Is Carer's Leave Paid in Australia?

Carer's leave can be paid in Australia, but not for every worker in every situation. Under the National Employment Standards, full-time and part-time employees can use their accrued paid personal/carer's leave when they need to care for or support an immediate family or household member who is ill, injured or affected by an unexpected emergency. Casual employees do not receive paid personal/carer's leave under the minimum national rules, although they can access unpaid carer's leave when eligible. An award, enterprise agreement, employment contract or workplace policy may provide something more generous, so the applicable employment documents still matter.

The important point is that paid carer's leave is not a separate bonus balance on top of sick leave. For most employees in the national system, both uses come from the same accrued personal/carer's leave balance.

This article gives general information about minimum national workplace entitlements. It is not legal advice, and state public sector systems, enterprise agreements and individual circumstances may operate differently.

Key Points

• Eligible full-time and part-time employees can take paid carer's leave from their accrued personal/carer's leave balance.
• Paid sick leave and paid carer's leave are two permitted uses of the same entitlement, not two independently accruing balances under the National Employment Standards.
• Paid leave generally covers the ordinary hours the employee would otherwise have worked and is paid at the employee's base rate.
• Casual employees do not receive paid personal/carer's leave under the National Employment Standards, but can take two days of unpaid carer's leave per eligible occasion.
• Full-time and part-time employees may use unpaid carer's leave when they have no paid personal/carer's leave left.
• The employee must give notice as soon as practicable and provide reasonable evidence if the employer asks for it.
• A medical certificate or statutory declaration may be evidence, but the evidence required must be reasonable in the circumstances.
• An award, registered agreement, contract or policy can provide greater benefits than the national minimum.

Medical Certificates

When Is Carer's Leave Paid?

Paid carer's leave is available when three elements line up. First, the employee must have an entitlement to paid personal/carer's leave and enough leave accrued. Second, the person needing care or support must be an immediate family member or household member. Third, the need for care must arise because that person is ill, injured or affected by an unexpected emergency.

The Fair Work Ombudsman's paid sick and carer's leave guidance confirms that paid carer's leave is available to full-time and part-time employees. Full-time employees accrue the equivalent of 10 days per year, while part-time employees accrue a pro-rata amount based on ordinary hours. The balance carries over from year to year.

Workers wanting a broader explanation of the entitlement can read Dociva's carer's leave certificate and eligibility guide. The narrower question here is whether the eligible absence is paid; that turns mainly on employment type, accrued balance and any more generous workplace terms.

Is Carer's Leave the Same as Sick Leave?

They are not the same reason for taking leave, but they usually use the same statutory balance. Sick leave is taken when the employee cannot work because of their own illness or injury. Carer's leave is taken when the employee must care for or support an eligible family or household member.

For example, if Priya has 42 hours of accrued personal/carer's leave and uses seven hours to care for her injured partner, her remaining balance is 35 hours. The employer does not normally deduct those seven hours from a separate carer's leave bank while leaving the sick leave balance untouched.

This shared-balance structure is why the payslip or HR portal may label the balance “personal leave”, “sick leave” or “personal/carer's leave”. The label alone does not create a different legal entitlement. Dociva's guide to the difference between sick leave and personal leave explains the terminology in more detail, while the sick leave entitlements overview covers an employee's own illness or injury.

The Fair Work Act 2009 places both uses within paid personal/carer's leave. Workplace arrangements may record or administer additional leave separately, but they cannot undercut applicable National Employment Standards minimums.

How Much Will an Employee Be Paid?

Under the minimum national rules, paid sick or carer's leave is paid at the employee's base rate for the ordinary hours they would have worked during the absence. The Fair Work Ombudsman's payment guidance explains that the base rate generally does not include overtime, bonuses, loadings, allowances or penalty rates.

Suppose Jordan ordinarily works six hours on a Tuesday but often accepts two hours of optional overtime. If Jordan takes eligible paid carer's leave on that Tuesday, the minimum payment is generally based on the six ordinary hours, not the additional overtime that might have been offered.

Paid carer's leave can be taken for part of a day when the qualifying caring need only affects some ordinary hours. There is no general National Employment Standards rule requiring an employee to use a whole day at a time. The actual recording method should reflect the employee's hours and the workplace system.

Who Can the Employee Care For?

The minimum entitlement covers care or support for an immediate family member or a member of the employee's household. Immediate family includes a spouse or former spouse, de facto partner or former de facto partner, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling. It also extends to specified relatives of a spouse or de facto partner, and includes step and adoptive relationships.

