Annual leave in Australia

In Australia the standard entitlement is four weeks per year, after the first year with a company. The first year’s annual leave is pro-rated for the amount of time with the company. Most public employees or ‘servants’ receive five weeks of annual leave. In addition, the standard working week in Australia is 38.5 hours.

All Casual workers receive higher rates of hourly pay to compensate for the lack of annual leave, whereas those who work part-time, such as students, are given a pro-rated amount of annual leave based on the hours worked.

Australia typical allowance for sick leave is 10 days, and one or two days for compassionate leave. Public servants, again, typically receive more generous benefits. Leave days tend to carry forward, so if the days aren’t all used in one year they may be called upon in the next year. Unpaid sick leave is rarely paid out in the case of a worker leaving a company.

Furthermore, long Service Leave (LSL) is often available to encourage workers to stay long-term with a company, as they are paid out after 10 years. LSL is accrued for all workers, from full-time to causal. It accrues at a rate of one week for every 60 weeks of employment with a single employer. This means, in most cases, that you could expect to receive around 13 weeks of leave after 15 years of employment.

Every Australia’s states establishes its own list of paid public holidays, which are allocated to employees on top of their minimum four weeks of annual leave. Annual leave is exclusive of public holidays. Therefore any public holidays falling within a period of annual leave must be added to the leave.

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Australian taxation

Australian annual dates for the Australian income year are from 1 July to 30 June. This is important to note for anyone moving to the country as these dates may not coincide with those from your home country.

The taxation in Australia can be fairly complex, and can mean surprisingly high cost to new migrants. Non-residents in Australia pay a much higher personal income tax rate – nearly double that of residents.

Therefore  resident will pay nothing for his or her income up to $6000 and then just 15 cents for every $1 from $6001 - $34,000. A non-resident will pay a 29 cent flat rate for every dollar made, beginning with $1 and continuing to $34,000.

Australian government has a plan called ‘Pay As You Go’, or PAYG, which allows the taxpayers, be they business or individual, to incorporate tax payments throughout the year. This is a voluntary programme designed to help people stay on top of their annual tax bills.