{"id":"nsw:sl-2026-0181","name":"Community Services Sector (Portable Long Service Leave) (Levy Determinations) Order 2026","slug":"community-services-sector-portable-long-service-leave-levy-determinations-order-2026","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"nsw","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"181 of 2026","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":445941,"registerId":"nsw-nsw:sl-2026-0181-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-28","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Name of order","content":"#### 1 Name of order\n\n1 Name of order\n\n> This order is the [Community Services Sector (Portable Long Service Leave) (Levy Determinations) Order 2026](/view/html/inforce/current/sl-2026-0181).","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"#### 2 Commencement\n\n2 Commencement\n\n> This order commences on the day on which this order is published on the NSW legislation website.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definition","content":"#### 3 Definition\n\n3 Definition\n\n> In this order—\n> \n> the Act means the [Community Services Sector (Portable Long Service Leave) Act 2024](/view/html/inforce/current/act-2024-039).\n> \n> Note—\n> \n> The Act and the [Interpretation Act 1987](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1987-015) contain definitions and other provisions that affect the interpretation and application of this order.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Determination of levy—employers","content":"#### 4 Determination of levy—employers\n\n4 Determination of levy—employers\n\n> For the Act, section 41(1), the percentage of a worker’s ordinary remuneration is determined to be—\n> \n> > (a) for the 2025–26 financial year—1.3%, and\n> \n> > (b) for each later financial year—1.7%.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Determination of levy—contractors","content":"#### 5 Determination of levy—contractors\n\n5 Determination of levy—contractors\n\n> For the Act, section 41(2), the percentage of a contractor’s ordinary remuneration is determined to be—\n> \n> > (a) for the 2025–26 financial year—1.3%, and\n> \n> > (b) for each later financial year—1.7%.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Repeal","content":"#### 6 Repeal\n\n6 Repeal\n\n> The [Community Services Sector (Portable Long Service Leave) (Levy Determinations) Order 2025](/view/html/repealed/current/sl-2025-0172) is repealed.","sortOrder":5}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"No substantive operative provisions were supplied, so there is no direct evidence in the provided material that this instrument changes the scheme’s scope beyond its ordinary function of setting levy rates and administrative details. Based on the title alone, the instrument appears to be a routine funding (levy) instrument for a portable long service leave scheme rather than a change to the scheme’s coverage. To determine whether the instrument expands or narrows scope compared to earlier instruments would require the prior levy determinations or the underlying Act for comparison."},"complexity_factors":["Operative text not provided in user material (prevents direct citation of clauses)","Likely cross‑references to a primary Portable Long Service Leave Act or community services legislation","Typical presence of multiple levy rates or tiers (by employer size or service classification)","Potentially numerous defined terms (employer, worker, wages, portable service)","Conditional logic: exemptions, thresholds, transitional provisions and refund rules","Administrative provisions: registration, reporting periods, enforcement and penalties (adds procedural complexity)"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this instrument does (mechanically)**\n\n- The text supplied contains only website headers and metadata; the actual operative clauses of the Community Services Sector (Portable Long Service Leave) (Levy Determinations) Order 2026 are not present in the material provided. Because the order’s provisions are not included here, I cannot quote sections or reproduce the precise legal changes it makes.\n\n- Based on the instrument’s title and the usual structure of levy determination orders under portable long service leave schemes in Australia, this kind of order typically does the following:\n  - sets one or more levy rates (expressed as a percentage of wages or a fixed amount) to fund a portable long service leave scheme for the community services sector;\n  - specifies who is liable to pay the levy (categories of employers, possibly contractors, and sometimes self‑employed persons working in the sector);\n  - defines the wage base, reporting period and the calculation method for levies (for example, ordinary wages, paid leave, allowances included/excluded);\n  - sets the collection and payment timetable (quarterly, monthly) and compliance requirements (registration, returns, record‑keeping);\n  - may create exemptions, thresholds (small employer exemptions), transitional arrangements, and refund mechanisms;\n  - authorises a regulator or commissioner to collect levies, enforce compliance, and apply penalties for non‑payment.