Updates and Articles

On 3 May 2026, the Minister for Skills, Training and Industrial Relations announced that the entry of the hair and beauty and accommodation and food services industries into the Services Industry Scheme will be delayed until 1 January 2027. This is in response to the challenging conditions many businesses are currently experiencing.

The Minister also announced additional relief for food and beverage businesses, with phased levy discounts over the first three years of the scheme. These discounts will not affect workers’ entitlements.

ACT Leave will be closed for the Easter break from Friday 3 April 2026, reopening on Tuesday 7 April 2026.

The client portal will remain available and can be accessed as usual during this time.

We wish you a safe and happy long weekend!

ACT Leave will be closed on Monday 30 March 2026 as we upgrade our ICT network and introduce a new call centre to improve our services. 

Please be advised that the ACT Government has updated its declaration of public holidays for April 2026, with an additional public holiday added for Saturday 25 April 2026, alongside the existing public holiday on Monday 27 April 2026.

The quarterly return calendars have been updated to reflect this change.

The ACT Government would like to hear from workers in the accommodation and food services industry to assist in ongoing implementation activities before joining the Services Industry Scheme from 1 July 2026.

If you are currently working, or have worked in the industry, please visit the worker survey.

The survey will close at 11.59 pm on 31 March 2026.

The ACT Leave office will be closed for in-person assistance while we undertake building maintenance on Monday 2 March 2026.