{"id":"qld:sl-2020-0183","name":"Community Services Industry (Portable Long Service Leave) Regulation 2020","slug":"community-services-industry-portable-long-service-leave-regulation-2020","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"qld","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"183 of 2020","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":173956,"registerId":"qld-sl-2020-0183-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"pt.1","sectionType":"part","heading":"Preliminary","content":"# Preliminary","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"sec.1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"### sec.1 Short title\n\nThis regulation may be cited as the Community Services Industry (Portable Long Service Leave) Regulation 2020 .","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"sec.2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"### sec.2 Commencement\n\nThis regulation commences on 1 January 2021.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"pt.2","sectionType":"part","heading":"Returns and classification level","content":"# Returns and classification level","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"sec.3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Information for return— Act , s 65","content":"### sec.3 Information for return— Act , s 65\n\nFor section 65 (3) (d) of the Act , the following information is prescribed—\nfor a registered worker—the registration number entered for the worker in the register of workers;\nfor a worker other than a registered worker—\nthe worker’s name, date of birth, and residential address; and\nthe worker’s email address and mobile phone number, if any; and\nthe type of community service work performed by the worker for the entity giving the return.\n- (a) for a registered worker—the registration number entered for the worker in the register of workers;\n- (b) for a worker other than a registered worker— (i) the worker’s name, date of birth, and residential address; and (ii) the worker’s email address and mobile phone number, if any; and (iii) the type of community service work performed by the worker for the entity giving the return.\n- (i) the worker’s name, date of birth, and residential address; and\n- (ii) the worker’s email address and mobile phone number, if any; and\n- (iii) the type of community service work performed by the worker for the entity giving the return.\n- (i) the worker’s name, date of birth, and residential address; and\n- (ii) the worker’s email address and mobile phone number, if any; and\n- (iii) the type of community service work performed by the worker for the entity giving the return.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"sec.4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Classification level— Act , s 71","content":"### sec.4 Classification level— Act , s 71\n\nFor section 71 of the Act , definition classification level , paragraph (b) , the classification level prescribed for a worker who is not engaged under an industrial instrument is ‘Social and community services employee level 4—pay point 4’ under the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010, made under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cwlth) .","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"sec.5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Return period— Act , sch 2","content":"### sec.5 Return period— Act , sch 2\n\nFor schedule 2 of the Act , definition return period , each of the following periods is prescribed to be a return period—\n1 January to 31 March of each year;\n1 April to 30 June of each year;\n1 July to 30 September of each year;\n1 October to 31 December of each year.\n- (a) 1 January to 31 March of each year;\n- (b) 1 April to 30 June of each year;\n- (c) 1 July to 30 September of each year;\n- (d) 1 October to 31 December of each year.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"pt.3","sectionType":"part","heading":"Levies","content":"# Levies","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"sec.6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Amount of levy— Act , s 85","content":"### sec.6 Amount of levy— Act , s 85\n\nFor section 85 of the Act , the percentage prescribed is 1.35%.","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"sec.7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interest rate— Act , s 88","content":"### sec.7 Interest rate— Act , s 88\n\nFor section 88 (1) of the Act , the rate equal to the rate prescribed for unpaid tax interest under the Taxation Administration Act 2001 is prescribed.\nSee the Taxation Administration Regulation 2022 , section 6 (1) .\ns 7 sub 2024 SL No. 162 s 28","sortOrder":9}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"other","section":"sec.3","severity":"medium","reasoning":"The subclauses (i), (ii), and (iii) under paragraph (b) appear to be reproduced three times in the section. While this is likely a drafting/formatting error rather than a logical flaw per se, it creates genuine ambiguity about whether multiple obligations are intended or whether it is mere surplusage. Courts applying the presumption that every word in legislation has meaning could struggle with triplicated provisions.","confidence":0.82,"description":"Duplicate listing of subsection content: the information requirements for non-registered workers (subclauses i, ii, iii) are listed three times in the same section, creating redundant and confusing legislative text."