How Much Sick Leave Do Full-Time Employees Get in Australia?

Full-time employees covered by Australia’s National Employment Standards receive 10 days of paid sick and carer’s leave for each year of employment, calculated from their ordinary hours. For a standard full-time employee working 38 ordinary hours each week, that is usually 76 hours accrued over a year.

The entitlement is commonly called sick leave, personal leave or personal/carer’s leave. Sick leave and paid carer’s leave draw from the same balance. It is not a fresh bank of 10 days made available automatically on every anniversary unless a more generous workplace arrangement front-loads it.

Leave starts accumulating from the first day of employment and builds progressively. Unused hours carry over from year to year. The number of full shifts the balance covers can differ between employees because one person may work 7.6-hour days while another spreads the same weekly ordinary hours across longer shifts.

This page answers the full-time quantity question. For the broader eligibility framework, read Sick Leave Entitlements in Australia. The guide to medical certificates for part-time and full-time employees covers workplace evidence.

This is general workplace information, not legal advice about a particular award, enterprise agreement, contract or payroll calculation. Check the instrument applying to the job because it can provide a more generous entitlement, though it cannot undercut the National Employment Standards minimum.

Key Points

• Full-time employees receive 10 days of paid sick and carer’s leave per year under the National Employment Standards.
• The entitlement is calculated from ordinary hours and can be expressed as 1/26 of annual ordinary hours.
• A 38-hour full-time week generally produces 76 hours over a complete year.
• Accrual begins on the first day and builds progressively throughout employment.
• Sick leave and paid carer’s leave use the same personal leave balance.
• Unused paid personal leave carries over rather than expiring each anniversary.
• Leave taken is deducted according to ordinary hours missed, not simply one calendar day.
• Payment is normally at base rate for ordinary hours, excluding separate overtime and penalties.
• Notice and reasonable evidence can still be required for a short absence.
• Unused personal leave is generally not paid out when employment ends.

Medical Certificates

The National Minimum for a Full-Time Employee

The Fair Work Ombudsman’s paid sick and carer’s leave guidance states that the yearly entitlement is 10 days for a full-time employee and a pro-rata amount for a part-time employee. The calculation is based on ordinary hours rather than a universal eight-hour day.

Fair Work expresses the annual amount as 1/26 of the employee’s ordinary hours in a year. Someone who ordinarily works 1,976 hours across a full year, equivalent to 38 hours for 52 weeks, therefore accrues 76 hours.

An award, registered agreement or contract can provide additional days, front-loading or another beneficial arrangement. Payroll should identify whether a displayed balance is the statutory minimum, an employer benefit or a combination of both.

Why Ordinary Hours Matter More Than the Word “Days”

Two full-time employees can each accrue 76 hours while having different rostered shift lengths. An employee working five 7.6-hour days could use the annual accrual across 10 ordinary shifts. An employee working four 9.5-hour days could cover eight full ordinary shifts with the same 76 hours.

The longer-shift employee has not received fewer hours of entitlement. Each absence deducts the ordinary hours the employee would have worked. This prevents the spread of weekly hours from changing how much leave is accumulated.

Overtime is not included merely because it is regularly offered. The key is whether the hours are ordinary hours under the employee’s employment terms. The article on personal leave in hours or part-days explains partial-shift deductions.

How Full-Time Sick Leave Accrues

Paid sick and carer’s leave accumulates progressively during each year of service. It is not necessary to complete a probation period or reach the first employment anniversary before any leave exists. The available balance reflects what has accrued, less qualifying leave already taken.

A simple estimate for a standard 38-hour week is about 1.4615 hours for each completed week of ordinary service. Payroll systems may calculate in smaller increments, so a manual weekly estimate can differ slightly because of rounding or the employer’s compliant accrual cycle.

For a detailed explanation of service and ordinary hours, see How Personal Leave Accrues in Australia. Employees should rely on the actual payroll record after checking that its inputs are correct.

A First-Year Example

Suppose Mia begins full-time work on 1 July and ordinarily works 38 hours each week. If she takes no personal leave, her balance should build towards 76 hours by the end of a full year, subject to any non-accruing unpaid periods and payroll rounding.

If Mia is unfit for a 7.6-hour shift after six months, she can use the amount accumulated by then if she meets notice and evidence requirements. She does not need to wait until 30 June, but she also cannot assume the whole annual 76 hours is available unless the employer allows leave in advance.

After the deduction, accrual ordinarily continues during eligible service. A payslip may show the balance before or after the current pay-period accrual, so employees should ask payroll which date the figure represents.

Sick Leave and Carer’s Leave Share One Balance

Paid personal/carer’s leave can be used when the employee cannot work because of personal illness or injury, or when they need to provide care or support to an immediate family or household member because of illness, injury or an unexpected emergency.

These are qualifying reasons for the same paid balance, not separate annual grants of 10 sick days plus 10 carer’s days. An employee who uses 15 hours for caring has 15 fewer paid personal leave hours available for later illness.

