Work out leave built up each pay period
Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic)How leave builds up in Victoria
Under the Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic), an employee gets 6.07 weeks of long service leave after 7 years of continuous service. That works out to 0.8696 weeks for each year, or 33.05 hours a year for someone working 38 hours a week.
The leave is not owed until the employee reaches 7 years. Until then, the balance shown on a payslip is a record, not an amount that can be taken.
Worked example: full-time in Victoria
An employee works 38 ordinary hours a week, earns $1,500 a week and is paid fortnightly. This is what the calculator above shows for Victoria:
- RateVictoria: 1/60 of each week of continuous employment (s 6), about 0.8696 weeks for each year of service (Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic)).
- Per fortnight1/60 a week × 2 = 0.03333 weeks of leave a fortnight.
- In hours0.03333 × 38 hours a week = 1.2667 hours a fortnight. That is 1.000 minutes for every hour worked.
- Value0.03333 weeks × $1,500.00 a week = $50.00 a fortnight, or $1,304.41 a year.
| Period | Leave built up | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Each fortnight | 1.27 hours | $50.00 |
| Each year | 33.05 hours | $1,304.41 |
When leave stops building up in Victoria
Accrual follows service. Some absences pause it without breaking your service; others count in full.
| Absence | What happens | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Unpaid leave | In Victoria, unpaid leave does not break your service and counts up to 52 weeks; unpaid leave beyond 52 weeks is not counted unless it was agreed in writing beforehand to count or your agreement treats it as employment. | s 12(2)(g), s 14(a) |
| Unpaid parental leave | In Victoria, unpaid parental leave taken on or after 1 November 2018 does not break your service and counts; unpaid parental leave taken before 1 November 2018 does not break service but is not counted (if it spans that date, only the part from 1 November 2018 counts). | s 12(2)(c)-(d), s 14(a), s 57; Long Service Leave Act 1992 s 62(2)(ca), s 63(1), s 63(3)(b) |
| Illness or injury | In Victoria, unpaid time off for illness or injury counts in full as service from 1 November 2018; before 1 November 2018, only 48 weeks of such absence in any year counted. | s 12(2)(f), s 14(a), s 57; Long Service Leave Act 1992 s 63(2) |
| Stand-down | In Victoria, a stand-down during industrial action, a machinery breakdown or a stoppage beyond the employer's control does not break your service but is not counted. | s 12(7), s 14(c) |
See the Victoria long service leave calculator for the full entitlement on leaving.
Common questions
How many hours of long service leave do you get per hour worked?
In the states that give 8.67 weeks after 10 years, leave builds up at about 0.8667 weeks for each year, which is 0.01667 hours for every hour worked (about 1 minute). In SA and the NT, which give 13 weeks after 10 years, it is 1.3 weeks a year, or 0.025 hours per hour worked.
Is long service leave owed from the first year?
No. In every state the leave is only owed once you reach the qualifying period (7 or 10 years, or earlier pro rata for some reasons). Payroll systems still track it from the start so the balance and the employer provision are ready.
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.