The National Employment Standards (NES) set the minimum leave for employees:
- 4 weeks paid annual leave a year (5 weeks for some shift workers)
- 10 days paid personal/carer's leave a year
- 2 days compassionate leave per occasion
- 10 days paid family & domestic violence leave a year — available to all employees, including casuals
- Up to 12 months unpaid parental leave, with a right to request another 12
- Community service leave (for example, jury duty or eligible emergency work)
Long service leave comes from state and territory laws, not the NES — so where it kicks in depends on where the employee works.
Annual leave
Under the NES, full-time employees get 4 weeks of paid annual leave each year (and 5 weeks for some shift workers). It accrues progressively across the year based on the employee's ordinary hours of work, and any unused balance carries over from one year to the next.
Part-time employees accrue annual leave on a pro-rata basis according to their ordinary hours. When employment ends, any accrued but unused annual leave is paid out on termination.
Some modern awards and agreements add annual leave loading — commonly an extra 17.5% — on top of the base rate when leave is taken. Whether it applies, and at what rate, depends on the relevant award or agreement.
Annual leave accrues on ordinary hours, not overtime — so extra hours generally don't build up more leave. We cover the detail, including the super treatment, in Does overtime accrue annual leave or attract super?
Personal/carer's & compassionate leave
Full-time employees are entitled to 10 days of paid personal/carer's leave a year under the NES. Like annual leave, it accrues progressively, carries over year to year, and is pro-rata for part-time employees. It can be used when the employee is unwell or injured, or needs to care for an immediate family or household member who is sick, injured, or affected by an unexpected emergency.
Separately, employees are entitled to 2 days of compassionate leave per occasion — for example, when an immediate family or household member dies or suffers a life-threatening illness or injury. For permanent employees this is paid; for casuals it is unpaid.
Paid family & domestic violence leave
All employees — full-time, part-time and casual — are entitled to 10 days of paid family & domestic violence leave a year. This entitlement was extended to all employees from 2023. Unlike annual and personal leave, it does not accrue gradually: the full 10 days are available up front from the employee's first day and renew each year, though they do not carry over.
This is the one paid-leave entitlement casual employees do receive under the NES, regardless of how long they've worked. It's paid at the employee's full pay rate for the hours they would have worked.
Parental leave
Eligible employees can take up to 12 months of unpaid parental leave around the birth or adoption of a child, with a right to request a further 12 months (which the employer can only refuse on reasonable business grounds). Generally an employee qualifies after at least 12 months of continuous service, and long-term regular casuals can be eligible too.
The government's Paid Parental Leave scheme is separate from the NES entitlement. It is a government payment made to eligible parents, not something the employer funds out of leave balances — although employers often administer the payment. The two can run alongside each other.
Long service leave
Long service leave is not part of the NES. It is set by the long service leave laws of each state and territory (and, in some cases, pre-modern awards or agreements). That means the qualifying period and the amount of leave vary depending on where the employee works — broadly, an entitlement after around 7 to 10 years of continuous service.
Because long service leave rules differ across jurisdictions — and some industries have portable long service schemes — always confirm the qualifying period, accrual and cash-out rules against your own state or territory's legislation before paying it.
Casuals: what they do and don't get
Casual employees are treated differently under the NES. They do not accrue paid annual leave or paid personal/carer's leave — instead they receive a casual loading (a higher hourly rate) in recognition of not getting those entitlements.
But casuals are not left out entirely. They still get:
- Paid family & domestic violence leave — the full 10 days a year
- Unpaid carer's leave and unpaid compassionate leave
- Parental leave eligibility, where they are long-term regular casuals
Quick answers
How much annual leave do employees get?
Full-time employees get 4 weeks of paid annual leave a year under the NES (5 weeks for some shift workers). It accrues progressively and carries over. Part-time employees accrue it pro-rata.
Do casual employees get paid leave?
No paid annual or personal/carer's leave — casuals get a casual loading instead. But they do get 10 days of paid family & domestic violence leave a year, plus unpaid carer's and compassionate leave, and can be eligible for parental leave.
Is long service leave national?
No — long service leave isn't part of the NES. It's set by each state and territory's own laws, so the qualifying period and entitlement differ depending on where the employee works (broadly after 7–10 years' service).
How much personal/carer's leave do employees get?
Full-time employees get 10 days of paid personal/carer's leave a year under the NES. It accrues progressively, carries over, and is pro-rata for part-time employees.
Correct leave accrual, per the NES and the award
Ledra Pay accrues annual and personal/carer's leave on ordinary hours — automatically, at the right rate for each employee's award and hours — and tracks family & domestic violence leave for everyone, casuals included. Balances stay accurate with an auditable trail behind every figure.
See Australian payroll →Government sources
- Fair Work Ombudsman — Leave (overview of leave entitlements).
- Fair Work Ombudsman — Annual leave (4 weeks, accrual, loading).
- Fair Work Ombudsman — Sick and carer's leave (10 days paid personal/carer's; compassionate leave).
- Fair Work Ombudsman — Family and domestic violence leave (10 days, all employees including casuals).
- Fair Work Ombudsman — Parental leave (up to 12 months unpaid, right to request more).
- Fair Work Ombudsman — Long service leave (set by state and territory laws).
- Fair Work Ombudsman — National Employment Standards (the 11 NES minimum entitlements).