This page compares the ten schemes in these four states that take a quarterly or two-monthly payroll return from employers. They look alike, and they aren't. One asks for hours, one for days, one for weeks and several for wages only, and the same Sunday shift or sleepover is counted in one state and left out in the next. If you lodge in two states, a spreadsheet set up for one will give the wrong figures in the other.
The short version: overtime is out everywhere. Penalty rates count in full everywhere except Victorian community services, which takes the hours but only the base rate. Sleepover allowances count in NSW, Queensland and South Australia, but not in Victoria.
| Scheme | Run by | Per worker, each return | Return due | Levy, as at October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VIC community services | Portable Long Service Authority (PLSA) | Hours and ordinary pay | Quarterly, by the end of the following month | 1.65% of ordinary pay |
| VIC contract cleaning | PLSA | Hours and ordinary pay | Quarterly, by the end of the following month | 1.80% of ordinary pay |
| VIC security | PLSA | Hours and ordinary pay | Quarterly, by the end of the following month | 1.80% of ordinary pay |
| VIC construction | LeavePlus (CoINVEST) | Days and ordinary pay | Quarterly, 14 days after | 2.7% of ordinary pay |
| NSW community services | Long Service Corporation | Gross ordinary wages | Quarterly, 14 days after | 1.7% of gross ordinary wages, from 1 July 2026 |
| NSW contract cleaning | Long Service Corporation | Gross ordinary wages | Quarterly, 14 days after | 1% of gross ordinary wages |
| QLD contract cleaning | QLeave | Gross ordinary wages | Quarterly, 14 days after, with the levy | 0.5% of ordinary wages, from 1 July 2026 |
| QLD community services | QLeave | Gross ordinary wages and annual rate of pay | Quarterly, 14 days after, with the levy | 1.35% of ordinary wages |
| SA community services | Portable Long Service Leave SA | Remuneration and weeks worked | Quarterly, 21 days after | 2.2% of remuneration |
| SA construction | Portable Long Service Leave SA | Service days and remuneration | Every two months, 21 days after | 2.00% of remuneration |
The levy is paid by the employer, on top of wages. Rates are reviewed each year, usually from 1 July, so check the scheme's page before you budget.
| Due | Schemes |
|---|---|
| 14 January 2027 | LeavePlus; NSW community services and contract cleaning; QLeave contract cleaning and community services |
| 21 January 2027 | SA community services (October to December); SA construction (November to December) |
| 31 January 2027 | Victoria's PLSA: community services, contract cleaning and security |
This is where the schemes differ most, and where a spreadsheet copied from one state goes wrong in another.
| Scheme | Overtime | Weekend and shift penalties | Sleepover allowance | Other allowances | Leave loading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VIC community services | Out, hours and pay | Hours count; pay at base rate only | Out | Out | Out |
| VIC contract cleaning and security | Out, hours and pay | Full amount | – | In, except travel, meal and protective clothing | Out |
| VIC construction (LeavePlus) | Out, including on-call | Shift loadings in; for casuals, only within the first 38 hours a week | – | Site, merit and skill allowances in; fares, travel and meal out | Out |
| NSW community services | Out | Full amount, on rostered ordinary hours | In | All-purpose, on-call, broken shift, first aid / medication, nauseous work and bilingual in; travel and meal out | Out |
| NSW contract cleaning | Out | Full amount, on rostered ordinary hours | – | Toilet / refuse, broken shift and first aid in; travel and meal out | Out |
| QLD contract cleaning | Out | Weekend and public holiday penalties, full amount | – | First aid, shift, on-call, leading hand, refuse and toilet cleaning in; expense allowances out | Out |
| QLD community services | Out | Weekend and public holiday penalties, full amount | In | As for QLD cleaning; salary sacrifice also in | Out |
| SA community services | Out | Full amount, including late night, early morning and broken shifts | In | First aid in; travel and vehicle out; salary sacrifice in | Out |
| SA construction | Out | Not listed separately | – | Industry, tool, leading hand and first aid in; site, travel and living away from home out | Out |
A dash means the allowance isn't usual in that industry, so the scheme's list doesn't mention it. Redundancy payments are out in every scheme, and paid leave taken as leave is in. Leave paid out on termination is out almost everywhere; LeavePlus is the exception to check (see the LeavePlus guide).
A disability support worker on $40 an hour works 30 ordinary weekday hours and a rostered 4-hour Sunday shift paid at $50 an hour, does 3 hours of overtime at $60, and is paid one $60 sleepover allowance and a $15 travel allowance.
| Scheme | Figure reported | Why | Levy on it |
|---|---|---|---|
| VIC community services | 34 hours, $1,360 ordinary pay | Sunday hours count but at $40, not $50; sleepover, overtime and travel out | 1.65%: $22.44 |
| NSW community services | $1,460 gross ordinary wages | $1,200 + $200 Sunday + $60 sleepover; overtime and travel out | 1.7%: $24.82 |
| QLD community services | $1,460 gross ordinary wages, plus annual rate of pay | Same as NSW | 1.35%: $19.71 |
| SA community services | $1,460 remuneration, 1 week worked | Same as NSW; the week counts once however many shifts | 2.2%: $32.12 |
Victoria comes out $100 lower for the same week, because of the Sunday penalty and the sleepover.
| Scheme | Who is reported | How you lodge |
|---|---|---|
| VIC PLSA (all three) | Every covered worker, even for a single shift. Unpaid leave under 52 weeks is reported as hours with no pay. | Export the return to Excel from the portal, fill it in, import it |
| VIC construction (LeavePlus) | Only calendar months with more than 5 days of covered work. Casual hours are capped at 38 a week. | Key in worker by worker |
| NSW community services | Every eligible worker on the payroll, including those with $0 in the quarter (with a reason) | Key in worker by worker |
| NSW contract cleaning | A worker not yet registered with fewer than 5 days in the quarter can be left off | CSV upload |
| QLD contract cleaning and community services | Workers with 5 or more days in the quarter. Covered ABN contractors too. | Export the spreadsheet from the portal, fill it in, import it |
| SA community services | Every registered worker. Weeks worked = weeks with any paid shift or paid leave. | Key in, or fill and upload the XLSX template |
| SA construction | Casuals with 3 or more days of 5+ hours in a month; apprentices with days only and $0 pay | Export to Excel from the portal, fill it in, upload it |
NSW contract cleaning and SA construction both say that work done in another state isn't reported to them. If your workers cross state lines, check each scheme's rules on interstate work before you split their wages, and keep the split the same every quarter.
Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia each have one, and so does the ACT. The Northern Territory has introduced legislation for one.
In NSW, Queensland and South Australia, weekend and public holiday penalties count at the full amount paid. Victoria's community services scheme counts the hours but only the base rate of pay; Victoria's contract cleaning and security schemes count the full amount.
No. All ten schemes compared here leave overtime out of wages, and Victoria's PLSA leaves overtime hours out of hours as well.
Victoria's PLSA asks for hours and ordinary pay; LeavePlus asks for days and ordinary pay; NSW asks for gross ordinary wages only; Queensland asks for gross ordinary wages, plus annual rate of pay for community services; South Australia asks for weeks worked and remuneration (community services) or service days and remuneration (construction).
LeavePlus, NSW and QLeave: 14 January 2027. South Australia: 21 January 2027. Victoria's PLSA: 31 January 2027.