A household member is someone who lives with the employee, even if they are not related by blood or marriage.

For practical examples, see who counts as immediate family or household. An employee caring for a friend who neither lives with them nor falls within the immediate-family definition may need to discuss annual leave, unpaid leave or another workplace arrangement instead.

What Happens for Casual Employees?

Casual employees are not entitled to paid sick or carer's leave under the National Employment Standards. That does not mean they have no carer's leave entitlement. All employees, including casuals, can take two days of unpaid carer's leave for each eligible occasion when an immediate family or household member needs care or support because of illness, injury or an unexpected emergency.

The Fair Work Ombudsman's unpaid carer's leave page explains that the two days can be taken as one continuous period or in separate periods agreed with the employer. Full-time and part-time employees can access that unpaid entitlement only when they have no paid sick/carer's leave left.

A casual worker's award, enterprise agreement or contract may add a payment or another benefit, but that is not the general National Employment Standards position. Dociva's article on unpaid carer's leave explores how that minimum operates, and the guide for casual employees taking carer's leave focuses on casual eligibility.

Notice and Evidence Can Affect Payment

An eligible caring reason and accrued balance do not remove the employee's notice and evidence obligations. The employee must tell the employer about the leave as soon as practicable, which can be after the leave begins when earlier notice was not possible. They should also indicate the period, or expected period, of absence.

If asked, the employee must provide evidence that would satisfy a reasonable person that the leave was genuinely taken for an eligible caring reason. The official notice and evidence guidance says an employer can request evidence for one day or less. It also says the requested type of evidence must be reasonable in the circumstances.

A medical certificate and a statutory declaration are common examples; neither is automatically required in every workplace or for every absence. An award or registered agreement may contain more specific rules. If an employee does not provide evidence after a reasonable request, they may not be entitled to payment for that absence.

Employees can prepare by checking the policy before an emergency arises, notifying the correct manager promptly and keeping a copy of what they submit. Dociva's guide to evidence an employer can request for carer's leave addresses this issue without requiring unnecessary medical detail.

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Australian Workplace Examples

Unwell child: Mei is a permanent part-time employee whose child develops gastroenteritis overnight and needs supervision. Mei has enough accrued personal/carer's leave, gives notice before her shift and supplies reasonable evidence requested under the workplace policy. Her eligible ordinary hours can generally be paid from that balance.

Casual caring for a parent: Noah is a casual employee and takes a day away from a rostered shift to support his injured father. The circumstances meet the carer's leave criteria, but the National Employment Standards entitlement is unpaid. A more generous enterprise agreement would need to be checked separately.

No paid balance left: Ruby is full-time but has exhausted her paid personal/carer's leave. Her partner experiences a new illness and needs care. Ruby may be able to use unpaid carer's leave for that occasion, or ask whether annual leave or another agreed arrangement is available.

Small factual differences change the result. Employees should identify the qualifying relationship, caring need, timing and available balance.

A Practical Check Before Requesting Paid Carer's Leave

1. Confirm whether you are full-time, part-time or casual and check your current personal/carer's leave balance.
2. Identify whether the person is an immediate family member or household member.
3. Record whether care or support is needed because of illness, injury or an unexpected emergency.
4. Notify your employer as soon as practicable and state the expected length of the absence.
5. Check the award, agreement, contract and policy for any evidence or notification procedure.
6. Provide reasonable evidence promptly if requested, while avoiding unnecessary disclosure of diagnosis details.
7. Ask payroll how the hours will be recorded if the absence covers only part of a shift.
8. If the paid balance is exhausted, ask whether unpaid carer's leave or another agreed leave type applies.

Where an employer and employee disagree about payment or eligibility, they should first identify the exact rule being applied. HR, a union, an employer association, the Fair Work Ombudsman or an employment-law adviser may help with unresolved or high-stakes disputes.

More of Our Services

Using Dociva

Dociva can support an online clinical assessment when an employee needs evidence for a genuine caring absence and telehealth is appropriate. A request is assessed by an Australian registered medical practitioner; a certificate is not automatic or guaranteed.

A certificate can provide evidence about a caring need and relevant dates, but it does not decide whether leave is paid. The employer applies the employee's leave balance and workplace rules. Dociva does not provide backdated medical certificates, so seek assessment promptly when evidence may be needed.

You can review information about Dociva carer's leave certificates or start a medical certificate application. If the person receiving care has urgent symptoms, call 000 or seek urgent in-person care instead of delaying treatment for workplace paperwork.

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