Free Australian annual leave calculator based on the National Employment Standards (NES). Full-time and part-time employees accrue 4 weeks of paid annual leave per year (5 weeks for qualifying shift workers), accruing progressively on ordinary hours of work. Enter your ordinary hours per week, the weeks worked (or your start date), and any leave already taken to see your accrued balance broken down into hours, working days, and weeks, with automatic pro-rata for part-time staff.
Your normal (ordinary) working hours each week. Full-time is usually 38.
A full year is 52 weeks. Exclude any periods of unpaid leave.
Hours of paid annual leave you've already used in this period.
Accrued
152 hrs
52 weeks worked
Less taken
0 hrs
Balance
152 hrs
20 days · 4 weeks
NES rule: Full-time and part-time employees accrue 4 weeks of paid annual leave a year (5 for qualifying shift workers), accruing progressively on ordinary hours. Casual employees do not accrue paid annual leave.
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Paid annual leave is one of the entitlements in the National Employment Standards (NES), which apply to all employees covered by Australia's national workplace relations system. Full-time and part-time employees are entitled to 4 weeks of paid annual leave for each year of service. Certain shift workers, broadly, those who work a roster of continuous shifts (including weekends and public holidays) as defined by their award or agreement, are entitled to 5 weeks. Casual employees do not accrue paid annual leave.
Annual leave accrues progressively during the year, based on the number of ordinary hours you work. It is not paid all at once at the start of the year, it builds up week by week and any leave you don't use rolls over into the next year. The accrual rate is:
Worked example. A full-time employee works 38 ordinary hours a week. Each week they accrue 38 × 4 ÷ 52 ≈ 2.923 hours of leave. Over a full 52-week year that is 152 hours, which equals 4 weeks (38 × 4) or 20 working days. If they have taken 40 hours of leave, their balance is 152 − 40 = 112 hours (about 14.7 days).
Because accrual is based on ordinary hours, part-time staff accrue automatically on a pro-rata basis. Someone on 20 ordinary hours a week accrues 20 × 4 ÷ 52 ≈ 1.538 hours per week, totalling about 80 hours (4 weeks of their normal hours) across a full year. Just enter your real ordinary hours per week above.
Annual leave continues to accrue while you are on paid annual leave or paid personal/carer's leave. When your employment ends, any accrued but unused annual leave must be paid out in your final pay, calculated on your accrued hours at your applicable rate (plus leave loading where your award or agreement provides it).
Under the National Employment Standards (NES), full-time and part-time employees accrue 4 weeks of paid annual leave for each year of service. Certain shift workers accrue 5 weeks. Casual employees do not accrue paid annual leave. Leave builds up progressively throughout the year based on your ordinary hours of work, and unused leave carries over from year to year.
Annual leave accrues on your ordinary hours of work at the rate of 4/52 (or 5/52 for shift workers) of those hours. For a 38-hour week that is 38 × 4 ÷ 52 ≈ 2.923 hours of leave per week worked, which adds up to 152 hours (4 weeks) over a full year. Part-time employees accrue pro-rata on their actual ordinary hours.
A full-time employee working 38 ordinary hours a week accrues 4 weeks of paid annual leave per year, that is 4 × 38 = 152 hours, or 20 working days. Shift workers who qualify for the extra week accrue 5 weeks (190 hours for a 38-hour week).
Yes. Part-time employees accrue paid annual leave on a pro-rata basis using the same 4-weeks-per-year rule applied to their ordinary hours. For example, someone working 20 ordinary hours a week accrues 20 × 4 ÷ 52 ≈ 1.538 hours per week, totalling about 80 hours (4 weeks of their normal hours) over a year.
Yes. Annual leave continues to accrue while you are taking paid annual leave or paid personal/carer's (sick) leave, because you remain employed and these are paid forms of leave. It generally does not accrue during periods of unpaid leave (other than certain protected periods such as community service leave).
When your employment ends, your employer must pay out any accrued but unused annual leave as part of your final pay. The payout is based on the hours you have accrued at your applicable rate of pay (which may include leave loading if your award or agreement provides it).
Sources & methodology
This calculator applies the National Employment Standards (NES) accrual rule: paid annual leave accrues on your ordinary hours of work at 4/52 of those hours per week (5/52 for qualifying shift workers), which equals 4 weeks (or 5 weeks) over a full year of service. Days and weeks are derived from your own ordinary hours (a 5-day working week). Figures are computed in your browser, nothing you enter is stored or sent to a server.
Authoritative sources
Reviewed by Bishal Shrestha — Founder of OneBookPlus, 10+ years building tools with Australian tax-agent and BAS-agent practices. Last reviewed and updated: June 2026.
Disclaimer: This tool provides estimates only and is not professional advice. For decisions that affect your tax, finances, or compliance position, consult a registered professional.
OneBookPlus runs award-based pay, super and leave, with rosters and timesheets that flow straight into payroll.