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- Which portable long service leave schemes operate in the ACT?
- Who has to register with ACT Leave?
- What counts as ordinary remuneration for ACT Leave?
- When are ACT Leave returns due?
- What happens if an ACT Leave return is late?
- What's changing in the services industry scheme?
- Why does ACT Leave reporting take so long?
- How can you do your ACT return in minutes?
- What if you employ staff in other states?
- FAQs About Long Service Leave in the ACT
- See it in action
- Who is Pay Cat?
Updated October 2026.
ACT Leave, the ACT's Long Service Leave Authority, runs four portable long service leave schemes: building and construction, community sector, security, and services. This guide is for payroll, HR and finance teams at employers with staff working in the ACT, and it covers who has to register, each levy rate, what counts as ordinary remuneration, and when returns are due, as at October 2026.
Your next ACT Leave return, for July to September 2026, is due on 31 October 2026.
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Which portable long service leave schemes operate in the ACT?
| Scheme | Levy | Entitlement |
| Building and construction | 2.75% of gross ordinary wages, from 1 October 2024 | 13 weeks after 10 years, then 1.3 weeks a year |
| Community sector | 1.85% of gross ordinary wages, from 1 July 2024 | 4.33 weeks after 5 years, then 0.867 weeks a year |
| Security | 1.47% of gross ordinary wages, from 1 July 2024 | 6.06 weeks after 7 years, then 0.867 weeks a year |
| Services (contract cleaning now; hair and beauty, accommodation and food services from 1 January 2027) | 1.07% of gross ordinary wages | 6.06 weeks after 7 years, then 0.867 weeks a year |
Source: ACT Leave, as at October 2026. All four schemes run under the Long Service Leave (Portable Schemes) Act 2009.
Who has to register with ACT Leave?
Employers in a covered industry must register with ACT Leave within 30 days of becoming an employer for that industry. That includes interstate employers: if you have employees doing covered work in the ACT, you must register, but only their ACT service is reported. Full-time, part-time and casual employees are all covered. Source: ACT Leave FAQs, as at October 2026.
The community sector scheme covers work such as approved education and care services, residential care including aged care, community aged care, non-residential welfare services, fundraising for welfare and community advocacy. Source: ACT Leave, community sector, as at October 2026.
What counts as ordinary remuneration for ACT Leave?
ACT Leave defines ordinary remuneration as the amount paid for work, other than overtime and expenses. The same definition applies across all four schemes:
| Included | Excluded |
| Base wages and over-award payments | Overtime |
| Casual loading | Annual leave loading |
| Shift and holiday penalties for night, weekend and public holiday work (normal rostered shifts only) | One-off bonuses and ex-gratia payments |
| Paid annual, sick, carer's, bereavement, family and domestic violence and employer-paid parental leave | Government Parental Leave Pay |
| Public holidays, rostered days off and jury duty | Site, meal, protective clothing and travel allowances |
| First aid allowance | Redundancy, payments in lieu of notice and lump sum termination payments |
| Workers' compensation paid by the employer | Work done outside the ACT |
Source: ACT Leave, ordinary wages, as at October 2026.
Unlike Victoria's community services scheme, the ACT counts weekend and public holiday penalties for normal rostered shifts. Apprentices' wages are exempt from the levy, but apprentices must still be reported on the return.
When are ACT Leave returns due?
Returns and the levy are due by the end of the month after each quarter ends:
| Quarter | Return and levy due |
| 1 July to 30 September 2026 | 31 October 2026 |
| 1 October to 31 December 2026 | 31 January 2027 |
| 1 January to 31 March 2027 | 30 April 2027 |
| 1 April to 30 June 2027 | 31 July 2027 |
For each worker, you report the number of days they did covered work in the ACT and their gross ordinary wages for those days. You lodge through the ACT Leave employer portal, either by entering details directly or by uploading a CSV file. Source: ACT Leave, quarterly returns, as at October 2026.
