Your long service leave
Learn about portable long service leave for NSW community service workers.
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Portable long service leave
Long service paid by your employer
Scheme registration for workers
Contact us
Related information
Portable long service leave
Portable long service leave is now in place for full-time, part-time, and casual workers who either:
- carry out community service work, or
- work for an employer whose predominant purpose is to provide a community service.
If you change employers, your service to the industry and the contributions made by your employer stays with the portable scheme and counts towards your future claim.
You can work in any of the 31 types of community service areas while staying part of the scheme. If you take a job outside the scheme, you can keep your portable leave for 4 years in case you want to return to the sector.
Employers of community service workers pay a levy to the Long Service Corporation. These levy payments accumulate to form your long service leave payments. The Long Service Corporation are responsible for the long service leave payment.
Long service paid by your employer
If you've worked for the same employer continuously for 10 years, you may be eligible for a long service leave payment from them. The portable scheme doesn’t replace traditional long service leave, so workers who have existing long service leave entitlements with their employer will still access that leave once they’re eligible.
Scheme registration for workers
If you’re a community service worker in NSW who is registered with the Community Services Industry portable long service leave scheme (the scheme) you become eligible for long service leave after 7 years of service to the industry with 1 or more employers and can claim up to 6 weeks’ paid leave. It doesn’t need to be taken straight away or all at one time.
If you're a self-employed contractor, you can opt into the scheme by registering as a worker to accrue long service leave. You must record your own service, lodge your own returns and pay your own levy. To learn more, see information for self-employed contractors.
In most cases, workers will be registered automatically when your employer includes you in a service return. If you have been working in the community services industry from 1 July 2025 to 31 March 2026, you may wish to speak with your employer to ensure they have included you in the first service return.
From April 2026, a new online portal will be available to workers to allow you to confirm your registration and view your service history. Updates will be available on this website.
Foundation worker bonus
Foundation workers will receive 1 year of bonus service credits. They may claim their paid leave a year earlier, after 6 years of service to the industry.
Foundation workers are:
- registered workers who were employed in the first 6 months of the scheme’s commencement (1 July to 31 December 2025), or
- self-employed contractors who opt into the scheme as workers and were doing paid community service work in the first 6 months of the scheme's commencement (1 July to 31 December 2025).
Contact us
For more information, phone our helpline on 13 14 41
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Related information
Community Services Sector (Portable Long Service Leave) Act 2024
Who is covered by the scheme
Community service work covered by the scheme
Worker frequently asked questions
