Under the Act, the Authority administers and operates the Scheme for covered employers and workers in Victoria’s community services, contract cleaning and security industries.
Businesses employing workers in these industries must register themselves and all their covered workers with the Authority through our online portal.
Each quarter, registered employers are required to lodge a quarterly return to the Authority that details relevant worker information. The employer pays a levy that is invested by the Authority with the objective of meeting future long service payments to covered workers.
The Scheme allows covered workers to accrue long service leave and take it with them if they change employers but remain in the same industry.
Registered workers can access the Authority’s online system at any time to check their balances or update their details. When workers become entitled, after at least seven years of service, they can apply for their portable long service benefit (which varies slightly across the three Schemes).
The Authority has a Governing Board that reports to the Minister for Industrial Relations. The Governing Board comprises:
- a Chairperson
- a Deputy Chairperson
- three members nominated by employee organisations
- three members nominated by employer organisations, and
- the CEO / Registrar (as a non-voting member).
In accordance with the Act, the Governing Board:
- sets the levy to be paid by employers and contract workers
- is responsible for the governance, strategic planning and risk management of the Authority
- advises the Minister on agreements for corresponding schemes across Australia and may perform functions and exercise the powers of the Authority that it deems appropriate.
The CEO / Registrar, who is a member of the Governing Board, is also responsible for the day-to-day management of the Authority and its operations.
An Audit and Risk Committee also provides support and assurance as well as advice to the Governing Board. Other sub-committees are established from time to time to oversee particular projects as they arise and the Governing Board considers it appropriate.
The Scheme addresses a long-identified gap in the industrial relations landscape relating to long service benefits in the selected covered industries. Previously, many workers who remain employed in these covered industries have been unable to meet the requirements to accrue long service leave due to the contractual nature of employment in those sectors.
The Authority has an important role in administering the Scheme. It does this by supporting its stakeholders to understand how the Scheme operates and how it is administered.
In support of this, the Authority also has compliance powers. To ensure workers are not deprived of the long service benefits they are entitled to under the Scheme, the Authority will adjust its regulatory posture to strike a balance between the use of these compliance powers in the face of clear wrongdoing, versus educating employers who steadfastly determine not to register covered workers.
Data security and the ever-increasing instances of cyber-attacks is a growing risk for organisations. The Authority continues to invest in ensuring it has strong and resilient technological solutions and controls in place to reduce and limit the effects of cyberattacks and/or loss of data.
External environment and general economic conditions will also affect the investment performance of the Scheme that is used to fund worker liabilities. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly on covered industries such as cleaning and security will continue to have an impact, including an increase in the number of employers who go into liquidation and may not report, or pay, for their workers’ entitlements. The Authority will continue to take strong and responsive compliance action to ensure workers’ service records are obtained and recorded, including when notified by workers that their service credits may be missing, or the worker is not registered.
The investment performance along with other changes in demographic assumptions such as unemployment rates will also have an effect on the levy rate that is required to be charged to employers to fund the underlying Scheme. The appointed actuary both scrutinises and supports the Authority to ensure that funding and liquidity measures are appropriate and adequate.
The triannual actuarial review of the Authority was conducted by the independent actuary in 2020–21. The next actuarial review is due for completion by 30 June 2024.
In March 2023, Industrial Relations Victoria within the Department of Premier and Cabinet, commenced a three-year Act review. The Authority will wait to see the outcome of the review and, if there are any amendments to the governing legislation, will implement and operationalise them accordingly.
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