FAQ for Self-employed | Construction Long Service Leave Victoria

Self-employed FAQ

If you can’t find the answer to a question in any of our other pages, check out some of our most Frequently Asked Questions.

HOW DO I REGISTER AS A WORKING SUBCONTRACTOR?

Visit the How to Register page under the Self-employed menu, to register yourself, your business and any Workers or Apprentices you employ to perform covered work.

IF I HAVE AN APPRENTICE DO I NEED TO CONTRIBUTE FOR THEM?

Yes. You must supply information on days worked for your Apprentices and all Workers. Apprentices are covered from the day they start in the construction industry, provided the work performed is covered by the Scheme.

Employers do not need to pay Long Service Leave Charges for Apprentices where an Apprentice is doing a traditional apprenticeship (with apprentice training conditions as specified by the Victorian Registrations and Qualification Authority) but Employers are still required to record the days that Apprentices work with LeavePlus. Visit our Apprentices page for more information.

I HAVE CHANGED MY BUSINESS STRUCTURE. WHAT DO I DO?

As a Working Subcontractor, you’ll be operating using either a Sole Trader or Partnership ABN. If you have changed the way your business is structured by changing to a Company or Trust ABN, please call LeavePlus to discuss your situation and provide us with your relevant business information.

See the How To Register and Change of entity pages in our Employer section for details of the information you must provide to process your change of entity in our system.

HOW DO I PAY MY LONG SERVICE LEAVE CHARGES?

Visit the Charges page in the Self-employed section to read about the different options of how make voluntary payments towards your Long Service Leave Benefits.

HOW MUCH LONG SERVICE LEAVE DO I HAVE?

Visit the Online services page to learn more about how to sign up for online access and how you can easily manage all your long service leave needs online.

I HAVE NOT ACCRUED 7 YEARS BUT NEED MY WORKING SUBCONTRACTOR PAYMENTS REFUNDED

If you would like a refund of your voluntary payments before you have accrued the required 7 years of continuous Service, you will be entitled only to a refund of the Long Service Leave Charges you have paid. You will not be entitled to any accrued interest component.

All requests for refunds must be made to LeavePlus in writing. Email info@leaveplus.com.au and confirm your full name, date of birth, address and LeavePlus registration number. Advise us that you want to have your voluntary payments refunded.

CAN I BACKDATE SERVICE?

When registering as a Working Subcontractor for the first time, we will allow you to pay Long Service Leave Charges for the 2 most recent return periods (2 x 3-month quarters).

If you are already registered with LeavePlus as a Working Subcontractor, originally chose not to pay charges but are now advising you now wish to commence paying, you can only choose to pay the most recently available quarterly return period.

Service cannot be backdated for any periods in which you had been a Working Subcontractor unless you are registering as a Working Sub-Contractor for the first time in which case a maximum of 6 months can be backdated. However, even where you cannot backdate service, you may be able to apply for an approved break in Service if you can prove that you were actively working as an independent contractor during this period.

An approved break in Service will not credit you with any further Service. Instead, it will link up 2 separate Service blocks that are separated by a gap of 4 or more years, so that your record runs as one whole block of continuous Service.

Visit the Break in service page for information on what to provide and the conditions of applying for an approved break in Service.

If you have Service missing from your LeavePlus record where you were performing covered work as a Worker, visit our Missing service page in the Workers section.

HOW DO I MAKE A CLAIM?

View the Online services page to learn more about how to sign up for online access. Visit the Claiming long service leave page in the Workers section to learn more about claiming your Long Service Leave Benefit.

HOW WILL MY CLAIM BE PAID OUT?

Working Subcontractors often have more than one component to their entitlement by accruing service in 2 different ways. In addition to being self-employed, many have also accrued Service as a Worker. Our Claiming long service leave benefits page in the Workers section explains the worker component of your claim payment in much more detail.

Any Service you have accrued as a Working Subcontractor will be paid out according to the value of the Long Service Leave Charges you have paid over the years plus any applicable interest accrued on that value, calculated as a proportion of the number of weeks of entitlement you are actually claiming in your application. For more information on this component, visit the Entitlement page in the Self-employed section.

I HAVEN’T BEEN CONTRIBUTING AND LEAVEPLUS HAVE CANCELLED MY SERVICE. WHAT CAN I DO TO FIX THIS?

Active service is defined as any Service which has been accrued within the last 4 years. If you are a Working Subcontractor, the only way you can accrue Service is by paying Long Service Leave Charges to the Fund.

As a Working Subcontractor, you can choose to stop paying Long Service Leave Charges at any time. However, if you fail to pay more than 2 consecutive quarterly charges, LeavePlus will cease to generate invoices for you until you contact us to confirm that you wish to recommence paying charges.

When a period of inactivity of greater than 4 years or more is triggered, your most recent Service block will be deemed inactive. The Service cannot be counted towards an entitlement to Long Service Leave Benefits. If you recommence paying Long Service Leave Charges, your continuous Service will start from zero.

Apart from when you first register as a Working Subcontractor, you cannot backdate any service for any times in which you had been a Working Subcontractor. You can though start making payments again at any time by advising us that you wish to make a payment for the most recent quarterly return period.

However, you may be able to apply for an approved Break in Service. This will not credit you with any further Service. Instead, it will link up 2 separate Service blocks that are separated by a gap of 4 or more years, so that your record runs as one whole block of continuous Service.

Visit our Break in Service page in the Workers section for information on what to provide and the conditions of applying for an approved break in Service.