If you work in NSW, your basic annual leave entitlement comes from the same national law that applies everywhere in Australia — the Fair Work Act’s National Employment Standards (NES). If you want the general national breakdown first, see our Annual Leave Calculator Australia. What genuinely differs by state is long service leave and public holidays, both covered below.

NEW SOUTH WALES • ANNUAL LEAVE TOOL

Annual Leave Calculator NSW

Calculate your annual leave balance in hours, weeks and days based on your service period, ordinary working hours, working pattern and leave already taken.

Calculate Your Leave Balance

Enter your service dates, ordinary weekly hours, working days and any leave already taken to calculate your estimated annual leave balance.

The annual leave formula below is the same nationally under the NES — this just tailors the page to your state.
Casual employees are generally not entitled to paid annual leave under the NES — they receive casual loading instead.
The date you want the balance calculated up to.
Enter your ordinary weekly hours.
Used to convert leave hours into your actual working days.
Any paid annual leave already used during this service period. Leave as 0 if none.
Estimated Leave Balance
0.00 hours
Balance in Weeks 0.00
Balance in Days 0.00
Average Accrual / Week 0.00
Service Period 0 days
4 Weeks Per Year The calculator uses four weeks of annual leave for each completed service year.
Your Working Pattern Enter your actual days worked per week to convert leave hours into leave days.
Leap Years Partial service periods use the actual number of days between service anniversaries. If the service year includes February 29, the calculation automatically accounts for the extra day.
How the calculation works: Completed service years receive exactly four weeks of entitlement. A partial service year is prorated using the actual number of elapsed days between the current service anniversary and the next anniversary, then any leave already taken is subtracted to give your remaining balance. This automatically accounts for leap years.

How Annual Leave Works in NSW

Full-time and part-time employees are entitled to a minimum of 4 weeks of paid annual leave per year, accruing progressively as you work. Casual employees don't accrue paid annual leave — they receive casual loading instead.

The accrual formula:
 Weekly accrual = (Ordinary weekly hours × 4) ÷ 52

For a standard 38-hour week:
(38 × 4) ÷ 52 = 2.923 hours accrued per week

This is identical across every state, because it's federal law — a calculator claiming a "different NSW formula" isn't accurate.

Long Service Leave in NSW — This Actually Is State-Specific

Unlike annual leave, long service leave (LSL) is governed by state legislation, not the NES. In NSW, it falls under the Long Service Leave Act 1955:

  • 10 years of continuous service → 2 months (8.6667 weeks) of paid long service leave
  • Each additional 5 years after that → 1 more month (4.3333 weeks)
  • Pro-rata LSL from 5 years if employment ends due to illness, incapacity, domestic necessity, or the employee's death
  • Full-time, part-time, and casual employees can all qualify, provided service is continuous with the same employer

This is a meaningfully different entitlement from annual leave and worth knowing separately — if you're trying to work out what you're owed after a long stretch with one employer, LSL is usually the bigger number.

NSW Public Holidays

Public holidays affect how you plan leave, since taking annual leave around a public holiday effectively stretches your break without using extra leave days. NSW observes the national public holidays (New Year's Day, Australia Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, ANZAC Day, Christmas Day, Boxing Day) plus NSW-specific dates like the King's Birthday and Labour Day.

Exact dates shift each year — check the NSW Government's official public holidays page before locking in leave plans, especially around Easter and ANZAC Day, which can trigger an extra substitute holiday when they fall on a weekend.

Annual Leave Loading in NSW

Where an award or agreement provides for it, leave loading adds 17.5% on top of base pay during annual leave, compensating for lost overtime and penalty rates.

Loading = (Ordinary weekly pay × 17.5%) × weeks taken

Example: $1,200/week × 17.5% × 2 weeks = $420 extra.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is annual leave different in NSW compared to other states?

No - the 4-week NES entitlement and accrual formula are the same nationally across every state, including Victoria. What's state-specific is long service leave and public holiday dates.

How much long service leave am I entitled to in NSW?

 2 months after 10 years of continuous service with the same employer, plus 1 additional month for every 5 years after that.

Do casual employees get long service leave in NSW?

 Yes — unlike annual leave, casuals can qualify for LSL in NSW if their service is continuous.

Can I get long service leave before 10 years?

 Only pro-rata, and only in specific circumstances (illness, incapacity, domestic necessity, or death) after 5 years.

Does annual leave expire in NSW?

 No, it accumulates unless cashed out or paid on termination.

Lucas Gibney

Lucas Gibney

I build simple, accurate tools to help Australian employees understand their workplace entitlements — starting with annual leave. I created this calculator after noticing how often people got confused about their leave balance, especially with pro-rata calculations, casual loading, and the small differences between states and awards. Every calculation here is based on the real NES formula from the Fair Work Act, not a rough guess. My focus is on keeping these tools accurate, easy to use, and genuinely useful — so you can check your entitlements in seconds.