},{"type":"circular_definition","section":"sec.4","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Section 4 sets a classification level for workers who are NOT engaged under an industrial instrument by anchoring their entitlements to a specific pay point in the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010, which IS an industrial instrument. The regulation thus uses an industrial instrument as the benchmark for those outside the coverage of any industrial instrument. This is not strictly circular in a logical sense (the worker need not be covered by the award), but it is conceptually contradictory: the very criterion for applicability of this provision is the absence of an industrial instrument, yet the measure applied is drawn from an industrial instrument. This could also create compliance difficulties if the SCHADS Award is varied, renamed, or revoked.","confidence":0.75,"description":"The prescribed classification level for workers not engaged under an industrial instrument is itself defined by reference to an industrial instrument (the SCHADS Award 2010), creating a conceptual circularity: a worker outside an industrial instrument is assessed by reference to one."},{"type":"retroactive_impossibility","section":"sec.7","severity":"medium","reasoning":"The regulation commenced 1 January 2021. Section 7 (as substituted in 2024) directs readers to the Taxation Administration Regulation 2022, s 6(1) for the applicable interest rate. The substitution is prospective, but the original s 7 must have prescribed or referenced a different rate between 2021 and the 2024 amendment. The current text provides no transitional provision or savings clause indicating what rate applied prior to substitution, leaving a potential gap in the legal record. This is a drafting absurdity rather than an impossibility of current compliance, but it creates retroactive uncertainty.","confidence":0.68,"description":"Section 7 cross-references the Taxation Administration Regulation 2022 for the interest rate, yet the principal regulation commenced on 1 January 2021 — before the Taxation Administration Regulation 2022 existed. The note was inserted by a 2024 amendment, but the operative text as amended now refers workers to a regulation that postdates the original commencement, potentially creating retroactive uncertainty about the rate applicable between 2021 and the date the 2022 Regulation came into force."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"low","section_a":"sec.2 (Commencement — 1 January 2021)","section_b":"sec.5 (Return periods beginning 1 January of each year)","confidence":0.6,"description":"The regulation commences on 1 January 2021, which is also the start of the first prescribed return period (1 January to 31 March). Entities subject to the regulation would therefore owe a return for a period that began simultaneously with the regulation coming into force, leaving no lead time for compliance. There is no transitional provision exempting or modifying obligations for the first return period."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"sec.7 (Interest rate cross-reference to Taxation Administration Regulation 2022)","section_b":"sec.2 (Commencement 1 January 2021)","confidence":0.7,"description":"Section 7 as currently drafted (post-2024 amendment) prescribes the interest rate by reference to the Taxation Administration Regulation 2022. However, the parent regulation commenced in 2021, and unpaid levy interest obligations could have arisen from that date. The 2022 Regulation did not exist at commencement, meaning s 7 in its current form cannot have applied for the period 2021–2022, and potentially not until the 2024 substitution. The absence of savings or transitional provisions creates a contradiction between the commencement date of obligations and the instrument used to quantify them."}]},"summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulation appears entirely consistent with its stated purpose — implementing the administrative framework for the Community Services Industry portable long service leave scheme. There is no evidence of scope creep or departure from the enabling Act's intent. The provisions are narrow, technical, and directly tied to the parent Act's requirements."},"complexity_factors":["Short, tightly focused regulation with only 7 substantive sections","Relies heavily on a parent Act for context — meaning the regulation cannot be fully understood in isolation","Cross-references to multiple external instruments (Fair Work Act, SCHADS Award, Taxation Administration Act and its Regulation) requiring readers to consult several documents","Technical pay classification reference (SCHADS Level 4, Pay Point 4) requires familiarity with industrial award structures","Interest rate is not fixed in the regulation itself but imported dynamically from another regulation, adding a layer of indirection"],"plain_english_summary":"The regulation implements the administrative rules for Queensland’s portable long service leave scheme for community services workers, letting entitlements travel with workers between employers. It requires employers to register workers and lodge quarterly returns, sets a pay-class benchmark for uncaptured staff, and funds benefits via a 1.35% wage levy (with tax-rate interest on late payments). It mainly affects community services employers, workers and the scheme administrator."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulation does not change who is covered by the underlying Act. It prescribes administrative and financial parameters under the Act: required return information (sec 3), default classification for non‑award workers (sec 4), quarterly return periods (sec 5), the levy percentage (sec 6) and the interest rate linkage (sec 7). These are procedural and metric settings rather than substantive scope changes."