Employers

Under the Construction Industry Long Service Leave Act 1997, employers who employ workers to perform Construction Work must register with CoINVEST Limited (trading as “LeavePlus”) and otherwise comply with the Rules of the Construction Industry Long Service Leave Fund. For more information about the Act and Rules, visit our Legislation page.

All employers active in the construction industry in Victoria must:

• Provide their business details and register with LeavePlus.
• Submit quarterly long service leave returns of their workers’ days and wages by the due date.
• Pay long service leave charges by the due date.

It is compulsory to register with LeavePlus as an employer, if you:

• Being an employer in the construction industry in Victoria, employ workers under a contract of employment (which need not be formal or written); or
• Being a principal contractor in the construction industry in Victoria, engage other employers or working sub-contractors by contract, not being a contract of employment, or
• Being a working subcontractor employs a worker.
• Only government bodies are excluded.

There are two categories of registration:

• Incorporated companies (“Proprietary Limited”, “Pty Ltd”, “Limited”, or “Ltd” in registered company name) can register here.
• Unincorporated businesses (a partnership or sole trader) can register here.

Your workers must be performing construction work which is covered by the rules of the LeavePlus scheme.

As a quick reference, you can visit the Scheme Coverage page to see if you or your business should be registered with LeavePlus. This is an illustrative summary only and you should seek legal advice if you or your business is covered.

For a more detailed breakdown of exactly what type of trades and duties fall under work covered under the scheme, you can download a copy of the Rules of the Construction Industry Long Service Leave Fund from the Legislation section of the website.

Compliance Activities:

Non-lodgement of returns

LeavePlus enforces obligations owed by employers under the Act and the Rules. This may include civil and criminal penalties. LeavePlus will legally pursue any entity which does not comply with its obligations under the law.

This section deals with the compliance activities in respect of:

• Overdue long service leave returns
  Overdue long service leave charges

The due date for each long service leave return is listed here. If the return is not lodged by the due date, then LeavePlus will take follow-up action, which may include:

• Calling you to discuss the outstanding lodgement(s)
• Sending SMS and email reminders.
• Issuing a solicitor’s warning letter.
• Serving a legal notice, pursuant to section 10 of the Construction Industry Long Service Leave Act 1997 requiring you to submit the outstanding return.

If you have you received a legal notice pursuant to section 10 of the Construction Industry Long Service Leave Act 1997, you must submit your return for the period as specified in the notice by the date stipulated in the notice. Failure to comply is a criminal offence and LeavePlus prosecutes non-compliant employers in accordance with our Enforcement Policy.

Prosecution may result in a criminal conviction, a fine and a court order to pay our legal costs. Directors or managers of companies that committed an offence, may themselves also be criminally prosecuted.

Non-Payment of Long Service Leave Charges

Invoices are issued to employers based on their quarterly returns and/or any amendments, with payment due 14 days from invoicing.

If an invoice is not paid, LeavePlus will take follow up action, which may include:

• Calling you to discuss the outstanding invoice/s and to arrange payment.
• Sending SMS and email reminders.
• Referring unpaid debts to an external debt collection agency or our solicitors to collect on behalf of LeavePlus. This may include civil court action to recover the unpaid charges and interest.

Late payments or unpaid invoices incur additional statutory interest charges in accordance with section 5 of the Construction Industry Long Service Leave Act 1997.