Sick and carer's leave – Fair Work Ombudsman

Published 22 June 2020 | Updated 28 March 2023

The information on this page is under review

The rules about mandatory isolation periods are changing across Australia. This may affect the information on this page.

In the meantime, find out more at Changes to mandatory COVID-19 isolation periods.

Employees may be able to take sick and carer’s leave if they:

have COVID-19, or
need to care for family or household members.

In this section:

Employers should also consider their obligations under any award, enterprise agreement, employment contract or workplace policy, which could include extra rules about sick and carer’s leave.

Sick leave due to COVID-19

Employers and employees have legal obligations to support workplace health and safety. Because of these obligations, employees who have COVID-19 can’t attend the workplace.

Employer direction for an employee to not come to the workplace

Under workplace health and safety laws, employers have to do what they can to ensure the health and safety of their workers and others at the workplace. Employees also have responsibilities under those laws. For more information visit Safe Work Australia .

If an employer has directed an employee not to attend work in these circumstances, the employee isn't entitled to be paid unless they take paid sick leave or some other type of paid leave.

Paid sick leave

Full-time and part-time employees can take paid sick leave if they can’t work because they have COVID-19. If they have no paid sick leave left, they should arrange with their employer to take some other type of paid or unpaid leave.

An employer can’t require an employee to use their accumulated sick or carer’s leave. Learn more about the rules that apply at Paid sick and carer’s leave.

Find out about sick leave entitlements during quarantine or self-isolation at Quarantine and self-isolation: pay and leave.

Under the Fair Work Act, an employee is protected from losing their job because of their temporary absence due to illness or injury. See Long periods of sick leave.

Employees also can’t be dismissed or injured in their employment because they have a responsibility under a workplace health and safety law to quarantine or self-isolate. Go to Protections at work to learn more.

Notice and medical certificates

An employee needs to give their employer reasonable evidence that they aren’t fit for work if their employer asks for it. This also applies to situations relating to coronavirus. See Notice and medical certificates.

Example: Taking sick leave because of coronavirus

Marisa is a bus driver. She gets COVID-19. A government direction requires her to quarantine at home.

Marisa has accrued enough sick leave to cover the time she needs to be off work. Her employer, a bus company, asks her for a medical certificate as evidence that she can’t work because she’s sick. She gives the certificate with her sick leave application. She stays at home until she is better and can return to work.

More information:

Carer’s leave due to COVID-19

Employees can take carer’s leave (paid or unpaid) if they need to look after a family or household member who has COVID-19 or affected by an unexpected emergency.

Paid carer’s leave

Paid carer’s leave is available to full-time and part-time employees when they need to look after a family member or a member of their household who needs care or support because of a personal illness, injury or an unexpected emergency. See Paid sick and carer’s leave for details.

Unpaid carer’s leave

Casual employees are entitled to 2 days of unpaid carer’s leave per occasion. Full-time and part-time employees can take unpaid carer’s leave if they have no paid sick or carer’s leave left. See Unpaid carer’s leave.

Unexpected emergencies

An unexpected emergency is an unforeseen or sudden and urgent event or situation. Whether an employee can take carer’s leave because of an unexpected emergency depends on the circumstances. Things to consider might include:

how much notice, if any, the employee had of the emergency
any public health orders in place that affect caring arrangements
whether the employee can work from home or use other alternative work arrangements (such as changing their pattern of work to help manage their work and caring responsibilities)
the age and independence of the family member or household member who needs care
whether the employee can make alternative arrangements to care for the family or household member.

Any alternative work arrangements need to be consistent with the employee’s terms and conditions of employment. This includes any award or enterprise agreement that applies. An award or agreement could include rules about changing rosters or hours and penalty rates for working outside the normal span of hours.

Employees can’t be required to reduce their hours or to work flexible hours that involve, for example, catching up on work when their child is asleep, as an alternative to taking carer’s leave.

An employee has to give their employer reasonable evidence of the unexpected emergency if their employer asks for it. This also applies to situations relating to coronavirus.

Example: Employee needs to care for a child during childcare centre closure

Alastor has just received an email from his daughter’s childcare centre. They let him know that the centre is closing immediately for 48 hours. This is because a child at the centre has tested positive to coronavirus. Alastor immediately contacts his employer. He tells them he'll need to stay at home during the closure to care for his daughter.

They discuss whether he could work from home. They decide that, given Alastor needs to actively care for his daughter, he is unable to work at his normal capacity.

Alastor's employer lets him know that he can take paid carer’s leave. This is because the closure of the childcare centre on short notice is an unexpected emergency. Alastor forwards the email from the childcare centre to his employer as evidence.

Where an employee can’t take paid or unpaid carer’s leave, they should discuss their situation and other options with their employer. This could include:

Find more information at Quarantine and self-isolation: pay and leave.

Casual employees, outworkers and independent contractors – entitlement to sick and carer’s leave

Casual employees and sick/carer’s leave

Casual employees aren’t entitled to paid sick or carer’s leave under the National Employment Standards. Casual employees are paid a casual loading instead of accumulating paid leave entitlements.

Casuals who need to care for an immediate family member or household member who has COVID-19 can take 2 days of unpaid carer’s leave on each occasion.

More information:

Outworkers and sick/carer’s leave entitlements

Outworkers in the textile, clothing and footwear industry are considered to be employees for the purposes of most protections under the Fair Work Act. Where these provisions apply, the contract outworker should be treated as an employee, which means they can be entitled to paid sick and carer’s leave. Find help for Outworkers.

Independent contractors and sick/carer’s leave entitlements

Independent contractors aren’t employees. They don't have paid leave entitlements under the Fair Work Act. Find help for Independent contractors.

Government payments

High-Risk Settings Pandemic Payment

The High-Risk Settings Pandemic Payment is available to eligible workers in selected high-risk industries who can’t earn an income because they’ve tested positive to COVID-19.

These industries include:

aged care
disability care
Aboriginal healthcare
hospital care.

For more information about the payment, eligibility requirements and how to claim it, visit Services Australia – High-Risk Settings Pandemic Payment.

Victorian workers – Victorian Sick Pay Guarantee

Some casual and contract workers in Victoria may be eligible for the Sick Pay Guarantee. It’s a sick and carer’s leave payment available to some casual and contract workers in Victoria who work in certain occupations.

Eligible workers in Victoria can get up to 5 days of sick or carer’s pay at the National Minimum Wage. The payment is managed by the Victorian Government.

Learn more and check eligibility at Victorian Government – Victorian Sick Pay Guarantee .

Sick and carer’s leave