Compassionate leave in Australia: who it covers, how many days, and what evidence you need

Compassionate leave, also called bereavement leave, gives you time away from work when someone close to you dies or has a life-threatening illness or injury, or after a pregnancy loss. If you’re reading this because of a loss or a serious diagnosis, we’re sorry. This guide sets out the minimum rules under the National Employment Standards so you can focus on what matters to you.

When can you take compassionate leave?

The Fair Work Ombudsman says you can take compassionate leave if:

• a member of your immediate family or household dies
• a member of your immediate family or household contracts or develops a life-threatening illness or injury
• a baby in your immediate family or household is stillborn
• you have a miscarriage, or
• your current spouse or de facto partner has a miscarriage.

For these rules, a stillbirth is when a baby weighed at least 400 grams or reached at least 20 weeks’ gestation but hasn’t breathed or had a heartbeat since delivery. A miscarriage is the spontaneous loss of an embryo or foetus before 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Compassionate leave isn’t only for a death. It also applies when an immediate family or household member contracts or develops a life-threatening illness or injury.

Who counts as immediate family or household?

Immediate family means your:

• spouse or former spouse
• de facto partner or former de facto partner
• child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling
• spouse’s or de facto partner’s immediate family, including a former spouse’s or de facto partner’s.

Step and adoptive relationships are included.

Members of your household are also covered. Other relatives, such as cousins, aunts and uncles, aren’t part of the immediate family definition. You can still take compassionate leave for them if they live with you, or if your employer agrees.

How many days of compassionate leave do you get?

You get 2 days of compassionate leave each time you meet the criteria. You can take it:

• as one continuous 2-day period
• as 2 separate days, or
• in any other separate periods you agree with your employer.

Compassionate leave doesn’t accumulate, so it doesn’t build up as a balance over time. Instead, the 2 days apply each time a qualifying situation happens, and you can take it whenever you need it.

It’s also not part of your sick and carer’s leave. Taking compassionate leave doesn’t reduce your sick and carer’s leave balance. If you also need time to care for a family or household member who is unwell, our guide to carer’s leave in Australia explains that separate entitlement.

What if you’re already on annual leave?

If you’re on another type of leave, such as annual leave, and you need to take compassionate leave, you can use compassionate leave instead of the other leave. For a related situation, see our guide to being sick on annual leave.

Is compassionate leave paid?

That depends on how you’re employed.

	Full-time and part-time	Casual
Entitlement	2 days each time	2 days each time
Paid or unpaid	Paid at your base pay rate	Unpaid
Builds up over time	No	No
Can be cashed out	No	No

Paid compassionate leave covers the ordinary hours you would have worked during the leave, at your base pay rate. The base rate doesn’t include incentive-based payments, bonuses, loadings, monetary allowances, overtime or penalty rates. Compassionate leave can’t be cashed out.

If you’re casual, our guide to sick and carer’s leave for casual and part-time workers covers your other leave rights.

Do you need to tell your employer?

Yes. Let your employer know as soon as you can. That can be after the leave has started, which matters when something happens without warning. Tell them how much leave you’re taking, or expect to take, and when.

What evidence can your employer ask for?

Your employer can ask for evidence of the reason you took compassionate leave, but the request has to be reasonable. The Fair Work Ombudsman gives these examples:

• a death notice or funeral notice
• a statutory declaration.

The Fair Work Ombudsman’s examples don’t include a medical certificate.

For a life-threatening illness or injury of a family or household member, the Fair Work Ombudsman doesn’t list a specific document. The test is still whether the request is reasonable. A statutory declaration is one of the general examples it gives. Our guide to using a statutory declaration for leave explains how they work.

If you don’t give the notice or evidence your employer reasonably asks for, you may not get compassionate leave. If you’re unsure what to provide, it’s fine to ask your employer what they need.

Can your award or agreement give you more?

Yes. The 2 days are a minimum. Awards, enterprise agreements and other registered agreements can provide additional compassionate leave. Check your award, agreement, contract and any workplace leave policy.

If you’re unsure what applies to you, the Fair Work Infoline can help on 13 13 94.

This is general information, not legal advice about your situation.