Annual leave calculator
Use this annual leave calculator to work out how much paid leave you have built up, how many hours you accrue each week and what your balance is worth with 17.5% leave loading. It follows the National Employment Standards for full-time and part-time employees in Australia, including shift workers who get a fifth week.
Updated 12 November 2026 · Uses 2026-27 figures
Work out your annual leave balance
Enter your ordinary hours, time worked, leave already taken and hourly rate.
General information only, not financial, tax or legal advice. Results are estimates based on 2026-27 figures and the assumptions shown. Check your award, agreement or a qualified adviser for your situation.
Looking for steady shifts or a permanent role? TQN Personnel places casual, contract and permanent staff across Australia.
Find workHow to use the annual leave calculator
- Enter your ordinary hours per week. Use contracted hours, not overtime. A full-time week is 38 hours.
- Enter the years worked since you started or since your balance was last zero. Decimals are fine, so 18 months is 1.5.
- Enter the leave hours already taken in that period. Your payslip usually shows hours used.
- Add your hourly rate, then choose whether you are a shift worker on 5 weeks and whether your award pays 17.5% leave loading.
- Read your balance in hours and days, plus what it is worth if you took it or had it paid out today.
How annual leave is calculated in Australia
Under the National Employment Standards (NES), full-time and part-time employees get 4 weeks of paid annual leave for each year of service. Some shift workers get 5 weeks. Leave builds up gradually as you work your ordinary hours and carries over from year to year if you don't use it.
The calculator uses this formula:
- Leave accrued = ordinary hours per week × 4 weeks (or 5) × years worked
- Leave balance = leave accrued − leave already taken
- Leave value = balance × hourly rate, plus 17.5% if your award pays leave loading
| Ordinary hours per week | Leave per year | Accrues per week |
|---|---|---|
| 38 (full-time) | 152 hours (4 weeks) | 2.92 hours |
| 30 | 120 hours | 2.31 hours |
| 20 | 80 hours | 1.54 hours |
| 38, shift worker (5 weeks) | 190 hours | 3.65 hours |
Put another way, a full-time employee accrues about 1/13 of every ordinary hour worked as annual leave, which is roughly 0.077 hours of leave per hour.
Worked example
Sam works 38 ordinary hours a week and has been in the job for 18 months (1.5 years). Sam has taken 40 hours of leave and earns $32.50 an hour under an award that pays 17.5% leave loading.
Leave accrued: 38 × 4 × 1.5 = 228 hours. Balance: 228 − 40 = 188 hours, or 24.7 working days of 7.6 hours.
Value: 188 × $32.50 = $6,110. With 17.5% loading the balance is worth $7,179.
These are the default figures in the calculator above, so you can change one number at a time and see the effect.
How much annual leave do you get per year?
Full-time employees get 4 weeks, which is 152 hours on a 38-hour week or 20 working days. Part-time employees get the same 4 weeks, but pro-rata to their ordinary hours, so someone on 3 days a week gets 4 of their working weeks off (12 days). Shift workers who meet their award's definition, for example those rostered across all 7 days and on weekends, get 5 weeks.
Does annual leave roll over?
Yes. Unused annual leave carries over from year to year with no expiry. Your employer can direct you to take leave in limited situations, such as an excessive balance under the rules in your award or during a shutdown, but it does not disappear.
Do you accrue annual leave while on annual leave?
Yes. Paid leave counts as service, so you keep accruing annual leave while on paid annual leave or paid personal leave. You do not accrue it during unpaid leave, such as unpaid parental leave.
What is annual leave loading?
Leave loading is an extra payment on top of your normal pay while you are on annual leave, usually 17.5%. It is not part of the NES. It comes from your modern award, enterprise agreement or contract, and most awards include it. Some awards pay the higher of 17.5% or the penalty rates you would have earned, which suits shift workers.
If you are not sure whether loading applies, check your award or our annual leave loading guide. Use the last option in the calculator to turn loading on or off.
Is unused annual leave paid out when you leave?
Yes. When employment ends for any reason, your employer must pay out all unused annual leave at your base rate. Whether loading is added on termination depends on your award or agreement.
Who this applies to, and casual workers
The NES annual leave rules apply to all full-time and part-time employees in the national system, which covers most private sector workers in Australia. Casual employees do not get paid annual leave. Instead, they receive a 25% casual loading on their hourly rate. Use our casual loading calculator to compare the two.
If you work through a labour hire agency on a casual basis, the same rule applies: the agency pays your casual loading in place of leave. If you are a permanent employee of the agency, you accrue leave in the normal way. Looking for steady shifts or a permanent role? Register with TQN Personnel.
Frequently asked questions
How much annual leave do you accrue per week?
A full-time employee on 38 hours accrues about 2.92 hours of annual leave a week, which is 4 weeks (152 hours) over a year. Part-time employees accrue pro-rata to their ordinary hours, for example about 2.31 hours a week on 30 hours. Overtime hours are not counted.
How many annual leave days per year do you get in Australia?
Full-time employees get 20 working days (4 weeks) of paid annual leave each year under the National Employment Standards. Shift workers who meet their award's definition get 25 days (5 weeks). Part-time employees get 4 of their own working weeks, so the number of days depends on how many days they work.
How is annual leave calculated?
Multiply your ordinary weekly hours by 4 (or 5 for shift workers) to get your yearly entitlement, then multiply by the years you have worked and subtract the leave you have taken. Leave is paid at your base rate, plus 17.5% leave loading if your award or agreement includes it.
Is annual leave loading compulsory?
Leave loading is not required by the National Employment Standards. It is compulsory only when your modern award, enterprise agreement or contract includes it. Most awards do include a 17.5% loading, so many employees receive it.
Does annual leave roll over in Australia?
Yes. Unused annual leave rolls over each year and does not expire. Your employer may ask or, in limited cases, direct you to take leave if your balance is excessive under your award, but the leave itself is not lost.
Do casual employees get annual leave?
No. Casual employees are not entitled to paid annual leave. They are paid a 25% casual loading on top of the base hourly rate instead, which is meant to make up for paid leave and other permanent entitlements.
Can an employer refuse annual leave?
An employer can refuse a request for annual leave only on reasonable grounds, such as the needs of the business or a roster clash. They cannot unreasonably refuse leave, and they must pay out unused leave when your employment ends.
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Sources and assumptions
General information only, not financial, tax or legal advice. Results are estimates based on 2026-27 figures and the assumptions shown. Check your award, agreement or a qualified adviser for your situation.