Accruing portable long service leave entitlements
How workers accrue long service leave under the portable long service leave scheme. Find information on how service is recorded, service credits, and maintaining your service record.
On this page
How you accrue long service leave
How service is recorded
Service credits
Work outside of NSW
Breaks in service
Service credits for breaks in employment
Service credits if your employer is insolvent
Work on Commonwealth places
Related information
How you accrue long service leave
You need to be registered with the Long Service Corporation to start accruing portable long service leave entitlements.
If you're eligible to join, you will be registered by your employer when they submit an employer return.
Self-employed contractors can opt into the scheme by registering as a worker.
How service is recorded
Your employer will lodge a service return with us every 3 months. The return includes:
- your contact details
- when you started or finished employment with your employer
- gross ordinary wages paid to the worker for community service work performed.
Service credits
You’re allocated a service day credit for each calendar day you are:
- engaged in work during a return period, or
- where your employer has reported you as being on approved leave without pay during a return period, including Government paid parental leave or insurer paid workers compensation.
Your service credits are tallied and are used to calculate your total long service leave.
Work outside of NSW
The Long Service Corporation covers community service work you do in NSW.
Victoria, ACT, Queensland and South Australia have similar portable long service schemes for the community services industry.
Service recorded with another portable long service scheme may be used to maintain your NSW registration and calculate your entitlement for long service payments.
Breaks in service
You do not have to stay in the community service sector to maintain your service record. You can have a break from the industry for up to 4 years without affecting your entitlements.
Long Service Corporation can decide to extend this time by adding non-service days to a worker’s record, preventing the cancellation of a worker’s registration.
Non-service days will only be added if suitable evidence is provided. Non-service days are not service credits and do not count towards your total recorded service.
Non-service days include:
- interstate work
- work on a Commonwealth place
- worker of a Government and/or Council under an arrangement that did not provide for making payments of long
- service benefits
- worker receiving a Commonwealth Carers allowance
- worker with personal illness/injury
- worker who has been unable to work due to a serious illness or injury of a family/household member
- worker who has been unable to work due to death of a family/household member
- worker was unable to work due to pregnancy or pregnancy related conditions
- worker who has been unable to work due to being a victim of domestic or family violence.
Service credits for breaks in employment
As a registered community service worker, you can apply for service credits for breaks in your employment (maximum of 3 months service credits) when you were:
- unable to work due to an illness or injury, whether the illness or injury was work related or not
- undertook a community services training course recognised by the Long Service Corporation
- undertaking voluntary community services work in the event of a Declared Emergency in NSW
- performing work, other than community services work, in accordance with workers compensation as a result of an injury.
Service credits if your employer is insolvent
As a registered community service worker, you can apply for service credits if you are missing service due to your employer becoming insolvent.
Service credits are allocated based on evidence you supply for the missing period during an employer’s insolvency or administration.
Work on Commonwealth places
As Commonwealth places fall under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth Government, work conducted on Commonwealth places cannot be credited under the Community Services Industry portable long service leave scheme, administered by the Long Service Corporation.
Examples of Commonwealth places in NSW include:
- Federal and Family Courts
- Villawood Immigration Detention Centre.
If suitable evidence is provided and accepted by the Long Service Corporation, work on a Commonwealth Place can be recorded on your record as non-service days to preserve your registration.
