Who must register for ACT portable long service leave (hospitality / beauty)?
The applicability test for Register for ACT portable long service leave (hospitality / beauty) (WorkSafe ACT), computed across 35 industries, 9 business structures and 6 size bands.
Short answer: Some businesses
Applies when the business has employees and industry: Cafés & restaurants / Hotels, pubs & licensed venues.
What the obligation is
ACT extends portable LSL to cafés, restaurants, accommodation, hair and beauty from 1 January 2027 (deferred from 1 July 2026).
From 1 January 2027 (deferred from 1 July 2026), the ACT extends its portable Long Service Leave scheme to cover hospitality (cafés, restaurants, accommodation) and hair and beauty industries. Employers must register, pay quarterly levies, and lodge returns. Workers accrue portable LSL across employers within the covered industries.
The applicability test
Applies when the business has employees and industry: Cafés & restaurants / Hotels, pubs & licensed venues.
How the regulator frames it: ACT employers in hospitality, accommodation, hair and beauty.
What triggers it: Employing workers in covered industries from 1 July 2026.
Jurisdiction: Australian Capital Territory law only. A business with no operations in ACT is outside it, whatever the rest of the test says.
Which industries are in or out
Outcome across the 35 industries Rules Mate maps (2 of 35: depends on size or structure; 33 of 35: no).
| Industry | Answer |
|---|---|
| Cafés & restaurants | Depends on size or structure |
| Hotels, pubs & licensed venues | Depends on size or structure |
| No | 33 other industries |
Business structure and size
Structure does not change the answer in the 2 industries it can reach: for every structure the answer is "depends on size or structure".
| Size band | Answer in the 2 industries it can reach, any structure |
|---|---|
| No employees (turnover $100K–$1M) | No |
| 1–5 employees (turnover $100K–$1M) | Yes |
| 6–19 employees (turnover $1M–$3M) | Yes |
| 20–99 employees (turnover $3M–$10M) | Yes |
| 100–499 employees (turnover $10M–$100M) | Yes |
| 500+ employees (turnover $100M–$1B) | Yes |
Worked examples
Each line is one run of the Rules Mate applicability engine for a single business profile, with the reason the engine gives:
- Pty Ltd company in cafés & restaurants with 6–19 employees, turnover $1M–$3M: applies. You have employees (6–19) · Industry: Cafés & restaurants.
- Pty Ltd company in real estate agents with 6–19 employees, turnover $1M–$3M: does not apply. Requires employees and industry: Cafés & restaurants / Hotels, pubs & licensed venues.
What you must do, and when
- When due
- Registration from commencement; quarterly returns and levies.
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Evidence to keep
- Registration confirmation, quarterly returns, payment records.
- In force from
- 1 July 2026
- Status
- Current
- Priority
- High
Penalty for not complying
Maximum penalty: Civil penalties + payment of levies in arrears with interest.
Audit or assurance level
Rules Mate has not yet classified the audit or assurance level for this obligation. Any audit, review or certification requirement is set by the regulator source listed below.
Dates in the compliance calendar
What usually applies alongside it
Across the 1,890 business profiles Rules Mate evaluates, these obligations apply to most of the businesses this one applies to, and are far more common among them than among businesses generally:
- Food Act state licensing + food safety supervisor: applies to 100% of the same businesses (17.5× the overall rate)
- Implement Food Safety Management Tool (Standard 3.2.2A): applies to 100% of the same businesses (17.5× the overall rate)
- Appoint a certified Food Safety Supervisor (FSS): applies to 100% of the same businesses (17.5× the overall rate)
- Hold valid liquor licence (state liquor licensing): applies to 50% of the same businesses (17.5× the overall rate)
- RSA + RCG mandatory training (liquor + gaming): applies to 50% of the same businesses (8.8× the overall rate)
Where it sits in the corpus
Rules Mate tracks 5 published obligations tagged "lsl", 0 of them rated critical. For a professional services Pty Ltd company with 6–19 employees operating in every state, 3 of those apply outright. This obligation is rated high priority, and is a quarterly obligation.
Regulator, legislation and tools
Regulated by WorkSafe ACT.
WorkSafe ACT: ACT WHS regulator. Also administers portable long service leave schemes including the 2026 expansion to hospitality and beauty.
Free tools that help with this obligation:
Questions
- Who must register for ACT portable long service leave (hospitality / beauty)?
- Applies when the business has employees and industry: Cafés & restaurants / Hotels, pubs & licensed venues.
- Do sole traders need to register for ACT portable long service leave (hospitality / beauty)?
- Depends on size or structure. Looking in the 2 industries it can reach and every size band, the engine's answer for a sole trader is: depends on size or structure.
- Do businesses with 1–5 employees need to register for ACT portable long service leave (hospitality / beauty)?
- Yes (1–5 employees, turnover $100K–$1M).
- When is "Register for ACT portable long service leave (hospitality / beauty)" due?
- Registration from commencement; quarterly returns and levies.
Related
Sources
Computed by the Rules Mate applicability engine from the published obligation corpus; facts last checked 3 October 2026. Rules Mate is not a law firm and this is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your position with the regulator source or a qualified adviser before acting.