period of time they may be entitled to a long service benefit from you under the NSW Long Service Leave Act 1955 (1955 Act).
The portable long service leave scheme does not change entitlements already accrued under the 1955 Act.
When a worker receives a payment from us under the Community Services Sector (Portable Long Service Leave) Act 2024, their employer has no further liability under the 1955 Act for the period of accrual covered by that payment.
You can obtain further information about the 1955 Act by contacting the NSW Office of Industrial Relations on 13 16 28 or online.
Reimbursement for long service payments made to workers
If you pay long service leave to any of your workers under the Long Service Leave Act 1955, you may be able to claim reimbursement for some, or all, of the payment you make to the worker.
You can only claim reimbursement for the part of the entitlement that was accrued from 1 July 2025.
To be eligible to claim, you must:
- both be registered with the scheme
- be up to date with your service returns and levy payments
- let us know about the long service leave payment before you pay it.
Reimbursements are calculated based on the following formula:
Number of weeks accrued from 1 July 2025 x weekly pay rate used for the 1955 Act payment.
Example
Joe takes leave in July 2027 under the 1955 Act, paid by the employer. Joe’s employer calculates his leave entitlement to be 8.6667 weeks of leave for his 10-year service. Joe’s employer has been making contributions to the fund since 1 July 2025, which equates to 1.7328 weeks of this entitlement.
Joe’s employer calculates Joe’s ordinary weekly pay rate under the provisions of the 1955 Act, which in this case is $832.50 per week.
The employer pays Joe the full leave entitlement of 8.6667 weeks x $832.50, totalling $7,215.03.
The employer then seeks 1.7328 x $832.50 from the Corporation, who will reimburse the employer $1,442.56.
*For demonstrative purposes only. This scenario is not representative of any individual and does not consider your own circumstances.
Before you make a long service leave payment
If you intend to pay long service leave under the 1955 Act to a registered worker, you must tell us before making the payment.
This is to prevent workers from receiving a long service payment from the portable scheme (for the same period) should they mistakenly apply to the Corporation at the same time.
We will advise you when a long-standing employee of yours receives a long service payment from the portable scheme. Employers should note this on their records to ensure that the worker doesn't get a double payment for any period of work.
Failure by employers to adhere to the requirements, which results in a double payment to workers, may result in debt recovery action on workers. It may also prevent any reimbursement payment to an employer where a worker claims a benefit from both the employer and the Corporation.
To notify us of any proposed long service payments contact us on 13 14 41.
