Changes to the Long Service Levy
From the 1st of January this year the levy exemption threshold has been raised from $25,000 to $250,000 and the levy rate has reduced from 0.35% to 0.25% of the cost of works.
Most subdivision projects require the payment of the Long Service Levy for the construction costs including roads, drainage and servicing. Whilst the increase in the threshold will only benefit the smaller subdivision projects, the amendment to the rate will certainly reduce the costs for developers. For a subdivision requiring $2 million of construction works for example, the cost of the levy will reduce from $7,000 to $5,000. Similarly during the house construction stage there will be further savings.
The Long Service Levy Scheme was introduced in NSW in 1975. Long Service Levy payments are paid into a fund administered by the Long Service Corporation and pays long service benefits to eligible building and construction works. Building and construction workers just have to be working in the industry for a total of ten years regardless of how many different employers they had during that period or whether they were a contractor.