},"complexity_factors":["Prescribes specific return data items for employers (sec 3) — identity, contact details and work type — which creates a discrete compliance checklist.","Sets a default classification by reference to an external industrial instrument (Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010) (sec 4), requiring users to consult that award.","Establishes fixed quarterly reporting periods (sec 5), creating a regular administrative cadence.","Fixes a single levy percentage (1.35%) (sec 6) — straightforward numerically but material for cost calculations.","Links the interest rate for late payments to the unpaid tax interest rate under the Taxation Administration Act (sec 7), introducing a variable component that requires monitoring of another statute/regulation.","Apparent repetition/duplication in the drafting of sec 3 may create minor interpretive or formatting uncertainty for implementers."],"plain_english_summary":"**What it does:** This regulation prescribes administrative and financial details for the Community Services Industry portable long service leave scheme: the information employers must include in returns, a default pay classification for workers not covered by an industrial instrument, quarterly return periods, the levy rate (1.35%) and the interest rate for late payments (tied to unpaid tax interest).  \n**Who it affects:** Community service employers and their workers — employers bear the reporting and payment duties and any compliance costs."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This regulation appears to be operating within its original intended scope. It is a standard 'machinery' regulation that gives practical effect to the Community Services Industry (Portable Long Service Leave) Act 2020 by setting administrative details (reporting requirements, levy rates, time periods). There is no indication of scope creep; the provisions align with the expected function of subsidiary legislation supporting a portable long service leave scheme."},"complexity_factors":["Very short document — only 7 operative sections","Minimal defined terms — relies on definitions in the parent Act","Simple conditional logic — only distinction is between 'registered worker' and 'other worker' in section 3","No nested exceptions or complex cross-referencing structures","Straightforward prescriptive provisions (prescribing specific percentages, dates, and award classifications)","Single amendment note visible (section 7) indicating straightforward update mechanism"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this legislation does:**\n\nThis regulation sets out the practical details for running Queensland's portable long service leave scheme for community services workers. Portable long service leave means workers can build up leave entitlements even when they change employers within the same industry — their leave 'travels with them'.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Community services workers** — people working in disability support, aged care, youth work, and similar fields in Queensland\n- **Employers in the community services sector** — they must submit regular returns and pay levies\n- **The scheme administrator** — who maintains the register of workers and manages the fund\n\n**Key things this regulation specifies:**\n\n- **What information employers must report** (Section 3):\n  - For registered workers: just their registration number\n  - For unregistered workers: full name, date of birth, address, plus email and phone if available, plus what type of community work they did\n\n- **How workers are classified for payment purposes** (Section 4):\n  - If a worker doesn't have an award or enterprise agreement, they're treated as being on 'Level 4, pay point 4' of the Social and Community Services Award — this determines how much their long service leave is worth\n\n- **When employers must submit returns** (Section 5):\n  - Four times per year (quarterly): January–March, April–June, July–September, and October–December\n\n- **How much the levy costs** (Section 6):\n  - Employers pay 1.35% of wages into the portable long service leave fund\n\n- **Interest on late payments** (Section 7):\n  - If levies are paid late, interest accrues at the same rate as unpaid tax interest under Queensland tax law (currently set by the Taxation Administration Regulation 2022)\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis regulation makes the portable long service leave scheme actually work in practice. Without these rules, employers wouldn't know what data to collect, how much to pay, or when returns are due. For workers — who often move between disability support providers, aged care facilities, and community organisations — it ensures their years of service count toward long service leave even when they switch jobs."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/community-services-industry-portable-long-service-leave-regulation-2020","history":"/api/acts/community-services-industry-portable-long-service-leave-regulation-2020/history","analysis":"/api/acts/community-services-industry-portable-long-service-leave-regulation-2020/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/community-services-industry-portable-long-service-leave-regulation-2020/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/community-services-industry-portable-long-service-leave-regulation-2020/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/community-services-industry-portable-long-service-leave-regulation-2020/documents"}}