\n\n**Who it affects**\n\n- Employers and persons engaged in the community services sector who fall within the levy determination’s definitions. That typically includes not‑for‑profit and for‑profit providers of community services covered by the underlying portable long service leave Act or scheme.\n- Workers in the covered sector benefit indirectly because levies fund the portable long service leave entitlements they can access when they change employers within the sector.\n- The scheme administrator (and ultimately government/regulatory body) is responsible for collection, enforcement and administration.\n\n**Why it matters**\n\n- Levy determinations are the legal instrument that raises funds to pay portable long service leave entitlements. They turn an entitlement scheme into a recurring cost for employers in the sector.\n- Financially, levies are a predictable ongoing cost for liable employers. Employers may pass levies on through prices or reduce other costs (wages, hiring), or alter contracting arrangements to avoid levy liability if permissible.\n- Administratively, levies create registration, reporting and record‑keeping obligations that impose compliance costs on employers and on the administering body.\n\n**Purpose as stated by the instrument’s title and typical rationale**\n\n- The instrument’s ostensible purpose is to fund portable long service leave entitlements for employees in the community services sector by imposing levies. That funds a pooled benefit for workers who move between covered employers.\n\n**Testing the purpose against incentives, costs and trade‑offs**\n\n- Who pays: employers (or other designated liable persons) pay levies. This is a concentrated, recurring cost for those employers. The determination’s sections (not provided) would identify the parties that legally bear the levy.\n- Who decides: the Minister/administrative authority sets rates and liability categories via the order; an administering agency collects the levy. Those decisions determine allocation of cost across businesses.\n- Behavioural effects: liable employers may adjust prices, staffing, contracting models or use labour from outside the levy base to reduce levy exposure. Small employers may face relatively larger compliance burdens.\n- Compliance burden: the administrative cost of registration, periodic returns and record keeping is borne by employers and the scheme administrator. The magnitude depends on reporting complexity and the frequency of returns (information not supplied).\n- Opportunity cost: levies divert funds from other uses (wage increases, service delivery, investment). The determination’s rate structure decides how much is diverted.\n- Implementation risk and enforcement: success depends on clear definitions of liable persons, a workable collection system, and effective enforcement. Poorly designed thresholds or exemptions can produce avoidance or uneven contributions.\n- Concentrated benefits / diffuse costs: workers receive benefits aggregated through the scheme; employers face concentrated levy costs. The instrument’s design determines whether costs fall on large providers proportionately or are skewed.\n\n**What I cannot determine from the supplied text**\n\n- Exact levy rates, liable person definitions, wage base, collection periods, exemptions, effective date, transitional arrangements, enforcement mechanisms, or how the funds may be applied. Those operative details are necessary to compute concrete financial impacts.\n\n**Practical next steps to get a precise impact assessment**\n\n- Supply the full text of the Order (operative clauses) or a link to the instrument with its schedules. With the actual sections I can: (a) state the precise levy rate(s) and who is liable; (b) calculate a sample levy cost for an employer; (c) identify exemptions or thresholds; (d) highlight specific compliance obligations and penalties; and (e) assess likely pass‑through to prices and behavioural responses with greater precision."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/community-services-sector-portable-long-service-leave-levy-determinations-order-2026","history":"/api/acts/community-services-sector-portable-long-service-leave-levy-determinations-order-2026/history","analysis":"/api/acts/community-services-sector-portable-long-service-leave-levy-determinations-order-2026/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/community-services-sector-portable-long-service-leave-levy-determinations-order-2026/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/community-services-sector-portable-long-service-leave-levy-determinations-order-2026/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/community-services-sector-portable-long-service-leave-levy-determinations-order-2026/documents"}}