Frequently Asked Questions

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Long service leave is an entitlement an employee generally receives after working for the same employer for a specific period of time.

In the ACT, traditional long service leave is administered by Worksafe ACT in accordance with the Long Service Leave Act (1976)

There are some industries where employees don’t typically work for the same employer for a long period of time. This is why the ACT Government introduced the Long Service Leave (Portable Schemes) Act 2009 . Portable long service leave allows employees to receive long service leave entitlements, even if they work for more than one employer within the same covered industry.

Self-employed contractors can benefit from the scheme too.

ACT Leave is a statutory authority of the ACT Government , set up under the Long Service Leave (Portable Schemes) Act 2009 to ensure that workers who undertake relevant work in covered industries receive the valuable benefits of long service leave. We also give employers the support, tools, and information they need to make this happen.

Industry scheme information

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Workers who perform relevant work in the following industries are eligible for portable long service leave.

On 1 April 2025, the ACT Government is expanding portable long service leave to a new services industry scheme. Contract cleaning will be automatically moved across to the new scheme (no action is needed), with the new scheme to also cover workers performing:

Visit the Services industry page for more information.

Relevant work is the type of work described in the Act that determines if someone is eligible for portable long service leave.

Relevant work in the construction industry in the ACT includes:

Relevant work in the community sector in the ACT includes: