Annual Leave Calculator Australia
Calculate your annual leave accrual, current balance, payout and 17.5% leave loading in seconds. Built to the National Employment Standards used by the Fair Work Ombudsman.
Annual leave calculator
Employment Details
Pay Details
Fill in the highlighted fields below — results will appear instantly.
- Employment start date
- Hourly rate
Your Leave Summary
LiveEstimated Payout
Estimates only — see disclaimer below.
How the calculation works
Three transparent steps based on the National Employment Standards.
Accrual rate
Every ordinary hour worked accrues 4/52 of an hour of annual leave.
hours/week × (4 ÷ 52)
Leave balance
Multiply the accrual rate by weeks of service, then subtract leave already taken.
accrual × weeks − taken
Payout & loading
Multiply the balance by your hourly rate, then add leave loading if applicable.
balance × rate × (1 + L%)
How annual leave is calculated in Australia
In Australia, annual leave entitlements are set by the National Employment Standards (NES), which form part of the Fair Work Act 2009. Under the NES, every full-time and part-time employee accrues a minimum of four weeks of paid annual leave for each year of service. Certain shift workers — typically those required to work on Sundays and public holidays as part of a regular roster — accrue five weeks.
Leave accrues progressively from each ordinary hour worked, not in a single annual block. For a standard 38-hour week this works out to approximately 2.923 hours of leave per week, or 152 hours over a full year of continuous service. Unused leave carries over from year to year and does not expire.
Pro-rata accrual for part-time employees
Part-time employees accrue annual leave on the same proportional basis as full-time staff. An employee working 20 hours per week accrues at exactly the same hourly rate (4 ÷ 52), so they receive four weeks of leave at their own ordinary hours — half the leave hours of a 40-hour-per-week colleague, but the same four weeks in real terms.
Annual leave payout rules
When employment ends — whether through resignation, dismissal or redundancy — any accrued but untaken annual leave must be paid out. Section 90 of the Fair Work Act requires that the payout be made at the employee’s base rate of pay for the ordinary hours they would have worked during the leave period.
Payroll teams should consider the following when processing a final payment:
- Base rate applies — overtime, bonuses and discretionary payments are excluded unless specified by an award or contract.
- Leave loading on termination is generally payable where it would otherwise have been received during employment.
- PAYG tax on unused leave at termination follows specific schedules published by the Australian Taxation Office and may differ from ordinary leave payments.
- Superannuation is not payable on unused annual leave paid on termination, per current ATO guidance.
Annual leave loading explained
Leave loading is an additional payment, most commonly 17.5%, added to an employee’s wages when annual leave is taken. The figure has historical origins in compensating shift and weekend workers for penalty rates they would have earned had they been working, but today many modern awards apply it to all leave regardless of the underlying roster.
Whether leave loading applies, and at what rate, depends on the applicable instrument:
| Source | What it typically sets |
|---|---|
| Modern award | 17.5% loading; specific exceptions |
| Enterprise agreement | May vary the rate or replace it with higher base pay |
| Individual contract | May contain a higher rate but not less than the award |
| Award-free employment | No automatic entitlement unless contracted |
Common mistakes when calculating leave
- Using calendar days instead of ordinary hours. Accrual is hour-based; treating a 4-day week as 80% of a 5-day full-time entitlement can mis-state the balance.
- Forgetting public holidays. Public holidays that fall within an approved leave period are not deducted from the leave balance.
- Applying loading where the award excludes it. Some modern awards explicitly remove leave loading on termination — check the relevant instrument.
- Treating casual loading as leave accrual. Casual employees do not accrue annual leave; their 25% casual loading is a separate concept.
- Mixing gross and ordinary pay. Overtime and bonuses are excluded from the base payout rate unless the contract or award states otherwise.
- Ignoring unpaid leave. Periods of unpaid leave (other than community service or paid parental leave) generally do not accrue annual leave.
Who this calculator is for
This tool produces a clean, payroll-style estimate suitable for:
- Employees wanting to confirm an expected balance or final pay before resignation or termination.
- HR and payroll professionals running a quick second check against an HRIS calculation.
- Bookkeepers and accountants reconciling entitlements during STP or end-of-year work.
- Contractors converting to permanent roles who want to model the value of accrued leave under a new employment arrangement.
- Managers reviewing forecasted leave liability across a team.
The Annual Leave Calculator Australia uses the same accrual model the Fair Work Ombudsman publishes for general workplace use. Specific awards and agreements may override these defaults — always confirm against the instrument that applies to your role.
Frequently asked questions
Plain-English answers covering the NES, leave loading, payouts and the rules that catch most people out.
How much annual leave do Australians accrue?
Under the National Employment Standards, full-time and part-time employees accrue 4 weeks of paid annual leave for every 12 months of service. Certain shift workers accrue 5 weeks. Part-time leave is pro-rata based on ordinary hours worked.
Is annual leave paid out when leaving a job?
Yes. When you resign, are terminated or made redundant, any unused annual leave must be paid out at your ordinary base rate. Leave loading is also typically payable on termination if it would have been paid during employment, subject to your award or agreement.
What is annual leave loading?
Leave loading is an extra payment — most commonly 17.5% — paid on top of your base rate when you take annual leave. It is set by the relevant modern award or enterprise agreement and originated as compensation for lost penalty rates and overtime during leave.
Do part-time employees accrue annual leave?
Yes. Part-time employees accrue annual leave pro-rata using the same 4-week entitlement as full-time staff. Accrual is calculated from each ordinary hour worked, so half the hours produces half the leave hours — but still four weeks of leave in real terms.
Can annual leave expire in Australia?
No. Annual leave does not expire and accumulates from year to year until it is taken or paid out on termination. Employers may, under some awards, direct employees with excessive leave balances (typically 8 weeks or more) to take leave.
Do casual employees get annual leave?
Casual employees do not accrue paid annual leave under the NES. Instead they receive a casual loading — commonly 25% — on top of their base hourly rate to compensate for the absence of paid leave entitlements.
How is annual leave payout calculated?
Multiply the unused leave balance in hours by the employee’s ordinary hourly rate, then add any applicable leave loading. PAYG tax is then withheld according to the ATO schedule for unused leave on termination, which differs from the schedule for ordinary leave payments.
How much leave do I accrue per hour worked?
Each ordinary hour worked accrues approximately 0.0769 hours of annual leave (4 weeks ÷ 52 weeks). For a 38-hour week this is about 2.923 hours of leave per week, or 152 hours per year for a full-time employee.
Is leave loading taxed in Australia?
Yes. Annual leave loading is treated as ordinary income for PAYG withholding and is subject to income tax. Specific tax treatment of leave loading paid on termination can vary, so the ATO PAYG schedules should be consulted.
Does this calculator follow Fair Work rules?
The calculator uses the NES 4-weeks-per-year accrual model published by the Fair Work Ombudsman. Specific awards, enterprise agreements or individual contracts may provide different entitlements, particularly for shift workers and certain industries.