Longserviceleave.com

South Australia average hours for long service leave

Work out the normal weekly hours and pay for long service leave in South Australia when your hours have changed. South Australia uses the average over the last 3 years (156 weeks).

By Sri Murugan Systems · Rules last reviewed

Work out normal weekly hours for leave

Long Service Leave Act 1987 (SA)

Enter the hours worked in each year.

$

To turn the hours into weekly pay for leave.

Total hours from payslips or your payroll summary (in Victoria, include paid leave hours). Add unpaid leave weeks so they are left out of the average where your state does that.

Most recent 12 months
The 12 months before that
Year 3 back
Year 4 back
Year 5 back

The South Australia rule

Under the Long Service Leave Act 1987 (SA), normal weekly hours are the average over the last 3 years (156 weeks) (s 3(2)(a)-(c), s 3(4), s 8).

Hourly rate at the relevant date (when leave is taken or paid out) x average weekly hours over the last 3 years (156 worked weeks).

Worked example: hours cut back in South Australia

A long-serving employee worked 35 hours a week for three years, then reduced their hours, with 4 weeks of unpaid leave along the way. They are paid $40 an hour.

YearHours workedUnpaid leave weeks
Most recent 12 months1,3000
The 12 months before1,5604
3 years back1,8200
4 years back1,8200
5 years back1,8200

Under the South Australia rule:

  1. The ruleSouth Australia uses the average over the last 3 years (156 weeks) (s 3(2)(a)-(c), s 3(4), s 8).
  2. Last 3 years4,680.00 hours ÷ 152.00 weeks = 30.79 hours a week.
  3. Normal weekly hours30.79 hours a week.
  4. Weekly pay for leave30.79 hours × $40.00 an hour = $1,231.58 a week.

So leave is paid at 30.79 hours a week, or $1,231.58 a week.

Each year is counted as 52 weeks, less any unpaid leave weeks you entered. The Acts count calendar days and exclude some unpaid absences, so a payroll figure can differ slightly.

See the South Australia long service leave calculator to work out the full entitlement with these hours.

Common questions

My hours dropped recently. Is my leave paid at the lower hours?

Not always. NSW and Victoria use the higher of a short and a long average, so a recent drop does not lower the pay if you worked more hours over the longer period. SA uses the last 3 years, and Tasmania and the ACT the last 12 months.

Do unpaid leave weeks count in the average?

The Acts generally leave out periods that do not count as service, such as unpaid leave. Enter unpaid weeks for each year and the calculator leaves them out of the weeks it divides by.

Official sources

Rules last reviewed 3 November 2026. Every figure comes from the Acts, the regulators, the ATO and the AASB; see sources and method.