Other Liabilities (Schedule of Other Liabilities) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		Mar. 31, 2020	Oct. 01, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019
Other Liabilities [Line Items]
Net accrued retirement benefits, less amounts recognized within accrued liabilities		$ 109,294		$ 111,257
Total unrecognized tax benefits		12,030		10,644
Noncurrent income taxes payable		18,322		20,251
Deferred economic incentives	[1]	9,451		11,535
Loss reserve on contractual lease commitments	[2]			1,754
Net noncurrent contract liabilities	[3]	352,440		337,165
Other		33,084		13,482
Other liabilities		534,621		$ 506,088
Finance lease liability		$ 3,617
Loss Reserve On Contractual Lease Commitments [Member]
Other Liabilities [Line Items]
Finance lease liability			$ 2,688

[1] Woodward receives certain economic incentives from various state and local authorities related to capital expansion projects. Such amounts are initially recorded as deferred credits and are being recognized as a reduction to pre-tax expense over the economic lives of the related capital expansion projects.

[2] In connection with the construction of a new production facility in Niles, Illinois, Woodward vacated a lease facility in Skokie, Illinois, and recorded a loss reserve on the estimated remaining contractual lease commitment, net of anticipated sublease income. As of September 30, 2019, the current portion of the accrued loss reserve on contractual lease commitments was included in “accrued liabilities” (see Note 16, Accrued liabilities). Woodward adopted ASC 842 on October 1, 2019, which requires that any pre-adoption liabilities related to exit or disposal cost obligations reduce the amount of the ROU asset recognized upon adoption. Accordingly, as of October 1, 2019, Woodward recognized a finance lease liability of $2,688 consisting of the future lease component payments, with no corresponding ROU asset recognized, and reduced the current and noncurrent portions of the loss reserve on contractual lease commitments to zero. The amount of the finance lease liability will be reduced in an amount equal to the lease payments made over the remaining term of the lease, which ends in 2022. Future non-lease component payments on the lease and future sublease income received will be recognized in the periods in which they are earned.

[3] See Note 3, Revenue, for more information on net noncurrent contract liabilities.