Portable Long Service Leave in the building and construction industry

At present, each Australian state and territory has its own Long Service Leave standards. As a result of the Fair Work Act, there is interest in establishing a uniform national Long Service Leave standard. Some people have suggested that the new standard should allow for better portability of benefits as people move from one employer to another. In order to assess the desirability of doing so, it seems sensible to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the existing state-based LSL schemes which provide portable LSL benefits for workers in the building and construction industry. In this paper, we review the financial management and performance of these schemes, looking at legal structures, benefit design, investment strategy, stability of employer costs, solvency, and compliance issues.