What it does
Mechanically, the Construction Industry Long Service Leave and Benefits Act 2005 establishes a levy‑funded, territory‑level scheme to record construction industry service, accrue long service leave credits, and pay long service leave or cash benefits to eligible construction workers. The Scheme is defined in s 8 to consist of the Act, Regulations, Determinations and related arrangements. It creates registers for workers and employers, reporting and record keeping obligations, a statutory Board (NT Build) to administer the Scheme, a Registrar to operate the registers and carry out compliance work, and a levy imposed on qualifying construction work to fund benefits (see ss 9, 25, 53, 76, 32-35).
The Act sets out how days of service are credited (qualifying service in s 15), how LSL credits convert into leave days (s 16), when employees and contractors are entitled to leave or to cash benefits (ss 18-22), and how credits may be transferred to or from interstate reciprocal schemes (ss 86-88). It provides administrative tools for the Board and Registrar, including Determinations made by the Board to implement detailed matters (s 57), inspection and information powers for the Registrar (ss 80-81), and dispute resolution routes by reconsideration and Local Court review (ss 84-85).
Funding is provided by a targeted long service levy imposed on construction work that starts after commencement and meets the cost threshold in s 32. The levy calculation uses a prescribed percentage for base amounts and a Ministerially determined percentage for any excess over a high threshold, with actuarial input required before that determined percentage is set (s 33(4)-(6) and s 91(6)). Persons for whom construction work is carried out are generally liable for the levy, with specific allocations for interstate government entities and multi‑funded projects set out in s 34; the Board may assess, order stop work, recover levy debts, and grant instalments or extensions in special circumstances (ss 39, 44, 46-48).