Long Service Leave for the Community Services Industry

As seen in Woopi News January 2026

Long service leave is additional leave workers may be entitled to after working for the same employer for a certain number of years.

The Long Service Corporation (LSC) have been administering portable long service leave for the building and construction industry in NSW since 1975 and the contract cleaning industry since 2011, as many people in these industries don’t stay with one employer for the necessary service time. Portable long service accrues as long as the participant stays in the industry, regardless of the number of employers.

This has now been extended to the Community Services Industry from 1 July 2025 with the new Community Services Industry (CSI) scheme, under which workers become eligible for long service leave after 7 years in the industry allowing eligible workers to claim up to 6 weeks leave based on ordinary wages.

Employers with 1 or more workers in the community services industry will be required to register with the LSC and record their workers service with the lodgement of the first 3 quarters due from April 2026.

Employers Eligible under the Scheme – are employers who employee 1 or more people to do community services work or supply a person to do community service work through a labour hire arrangement in NSW.

Community work is defined as:

• Work to provide a community service, or
• Work for an employer, if the predominant purpose of the employer is to provide a community service

Workers Eligible under the scheme:

• Paid staff employed on a part-time, full-time or casual basis to do community service work in NSW
• Self- employed contractors doing community service work in NSW (eligible to opt-in but participation is not mandatory)