Sick note vs medical certificate vs carer’s certificate: what’s the difference?

Three names, two documents

	Medical certificate (“sick note”)	Carer’s certificate
What it confirms	You were unfit for work or study	You needed to care for or support someone
Who it’s about	You	An immediate family or household member
Leave it supports	Sick leave, study absences	Carer’s leave
Shows a diagnosis?	No, a general reason only	No
Issued by	A registered health practitioner	A registered health practitioner

Sick notes

“Sick note” isn’t an official term in Australia. People use it, along with “doctor’s note” and “doctor’s certificate”, to mean a medical certificate. If your manager or school asks for a sick note, a medical certificate is what they almost always mean.

Medical certificates

A medical certificate is written by a registered health practitioner after assessing you. It usually includes:

• your name and the date it was issued
• the dates you were, or will be, unfit for work or study
• a general reason, without private medical details
• the practitioner’s name and registration details

Some practitioners title the document differently. At Click Clinic, for example, a certificate issued by a nurse practitioner is titled an absence certificate. If your employer or education provider requires a certificate from a doctor specifically, check with them first.

You can check a practitioner’s registration on the public Ahpra register.

Carer’s certificates

A carer’s certificate supports carer’s leave. That’s leave to care for or support a member of your immediate family or household who is sick, injured or has an unexpected emergency.

Immediate family includes your spouse or de facto partner (current or former), child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling, and those relatives of your spouse or partner, including step and adoptive relations. A household member is anyone who lives with you.

Which one do you need?

• You were sick: a medical certificate.
• You were looking after someone who was sick: a carer’s certificate.
• You missed an exam or deadline: a medical certificate, but check whether your institution needs its own form.

Your employer can ask for evidence for as little as one day off work. It must convince a reasonable person that you genuinely needed the leave. A statutory declaration can also count, unless your award or registered agreement requires a particular type of evidence.

Getting one online

Click Clinic practitioners can assess requests for medical certificates for work, study and carer’s leave. A certificate is issued only when it’s clinically appropriate, and it isn’t backdated.