Long service leave in Queensland
This page covers employees who are not seasonal employees. Seasonal employees have separate rules under the Act. Queensland's general long service leave rules sit in s 95 of the Industrial Relations Act 2016 (Qld). The values in the table are read from that section.
- By Book Keeping Pros
- Sources checked 15 Oct 2026
Leave after 10 years
8.6667 weeks
- Years of service for the full entitlement
- 10 years
- Years of service for a pro rata payment on leaving for a listed reason
- 7 years
Long service leave rules
Checked for employment ending 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2027
| What it is | Value | Where it is set |
|---|---|---|
| Years of service for a pro rata payment on leaving for a listed reason | 7 years | s 95(3) |
| Years of service for the full entitlement | 10 years | s 95(2)(a), qualifying period |
| Leave after 10 years | 8.6667 weeks | s 95(2)(a), amount of leave |
| Years of service after which further leave is due | 15 years | s 95(2)(b) |
Each value is read from the source and provision shown; the sources are listed below. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
Who is paid before the full entitlement
- The employee resigns because of illness, incapacity, or a domestic or other pressing necessity
- The employer ends the employment because of the employee's illness or incapacity
- The employer ends the employment for a reason that is not about the employee, such as redundancy
- The employee dies
How it works in Queensland
- Queensland's Act states the leave for the full entitlement as a decimal number of weeks, rather than in months or as a fraction. The table shows that figure, and later service is measured in proportion to it.
- Between the full entitlement and the later milestone in the table, the leave available to take stays at the amount for the full entitlement. From that milestone on, further leave builds up in proportion to service.
- When employment ends after the full entitlement, whatever the reason, the leave is worked out on the whole period of service. Part years are included, so time since the last anniversary still counts.
- A pro rata payment between the two periods in the table is made only for one of the reasons below. Unlike New South Wales, Queensland does not include a dismissal for the employee's conduct, capacity or performance.
- Part years also count in a Queensland pro rata payment, so it reflects the time served since the last completed year as well as the completed years themselves.
- The Act also covers some endings that turn on a legal finding, such as an unfair dismissal or the end of certain fixed term contracts. The list below does not include those cases.
General information
Sources
- Industrial Relations Act 2016 (Qld), reprint current as at 1 January 2026
Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel. Reprint current as at 1 January 2026, released 22 December 2025. Checked 15 October 2026.
Sourced from the Queensland Legislation website (www.legislation.qld.gov.au), licensed under CC BY 4.0 Licence: CC BY 4.0.
- Long service leave in Queensland
Business Queensland (Queensland Government). Page last updated 3 December 2024, released 3 December 2024. Checked 15 October 2026.
© The State of Queensland, Business Queensland, licensed under CC BY 4.0 Licence: CC BY 4.0.
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