The Canberra Liberals say they will move to delay a controversial new levy on the hospitality sector, arguing the policy could hurt businesses and workers already under pressure.

Shadow treasurer Ed Cocks said the opposition will introduce legislation in the next sitting week of the Legislative Assembly to defer the ACT government’s portable long service leave scheme for hospitality workers by 12 months.

The delay would allow time for an independent review into how the policy could affect business viability and employment.

Mr Cocks described the scheme as an added cost on employers, saying it would increase the expense of hiring staff in a sector dominated by casual and short-term workers.

“The impact of the scheme is an increase in the cost of employing hospitality workers who are unlikely to ever receive any benefit from it,” he said.

Under the proposed system, businesses would pay a levy on all hospitality wages, funding long service leave entitlements for workers who stay in the industry long enough to qualify.

However, the Liberals argue most workers in the sector — many of them young and employed for only a few years — would never reach the seven-year threshold required to access the benefit.

Opposition Leader Mark Parton has previously criticised the policy, saying it would place further strain on cafés, restaurants and venues already dealing with rising costs, staff shortages and economic uncertainty.

“This is not reform, it’s a tax,” Mr Parton said in an earlier statement.

He warned businesses would be forced to fund a system where only a small proportion of workers would ever receive long service leave, while also facing increased administrative requirements.

Industrial relations lawyer Richard Calver has also raised concerns about the financial impact, noting the levy would amount to just over one per cent of wages for covered employees.

For small hospitality operators working on tight margins, he said, that represents a significant additional payroll cost.

Mr Cocks said with some businesses already considering cutting staff numbers or hours, introducing the scheme without further scrutiny would be “irresponsible”.

“This is why it’s so important to have a genuinely independent review of the potential impacts of the scheme before it’s introduced,” he said.

The Canberra Liberals are expected to introduce the deferral bill when the Assembly next sits.

Libs slam ‘sneaky new tax’ on hospitality sector