Portable long service leave for construction: state schemes and the National Reciprocal Agreement

Why construction needs portable schemes

Construction workers frequently change employers due to the nature of projects being short and temporary. Without a portable scheme, this movement would typically mean a reset of long service leave entitlements under standard state legislation. This would disadvantage workers who accumulate service with multiple employers.

Every Australian state and territory recognises this issue and has portable long service leave legislation specifically for the building and construction industry. These schemes operate differently to standard long service leave, where service is accrued against an industry pool rather than a single employer.

This industry-wide approach allows workers to claim long service leave once they have accrued sufficient service. Critically, workers can access their leave entitlements even if they have not completed a 10-year service period with any one employer.

The state schemes

Several Australian states and territories administer their own long service leave schemes for the construction industry. In Victoria, LeavePlus (formerly CoINVEST) manages the scheme, operating under the Construction Industry Long Service Leave Act 1997 (Vic). CoINVEST changed its trading name to LeavePlus on 14 August 2023.

Queensland’s scheme is administered by QLeave, and is funded through a levy applied to building and construction work valued at $150,000 or more (excluding GST). New South Wales has a scheme managed by the Long Service Corporation, established under the Building and Construction Industry Long Service Payments Act 1986 (NSW).

Outside of Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales, other states and territories each have their own administering bodies. These include the ACT Long Service Leave Authority, CIPQ in South Australia, MyLeave in Western Australia, TasBuild in Tasmania, and NT Build in the Northern Territory.

National Reciprocal Agreement

A National Reciprocal Agreement exists between all eight portable long service leave (LSL) schemes across Australia. This agreement ensures that service rendered in different states or territories is recognised when determining a worker’s entitlement to portable LSL.

Under the agreement, service accrued under one scheme is not directly transferable to another. However, it is taken into account when calculating a worker’s total service for the purposes of establishing eligibility for a claim under a particular scheme.

Workers seeking to claim portable LSL must apply separately to each scheme for the service they performed within that jurisdiction. Employers are required to register with, and pay the necessary levies or contributions to, each state scheme where they have employees.

Employer obligations

Employers in the building and construction industry have specific obligations relating to portable long service leave. These obligations include registering with the relevant long service leave scheme in each state where they undertake work.

Employers must also regularly submit returns to the schemes. These returns detail wages paid and worker information, and are typically lodged on a quarterly basis.

Failure to comply with these requirements, including failure to register or lodge returns, can result in penalties as outlined in the relevant state legislation. Some schemes, such as those in Queensland and the Northern Territory, also require employers to pay project levies.