The Portable Long Service Benefits Scheme provides portable long service benefits to Victorian workers in the community services, contract cleaning and security industries.
Portable long service means you accrue long service benefits for all your years in a single industry, rather than with a single employer.
Coverage under the Scheme
Currently, the Scheme only covers workers employed in three specific industries.
Covered industries include:
- Community services
- Contract cleaning
- Security.
Covered employment types under the Scheme include:
- Full-time employment
- Part-time employment
- Casual employment
- Seasonal employment
- Fixed-term employment.
Find out about Scheme coverage within each industry.
How the Scheme works
If you’re a covered worker under the Scheme, your employer is required to register you with the Portable Long Service Authority.
When you’re first registered with the Scheme, you’ll receive a letter or email from us with your Worker ID.
Keep a note of your Worker ID and give it to any new employers within the relevant industry when you start. You will also need your Worker ID to access the worker portal.
Your employer records your hours and ordinary pay and submits the information to us each quarter.
Employers pay us a levy that will cover the cost of future portable long service benefits.
After at least 7 years of recognised service under the Scheme you can apply for your long service leave entitlements.
If you do not work in your industry for more than 4 consecutive years, your registration may become inactive. We will contact you before this happens. If your registration is inactive, you may lose all your service hours and may not be able to claim portable long service.
Worker portal
The worker portal is where you can track your employer contributions, current accrual under the Scheme, update your contact information and access your annual statements.
Find out how to register for the worker portal.
Claiming your portable long service
After at least 7 years of recognised service, you can apply for your portable long service benefit. The levy your employer pays will be used to pay your benefit.
Learn more about claiming your portable long service.
Previously accrued leave
Portable long service leave doesn’t affect any traditional long service leave you have accrued in your current job.
You can continue to accrue traditional long service entitlements as you also build up entitlement to portable long service leave.
The key difference is that, if you change employers but remain in the industry, you can take your portable long service entitlements with you.
Please note, workers who claim traditional long service leave benefits cannot claim portable long service benefits for the same period of service.
Only the portable long service leave accrued after the Portable Long Service Benefits Scheme commenced on 1 July 2019, is portable.
Taking WorkCover or parental leave
Most short term (up to 1 year), approved periods of leave from work, like parental leave, will continue to count towards your long service credits.
Find out how workers’ compensation claims are reported by your employer.
Multiple employers
You can accrue portable long service leave entitlements if you work for multiple employers in the same industry at the same time.
Each employer must register you for the Scheme separately. If you haven’t been registered, you should contact your employer to find out why and provide your Worker ID.
You can use our employer lookup tool to see whether your employer is registered with the Portable Long Service Leave Authority.
If you aren’t satisfied with the outcome of this, you can contact us.
Changing employers
If you change employer but remain in the same industry, you can continue to build up your portable long service leave entitlements.
Give your new employer your Worker ID and they’ll start including you in their quarterly returns and paying the levy based on your service with them.
Checking your leave balance
You can check your leave balance at any time by logging in to the worker portal.
Find out how to access the worker portal.
Further information
Worker coverage criteria
Workers can see if they're covered under the Scheme and find out how to get registered today.
Accessing the worker portal
A step-by-step guide for workers, explaining how to register to the portable long service leave worker portal.
Understanding your annual statement
The annual statement explained section by section.
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