Redundancy in New South Wales
Making a role redundant in New South Wales? Redundancy pay, notice and the genuine-redundancy test come from the national Fair Work system, while long service leave on termination is set by NSW law. Here’s what applies — then build your full evidence pack with the free AI toolkit.
The process (in New South Wales)
- Business case — the operational reason the role is no longer needed.
- Coverage — award/agreement, head count, and the national system.
- Selection — objective criteria if cutting some of several similar roles.
- Consult — in writing, before the decision is final.
- Consider & redeploy — weigh the response and check for other suitable work.
- Decide, give notice & pay out — including NSW long service leave (below).
Redundancy pay (NSW)
Minimum redundancy pay is national — the NES scale below. Your award, agreement or contract can require more. Small businesses (fewer than 15 employees) are exempt from redundancy pay but must still run a genuine process.
| Service | Redundancy pay |
|---|---|
| Less than 1 year | Nil |
| 1 year | 4 weeks |
| 2 years | 6 weeks |
| 3 years | 7 weeks |
| 4 years | 8 weeks |
| 5 years | 10 weeks |
| 6 years | 11 weeks |
| 7 years | 13 weeks |
| 8 years | 14 weeks |
| 9 years | 16 weeks |
| 10 years or more | 12 weeks |
Notice (NSW)
| Service | Minimum notice |
|---|---|
| 1 year or less | 1 week |
| 1 to 3 years | 2 weeks |
| 3 to 5 years | 3 weeks |
| More than 5 years | 4 weeks |
Add 1 week if the employee is 45+ with at least 2 years’ service.
Long service leave in New South Wales
In NSW, long service leave is pro-rata on termination from 5 years of continuous service (about 0.867 weeks per year, so roughly 8.67 weeks at 10 years) under the Long Service Leave Act 1955 (NSW).
If a portable long-service-leave scheme covers the work (e.g. building and construction), the scheme pays the worker and you pay a levy — don’t also pay it out on termination.
Build your NSW redundancy pack
The free AI toolkit asks a few questions about your situation and creates the documents for you — the operational-reason statement, the consultation email and diary, the redeployment record, the decision record and a statement of service — plus your exact notice and pay figures.
Other states & territories
General information for employers, not legal advice. Check the relevant award or agreement and confirm figures, tax and leave with your accountant or an employment lawyer. Fair Work Ombudsman — fairwork.gov.au · 13 13 94.