Community services worker claim

Eligibility

To claim portable long service benefits, you must complete 7 years of recognised service under the Scheme.

You can view your recognised service balance on the worker portal.

Your recognised service balance is updated on the worker portal after your employer sends us your hours and ordinary pay each quarter (every 3 months). For example, if you worked in the April to June quarter, your employer has until 31 July to send us your records in their quarterly return. Processing the quarterly return takes us about 7 days. View the quarterly return due dates.

You won’t be able to claim your portable long service benefits until your recognised service balance reaches 7 years on the worker portal.

Please note: Community services workers cannot claim portable long service benefits if they are already eligible for traditional long service leave (or under an industry award or enterprise agreement) with their employer.

How to claim

Eligible workers claim their portable long service benefits on the worker portal.

Click on 'Claims' in the menu. When you are eligible to claim you will see a 'New claim' button on the top right side of the screen.

We will check your work history when we receive your claim. Sometimes we contact you and/or your employer if we need more information.

Claims are usually processed within 3 weeks. It may take longer if we need more information or have to check details with your employer.

Some other claims can take longer to process. For example, if you are retiring or leaving the industry.

Entitlement

Eligible workers are entitled to 1 week of portable long service benefits for every 60 weeks of recorded work under the Scheme.

Your entitlement balance will be available on the worker portal once you become eligible to claim.

Community services workers are paid their portable long service entitlement as a cash benefit. They are not required to take leave from their employer.

Claim amount paid

Your portable long service payment is calculated based on the period of leave you are claiming and your ordinary pay at the time you apply for payment.

Payment

Workers in community services are paid their claim as a cash benefit into a nominated bank account.

Tax

Your portable long service leave payment will be taxed at the applicable tax rate in accordance with the Australian Tax Office (ATO) guidelines. For further advice on tax rates, contact the ATO.

The long service leave payment is net of tax. Claim payments made on death of a worker are not subject to tax.

Community services worker claim types

Claim type	Information
Cash benefit payment	Who can claim? Community services workers with 7 years of recognised service who will continue to work in the community services industry. Documents we need for the claim Most recent payslip Proof of bank account (a bank statement header showing account name, BSB and account number)
Leaving the industry	Who can claim? Community services workers with 7 years of recognised service who are permanently leaving the industry due to: Retirement Redundancy Total and permanent incapacity. Documents we need for the claim Most recent payslip Proof of bank account (a bank statement header showing account name, BSB and account number) Statutory Declaration confirming permanent departure from the industry and intention not to return Proof of redundancy or resignation (if applicable)
Deceased worker	Who can claim? A legal representative, spouse, next of kin or an authorised person under a Power of Attorney can make a claim on behalf of a deceased worker with 7 years of recognised service. Documents required to claim Most recent payslip A certified copy of the death/coroner certificate A copy of the will or Grant of Probate Power of Attorney and ID documents of the representative making a claim Bank account details for the Estate of the Late Deceased Member or Solicitors’ Trust Account

Workers Business

Updated 4 June 2026