SA long service leave calculator
Work through a South Australian employee's long service leave, counting only completed years, and see whether leaving now pays anything and how much.
- 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
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How it works
South Australia counts long service leave in completed years, so a part year at the end adds nothing. Once the employee completes the full entitlement period in the table below, they have the leave set for it and can take it while still employed. Each completed year after that adds the amount the table shows for a later year.
Leaving at or after the full entitlement period pays every completed year, whatever the reason, including a dismissal for serious and wilful misconduct.
Between the minimum and full entitlement periods, the Long Service Leave Act 1987 pays a proportion for completed years on leaving for nearly every reason, a plain resignation included. A dismissal for serious and wilful misconduct, if this describes what happened, pays nothing at that stage.
The rules the calculator uses
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Years of service for a pro rata payment on leaving | 7 years |
| Years of service for the full entitlement | 10 years |
| Leave for the first 10 years | 13 weeks |
| Leave for each later year | 1.3 weeks |
SafeWork SA (Government of South Australia), Long service leave: pro-rata entitlement; SafeWork SA (Government of South Australia), Long service leave: accruing leave Checked 15 Oct 2026.
What the result assumes
- Every year counted was worked continuously for the same employer, inside South Australia.
- Each day between the start and end dates is counted as service, with nothing removed for absences the Act might exclude.
- Long service leave comes from the South Australian Act itself, not from an award, an enterprise agreement or an industry's portable scheme.
- The weeks shown are the employee's total accrual, and any long service leave they've already had needs to be subtracted to see the balance.
- The dollar value is those weeks times ordinary weekly pay at the end date for normal hours, without the averaging the Act uses when hours or pay varied.
- The Act also withholds a proportion when a worker ends employment unlawfully, but that needs a legal finding, so it isn't one of the choices.
Sources
- Long service leave: pro-rata entitlement
SafeWork SA (Government of South Australia). Page modified 10 September 2026, released 10 September 2026. Checked 15 October 2026.
© Government of South Australia, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU Licence: CC BY 3.0 AU.
- Long service leave: accruing leave
SafeWork SA (Government of South Australia). Page modified 20 September 2026, released 20 September 2026. Checked 15 October 2026.
© Government of South Australia, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU Licence: CC BY 3.0 AU.
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Questions about this calculator
Something else on your mind? Ask us directly.
Does a part year count towards long service leave in SA?
Is long service leave paid on resignation before the full entitlement period?
What if serious and wilful misconduct happens after the full entitlement period?
When can an SA employee take long service leave?
General information