The leave description and evidence should match what occurred. A practitioner should not state that the employee was personally unfit when the genuine reason was caring responsibility.

How Much Can Be Taken at One Time?

Fair Work says an employee can take as much paid sick or carer’s leave as they have accumulated, with no statutory minimum or maximum amount per occasion. A part-hour or part-day absence can therefore be covered where the person misses ordinary hours for a qualifying reason.

If the absence exceeds the available balance, only accrued paid hours can be paid under the minimum entitlement. The remaining time may be unpaid or managed under another lawful arrangement. The guide to having no sick leave left outlines possible next steps.

Employees should not change the leave category in a timesheet merely to obtain payment. Annual leave, unpaid leave or leave in advance generally requires the employer’s agreement or applicable workplace terms.

How Full-Time Sick Leave Is Paid

Fair Work’s payment guidance says paid sick and carer’s leave is paid at the employee’s base rate for each hour or part-hour taken. It covers the ordinary hours the employee would otherwise have worked.

The base rate does not include separate overtime, penalties, allowances, loadings, bonuses or incentive payments. A more generous award, agreement or contract may alter the payment outcome, so the employee should check the applicable terms.

Entitlement and payment are related but separate: the available hours determine how much qualifying time can be covered, while the base-rate rule determines the minimum amount paid for those hours.

Notice and Evidence Still Apply

An employee must notify the employer as soon as practicable that they are taking sick or carer’s leave and state the period, or expected period, away. Workplace policies can specify a contact method and reasonable timing where practicable.

The Fair Work notice and evidence page says an employer can ask for evidence for one day or less. Medical certificates and statutory declarations are examples, subject to applicable workplace terms and reasonableness.

The balance alone does not guarantee payment if the reason, notice or requested evidence requirements are not met. Review evidence requirements for every sick day before assuming short absences are exempt.

Book Online Consultation

Does the Balance Reset Each Year?

No. Unused paid personal leave carries over into the next year. A full-time employee who accrues 76 hours and uses 20 hours would ordinarily carry 56 hours forward, then continue accruing during the next eligible year of service.

An anniversary may mark another completed year, but it should not erase the balance. A payroll display that drops unexpectedly may reflect a system view, changed ordinary hours, corrected error, employment transfer or an incorrect reset that needs investigation.

Read Does Personal Leave Roll Over Each Year? and When Does Sick Leave Reset? for focused rollover and troubleshooting examples.

When Accrual Continues or Pauses

Fair Work says paid personal leave continues accumulating during paid leave, community service leave and long service leave. It generally does not accumulate during unpaid annual leave, unpaid sick or carer’s leave, unpaid parental leave or unpaid family and domestic violence leave.

A lengthy unpaid period can therefore make a simple calendar-year estimate too high. The employee should identify actual service and leave categories rather than multiplying completed months without checking.

Workers compensation arrangements can interact with employment and leave differently across jurisdictions. Scheme-specific questions should go to the relevant insurer, regulator or workplace adviser.

Checking a Payroll Balance

1. Confirm the employment start date and current full-time ordinary hours.
2. Identify any unpaid periods during which accrual paused.
3. Add opening balances and accruals shown on payslips.
4. Subtract each approved sick or carer’s leave deduction.
5. Check whether long shifts were deducted by ordinary hours.
6. Ask whether the portal displays hours, days or a rounded equivalent.
7. Compare the result with the award, agreement, contract and payroll explanation.
8. Seek Fair Work or professional advice if a material discrepancy remains.

The National Employment Standards overview explains that awards, agreements and contracts cannot exclude the minimum standards.

What Happens When Employment Ends?

Unused sick and carer’s leave is generally not paid out when employment ends. It ordinarily does not transfer to an unrelated new employer. Transfers of employment, public-sector arrangements or a more generous industrial term can require closer review.

An employee should not fabricate illness or seek unsupported evidence to use a balance before departure. Personal leave is available only for a genuine qualifying absence, and a practitioner must make an independent clinical assessment.

Health and Safety Come Before the Balance

The amount of accrued leave does not determine whether symptoms need urgent care. Chest pain, severe breathing difficulty, stroke signs, major bleeding, reduced consciousness or another emergency requires 000 or urgent assessment rather than waiting for workplace paperwork.

If the balance is low, tell the employer promptly and discuss lawful leave or work arrangements after addressing health needs. Do not work in a safety-critical role while medically unsafe simply because paid hours are limited.

More of Our Services

Using Dociva

Dociva presently supports online sick-leave, carer's leave, study and multi-day medical certificate requests. An Australian registered medical practitioner independently considers the current clinical information, dates and work impact.

Dociva does not calculate payroll balances, guarantee paid leave, backdate certificates or decide an employment dispute. A certificate is issued only when clinically supported, and some conditions require in-person or urgent care.

For a current illness affecting work, review the medical certificate application. Confirm the available hours and evidence deadline directly with the employer.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)