Making portable long service leave for the services industry easy
We administer the portable long service leave scheme for the ACT services industry under the Long Service Leave (Portable Schemes) Act 2009.
You are a covered employer if your business operates for the predominant purpose of providing:
- hairdressing services
- beauty services
- short-term accommodation services
- food and/or beverage services or
- hospitality services.
If you have employees performing services work in the ACT, you’re required by law to:
- register your business with us
- record service for the covered employees by submitting quarterly returns
- pay a levy (if applicable) after submitting the return.
Registering employers and employees in the services industry
If your business provides contract cleaning services, you must register your business and eligible employees with ACT Leave under the Services Industry Scheme from 1 April 2025.
If your business operates within the industries of hairdressing and beauty services, or accommodation and food services, including hospitality services—and you employ someone who performs eligible work, you must register your business with ACT Leave by 31 December 2026. Your registration will be activated on 1 January 2027.
Once registered, we’ll send you an email including:
- login details to the portal
- information on how to submit and pay quarterly returns
- a Certificate of Registration.
You are also required to register your eligible employees and report their service to ACT Leave each quarter, with the first quarterly return report due in April 2027.
Employees will be registered after you submit your first return.
Recording employee service
You must record service for eligible employees by submitting quarterly returns to us.
Each return must include all employees who worked for you in that quarter.
For each eligible employee, the return must specify:
- their start date and/or termination date (if applicable)
- the gross ordinary wages in relation to those days.
The first quarterly return and levy payment for the Services Industry Scheme will be due on 30 April 2027.
Find out more about quarterly returns.
Paying the levy
- The food and beverage industry will receive a phased discount on the levy (2027-2029). The discount provides food and beverage businesses a 75 per cent reduction in their levy in the first year, a 50 per cent reduction in the second year, and a 25 per cent reduction in the third year.
- Apprentice wages are not subject to a levy, but you must still report them on your quarterly return. This is because the service days and gross wages you report for apprentices contribute to their eligibility for portable long service leave.
Please note Australian School-based Apprentices (ASBAs) are not classified as an apprentice under the Long Service Leave (Portable Schemes) Act 2009, therefore levies are payable on their reported gross ordinary wages.
Levy payments to the scheme are contributions made to fund scheme costs and cover both fixed costs of administration and future liabilities to meet portable long service leave benefits that reach an entitlement.Rates are regularly reviewed and are informed by an actuarial assessment that considers factors including:
- expected investment terms and returns, industry demographics and wages, industry growth rates
- the rate at which covered workers are expected to accrue an entitlement in the future, or leave the scheme without receiving a long service leave payment/entitlement.
If more than the expected number of employees exit an industry scheme, this will offset future scheme costs by levies paid.
Employee benefits are not equal to the levy payments contributed for the employee. For example, apprentice wages are exempt from the levy calculation, however apprentices accrue service that contributes to their future entitlement.
No employees
If you’re a registered employer without any eligible employees, you must still lodge a ‘nil return’. That is, a return with no employee service reported. You will need to do this for as long as you’re registered.
Failure to lodge a quarterly return by the due date will result in penalties for late lodgement.
Contact us to stop your registration.
Keeping records
You must keep business records for 7 years after the day an employee stops being employed, in particular:
- payroll records
- employee personal details.
This is a requirement under section 57 of the Long Service Leave (Portable Schemes) Act 2009.
Interstate employers
If your business provides relevant services in the ACT, you must register with us even if you are located interstate.
You only need to register and record service for employees providing relevant services in the ACT.
Inspection powers
Under the Long Service Leave (Portable Schemes) Act 2009 we have the power to enter premises and obtain, inspect and copy records.