Long service leave for NSW Health employees

Which rules apply to you

The current policy directive is PD2024_046 Leave Matters for the NSW Health Service. NSW Health published it on 19 December 2024. It replaced PD2023_045. It says that if an award is different from the directive, the award takes precedence (PD2024_046, Policy Statement).

Your award contains the long service leave clause. For nurses and midwives, this is clause 33 of the Public Health System Nurses' and Midwives' (State) Award 2025. For health employees, it is clause 17 of the Health Employees' Conditions of Employment (State) Award 2025. For medical officers, it is clause 19 of the Public Hospital Medical Officers (State) Award 2023.

The long service leave section of the directive does not apply to Health Service Senior Executives (PD2024_046, s 7 and s 7.1). It also does not apply to employees under the three NSW Ambulance awards (PD2024_046, s 7 and s 7.1). These employees use the Government Sector Employment Act 2013 and its regulation instead.

The Long Service Leave Act 1955 covers most other NSW workers. The Act gives 2 months after 10 years, and then 1 month for each further 5 years (NSW Government, About long service leave). The NSW Health awards give 5 months for each further 10 years, so you accrue leave faster.

How much leave you get

If you are full time, you get 2 months' long service leave on full pay after 10 years' service. Then you get 5 months for each further 10 years. The clauses are Nurses' and Midwives' Award cl 33(i)(a) and Health Employees' Conditions Award cl 17(ii)(a).

After you have at least 7 years' service, you can take a proportionate amount of leave while you are still employed. The rate is 2 months for 10 years (PD2024_046, s 7.1).

If you are permanent part time, your service counts by the actual time that you worked. But your employer pays the leave at a rate that matches your full-time equivalent service. You can choose to take it at your average hours or at your current rostered hours (PD2024_046, s 7.1).

Prior service that counts

Some continuous service can count towards your long service leave (Government Sector Employment Regulation 2014, Sch 2 cl 6). This is service with another NSW government sector agency, or with a Commonwealth or interstate public service agency. Your NSW Health job must follow it immediately (Government Sector Employment Regulation 2014, Sch 2 cl 6).

"Immediately follows" generally means that you start within 2 months (Sch 2 cl 4). Your earlier job must not end because your employer dismissed you for disciplinary reasons (Sch 2 cl 4).

NSW Health recognises interstate service, less any leave that your earlier employer paid out when you left (PD2024_046, s 18.1.3). It also deducts any leave that was eligible for payment when you left (PD2024_046, s 18.1.3).

Leave without pay does not count as service until you have 10 years' net service. After that, a period of leave without pay of up to 6 months counts. A longer period does not count at all (PD2024_046, s 7.4.3; Nurses' and Midwives' Award cl 33(ii)(b)).

How to take your leave

You can take long service leave on full pay, half pay or double pay. On half pay, each day off uses half a day of your balance. On double pay, each day off uses two days (Nurses' and Midwives' Award cl 33(iii)-(iv)). On half pay, annual leave accrues at half your normal rate (cl 33(v)(c)).

In NSW Health, the usual minimum period is 7 days (PD2024_046, s 7.7 and s 7.8). Apply at least one month before the leave starts (PD2024_046, s 7.7 and s 7.8). If a rostered public holiday occurs in your leave, your employer does not deduct it (PD2024_046, s 7.1).

When your job ends

When you leave NSW Health, your employer pays you the value of all your unused accrued long service leave (PD2024_046, s 7.3 and s 18.1.3). This does not apply if you transfer the leave to another NSW government sector agency (PD2024_046, s 7.3 and s 18.1.3).

With 5 to 7 years' service, you get pro rata payment only in two cases (Nurses' and Midwives' Award cl 33(i)(b)). The first case is that your employer ends your job for a reason other than serious and wilful misconduct. This includes redundancy. The second case is that you resign because of illness, incapacity or domestic or other pressing necessity (Nurses' and Midwives' Award cl 33(i)(b)).

With 7 years or more, you get pro rata payment for all reasons. It does not matter who ends the employment (cl 33(i)(b)).

If you die after 5 years' service, the value of your leave goes to the people that your award names. Under the nurses' award, these are your partner, children or legal personal representative (Nurses' and Midwives' Award cl 33(x)(b)). The Health Employees' Conditions Award has its own list of people (Health Employees' Conditions Award cl 17(xi)(b)).

Casual work and cash-out

The Long Service Leave Act 1955 covers casual service, not the award clause (PD2024_046, s 7.5; Health Employees' Conditions Award cl 17(i)(a)). The Health Employees' Conditions Award has a rule for continuous casual service at the same organisation (cl 17(iv)). If that service continues without a break into permanent employment, it counts on a proportional hours basis (cl 17(iv)).

The directive mentions a cash-out of long service leave only on first appointment as a Health Service Senior Executive. The references are PD2024_046, s 18.4.1 and Government Sector Employment Regulation 2014 cl 42. You must make this election within 28 days. The award clauses that we examined have no cash-out provision. In all other cases, you take the leave or you get payment for it when you leave.