Like somebody else said, typical in Australia too. Companies tend to be pretty accomodating about when you take it within reason, and those who don't wish to take it, or who work somewhere where the work culture is the exception, i.e., people are expected to always be on deck, can look forward to having it paid out when they leave.

Just a word of caution for those who do this though, if the company goes bust, your payout will be via bankruptcy handling, and so you may not receive everything if you accrue a LOT.