On 8 May 2018, the Long Service Leave Bill 2017 (Vic) was passed after gaining the necessary support in the Victorian upper house. As a result, the Long Service Leave Act 1992 (Vic) will be repealed and replaced by the Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic).

The 2018 Act will come into effect on or before 1 November 2018.

We summarised the major changes to be made by the 2018 Act (as set out in the LSL Bill) last year. They remain largely the same.

At a glance, the suite of reforms include the following key changes:

1. an employee can apply for long service leave (on a pro rata basis) after seven years of service, rather than after ten years
2. the treatment of parental leave is now more favourable for employees, as any period of paid parental leave and up to 12 months of unpaid parental leave will count as service, and no period of parental leave will break continuity of service.

The 2018 Act clarifies some (but not all) of the long standing issues that employers have faced when interpreting the provisions of the 1992 Act.

If you would like more information or advice about how these reforms might impact your workplace, please contact a member of our Employment, Safety & People team.