What happens if an ACT Leave return is late?
A $200 late fee applies one month after the quarter ends, and another $200 at two months. At three months, ACT Leave can issue an infringement notice of $640 for individuals or $3,200 for corporations. Late payments attract interest, currently 7.5%. You must also lodge a nil return each quarter while your registration is active, even if no covered staff worked in the ACT. Source: ACT Leave quarterly returns page, as at October 2026.
What's changing in the services industry scheme?
Contract cleaning moved into the new Services Industry Scheme on 1 April 2025, with employers and workers transferred automatically. Hair and beauty businesses, and accommodation and food services businesses, join on 1 January 2027. They must register with ACT Leave by 31 December 2026, and their first return is due on 30 April 2027.
Food and beverage businesses get a 75% levy reduction in their first year, 50% in the second and 25% in the third. Source: ACT Leave, services industry employers, as at October 2026.
Why does ACT Leave reporting take so long?
ACT returns need two figures for every worker: the days they did covered work in the ACT, and their gross ordinary wages for those days. Interstate employers also have to separate ACT work from everything else. Then you apply the ACT's rules, keeping rostered penalties and first aid allowance but removing overtime, leave loading and travel allowances. If you also report in another state, each scheme defines wages differently.
How can you do your ACT return in minutes?
Pay Cat Toolbox's portable long service leave report pulls each worker's wages for the period straight from your Pay Cat Payroll file, applies the pay categories that are reportable for your scheme, and builds the CSV you upload to the ACT Leave portal. You map your pay categories once. We pre-tick the ones that are reportable for ACT Leave, and flag the few you need to decide.
Toolbox covers every state and territory scheme, so if you employ staff across borders, one report handles each scheme's rules. It costs $2 per active employee per month, added to your existing Pay Cat Payroll plan.
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See a portable LSL return built live
Tasya, our Head Trainer, runs the Pay Cat Toolbox portable LSL report on a real file, from pay categories to upload file.
What if you employ staff in other states?
Each state and territory runs its own schemes, with its own wage rules and due dates, and you report to each one separately.
FAQs About Long Service Leave in the ACT
When is the next ACT Leave return due?
The ACT Leave return and levy for 1 July to 30 September 2026 are due on 31 October 2026. Returns are due by the end of the month after each quarter ends.
What is the ACT community sector portable long service leave levy?
As at October 2026, the ACT community sector levy is 1.85% of gross ordinary wages, a rate that has applied since 1 July 2024.
Does ACT Leave ordinary remuneration include penalty rates?
Yes. Shift and holiday penalty rates for night, weekend and public holiday work are included for normal rostered shifts. Overtime and annual leave loading are excluded.
Do interstate employers need to register with ACT Leave?
Yes. If you have employees doing covered work in the ACT, you must register with ACT Leave, but only the service and wages for their ACT work are reported.
How much portable long service leave do ACT community sector workers get?
Community sector workers registered on or after 1 July 2010 are entitled to 4.33 weeks of portable long service leave after 5 years of recorded service, then 0.867 weeks for every further year.
See it in action
Tasya, our Head Trainer, walked through portable long service leave reporting in our PLSL & SCHADS Leave Entitlements Webinar.
Free webinar replay
PLSL & SCHADS Leave Entitlements Webinar
Tasya, our Head Trainer, walks through portable long service leave and SCHADS leave entitlements, then shows how the Pay Cat Toolbox PLSL report turns your pay data into a return ready to lodge.
Watch the replaySee how the PLSL report works
Not on Pay Cat Payroll yet? Book a demo and we'll show you how it works.
Who is Pay Cat?
Pay Cat are payroll specialists for SCHADS and community services employers. Pay Cat Payroll runs on our SCHADS Award template, which interprets the award automatically, and Pay Cat Toolbox adds the reports payroll teams usually build by hand, including portable long service leave returns.
Video: How Pay Cat helps NDIS providers simplify SCHADS and portable long service leave compliance.
