NSW long service leave calculator
Find the weeks of long service leave an employee has in New South Wales, whether they're still employed or leaving, and what those weeks are worth.
- By Book Keeping Pros
- Sources checked 15 Oct 2026
Work out the long service leave
Enter the dates and what happened. The result updates as you type.
Choose the closest description
For normal weekly hours, to see what the leave is worth
General information only. It works out the weeks from the dates and pay you enter and doesn't take your circumstances into account.
Long service leave
Enter both dates
Show working
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How it works
In New South Wales, long service leave builds up with continuous service. Once an employee completes the full entitlement period in the table below, they can take leave in blocks, and further leave follows each further block of service.
When employment ends after the full entitlement period, the employee is paid for their whole service, part years included. Before that, an employee past the minimum period is paid a proportion only for the reasons the Long Service Leave Act 1955 lists, such as redundancy, illness or death; a resignation for no listed reason doesn't qualify.
NSW Industrial Relations applies its current guidance on part years to employment ending on or after the date in the table, so the calculator doesn't work out an earlier NSW termination.
The rules the calculator uses
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Years of service for a pro rata payment on leaving for a listed reason | 5 years |
| Years of service for the full entitlement | 10 years |
| Leave after 10 years | 2 months |
| Leave for each further 5 years | 1 month |
| Weeks in a month of leave | 4 1/3 weeks |
| Part years after 15 years count on termination from | 1 March 2026 |
NSW Industrial Relations, Long Service Leave Guide (NSW), March 2026; NSW Industrial Relations, Long service leave webinar, 4 March 2026: questions and answers Checked 15 Oct 2026.
What the result assumes
- The employee worked continuously for one employer in New South Wales, and every day in the period counts as service.
- The employee is covered by the NSW Act, not an award, agreement or portable scheme with its own long service leave terms.
- The weeks shown are before any long service leave already taken, so subtract leave taken to find what's left.
- The value uses ordinary weekly pay at the end date for normal hours. Hours or pay that varied need the Act's averaging, which the calculator doesn't do.
- Part years are counted in days of the service year, so results can differ from published examples in the last decimal place.
- Whether a dismissal involved serious and wilful misconduct, or a resignation was justified by illness, incapacity or a pressing necessity, is a legal question; the result applies only if the chosen description matches what happened.
Sources
- Long Service Leave Guide (NSW), March 2026
NSW Industrial Relations. First published March 2026, released 2 March 2026. Checked 15 October 2026.
© State of New South Wales 2026 Licence: All rights reserved, State of New South Wales.
- Long service leave webinar, 4 March 2026: questions and answers
NSW Industrial Relations. Answers to the 4 March 2026 webinar, released 21 April 2026. Checked 15 October 2026.
© State of New South Wales, licensed under CC BY 4.0 Licence: CC BY 4.0.
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Questions about this calculator
Something else on your mind? Ask us directly.
When can an employee take long service leave in NSW?
Is long service leave paid out on resignation?
Why isn't an earlier NSW termination worked out?
Does it include leave already taken?
General information