SA Police leave entitlements
every type, clause by clause

Leave for South Australia Police officers is set by the South Australia Police Enterprise Agreement 2021 (read with the Police Officers Award), which still operates even though its nominal term ended in early 2024. Pay rises since then have come from a separate Government and PASA deal, but that deal did not rewrite the leave clauses. Long service leave is the exception: its accrual sits in the Police Regulations, not the agreement.

Two things stand out against other forces. SAPOL's Police Service Leave is a reward for long careers that most forces don't have, and its leave loading rules pay shift workers more than day workers. Both are explained below.

Every SA Police officer gets six weeks of annual leave a year: 30 working days, or 240 hours (EA cl 36.5). That covers Probationary Constables straight out of the Academy as well as senior officers. SAPOL advertises the same figure to recruits, saying officers get "six weeks of annual leave every year".

The hours figure matters because SAPOL credits and debits leave in hours. Officers work a 38-hour week, and 240 hours is the same as 30 eight-hour days. Longer rostered shifts use more hours per shift, so if you work 10-hour shifts a "week" of leave can cost you more than 38 hours of credit, depending on your roster.

Leave loading is an extra percentage paid on your annual leave. In SAPOL it depends on how you work, because the loading is meant to make up for shift penalties you lose while you're away.

For shift workers, part of the loading is settled at the end of the financial year, so you may see a top-up payment in July rather than the full amount on the pay that covers your leave. If you change rosters part way through the year, keep your own record of when you moved.

Worked example: a Senior Constable at the top increment

A Senior Constable on increment 6 earns $117,542 a year from 1 January 2026. Six weeks of base pay is worth about $13,516 (our calculation: salary ÷ 52.18 × 6). At 17.5% the loading on that is about $2,365. On the Flexible Shiftwork Allowance's 20%, it's about $2,703.

This table shows the base-salary value of one week and of the full six weeks at common SAPOL pay points. SAPOL publishes only the lowest and highest increment of each rank, so we use those. Shift allowances are not included.

Use these figures when weighing up a cash-out, for example of Police Service Leave or long service leave. Remember that a lump sum is taxed at your marginal rate in the pay period it lands, so withholding can look high. Our take-home pay calculator shows what you keep.

Unlike Tasmania or the Northern Territory, SAPOL does not give shift workers a longer annual leave entitlement, as far as we can confirm. The six weeks is the same for everyone. Shift workers are compensated in other ways.

1. 1

   Higher leave loading

   Loading

   20% for Flexible Shiftwork Allowance recipients instead of 17.5%, and a loading calculated on the 23% Response Allowance for the Response Extended Hours Roster (cl 30.14, 31.10).

2. 2

   Shift and roster allowances

   Pay

   Night shift 20%, late night 25%, the 18.5% Flexible Shiftwork Allowance and the 23% Response Allowance are paid on top of salary (cl 15, 30, 31).

3. 3

   Programmed Hours Off

   Time off

   8 consecutive working hours off without loss of pay every 28 days, up to 96 hours a year, as part of the 38-hour week (cl 35).

4. 4

   Remote special annual leave

   Remote

   Officers at Level 2 Hard to Fill locations (APY Lands, Yalata, Oodnadatta) get 5 extra days of special annual leave, plus a monthly respite flight for the APY Lands (cl 40, Sch 3).

For the shift allowance rates in detail, see the SA Police salary guide and our explainer on police overtime and penalty rates.

Police Service Leave is SAPOL's reward for long service, and it is separate from long service leave. Under EA cl 38 you are credited with 4 calendar weeks of paid leave at 20 years' service, and another 4 weeks every 5 years after that: at 25, 30 and 35 years.

At the top of the Sergeant scale ($135,363), 4 weeks of Police Service Leave is worth about $10,377 at base salary (our calculation). Because you can only take one week a year, officers nearing retirement often weigh up a cash-out instead. Get the current rules in writing before you decide.

You ordinarily get 12 working days (96 hours) of sick leave a year, credited in hours (EA cl 36.2). Up to 10 days of it can be used as family carer's leave when someone in your family needs you (cl 32.1).

If you're injured at work, your absence should be managed as a workers compensation claim, not through your sick leave balance. Our guide to police associations explains how PASA can help with a claim.

Paid maternity, adoption and conforming surrogacy leave is 16 weeks once you have 12 months' service, rising to 20 weeks after 5 years (EA cl 32.3). Paid and unpaid leave together can run to 104 weeks, which gives you up to two years away from work with a job to come back to.

For a Constable at increment 7 on $102,491, 16 weeks of paid leave is worth about $31,428 and 20 weeks about $39,285 at base salary (our calculation). The agreement also gives paid partner leave to the other parent, but we have not confirmed the number of weeks.

This is the one major leave type we can't give you a number for. SAPOL long service leave accrual is set in the Police Regulations 2014 (Part 12) and the award, not the enterprise agreement. The SA legislation site blocked our automated check, and we won't quote a rate we haven't read.

What the agreement does say is useful. Under EA cl 39 you can apply for payment in lieu of long service leave, provided you keep at least 30 days' credit. The proposed 2026 agreement also promises long service leave cash-out arrangements, though their detail has not been published.

Keep at least 30 days of long service leave on the books and the rest can be paid out on application (EA cl 39).

To find your accrual rate and balance, check your leave record in SAPOL's HR system or ask PASA. If you have prior public service in another state, ask whether it counts towards long service leave before you assume it does. Our interstate transfer guide covers what usually moves with you.

SAPOL's internal leave policy is not public, so we can only tell you what the agreement and its rosters imply. In practice, leave is applied for through your line manager and the roster, and approval depends on staffing.

1. 1

   Check your balances

   Before you ask

   Look up annual leave, sick leave, Programmed Hours Off and any Police Service Leave in hours. Leave is credited in hours, not days.

2. 2

   Work out the hours you need

   Roster

   Count your rostered shifts and their length. A week on 10-hour shifts can use more than 38 hours of credit.

3. 3

   Apply early

   Approval

   Put the request in through your supervisor and rostering officer as early as you can, especially for school holidays and Christmas.

4. 4

   Check the pay treatment

   Pay

   If you're on a shift roster, confirm how your loading is paid and expect a balance after 30 June (cl 37).

5. 5

   Get cash-outs in writing

   Cash-out

   For Police Service Leave or long service leave paid in lieu, get the amount and tax treatment confirmed before you sign.

On 16 September 2026 PASA announced a proposed new enterprise agreement. It is not yet approved: it needs a member vote and approval by the SA Employment Tribunal. PASA's announcement lists several changes that touch leave and working time:

PASA did not publish clause detail, so we don't know yet whether annual leave, loading or parental leave change. We'll update this page when the agreement is approved. The SA Police pay deal tracker follows the vote.

SAPOL's six weeks matches Tasmania and the AFP but sits a week behind the Northern Territory's standard pay table. Where SA stands out is Police Service Leave and the higher loading for shift workers.

For all eight forces side by side, including NSW, Victoria, Queensland and WA, see police leave entitlements in Australia. For the bigger picture on SAPOL pay and conditions, start at the SA Police force guide.