Medical Certificate for Carer's Leave

When a family member or household member is ill and needs your care, you're entitled to take carer's leave. This comes from the same pool as your personal/sick leave under Australian workplace law.

Your Carer's Leave Entitlements

Under the Fair Work Act, full-time and part-time employees get 10 days of paid personal/carer's leave per year. You can use this leave to:

• Care for an immediate family member who is ill or injured
• Support a household member who is unwell
• Handle unexpected emergencies involving family members
• Take time during a family member's medical crisis

What Evidence You Need

Your employer can request evidence that you needed to take carer's leave. This typically means:

• A medical certificate for the person you're caring for
• Or a statutory declaration if a certificate isn't practical
• The certificate should indicate the person requires care
• It doesn't need to disclose their specific diagnosis

Getting the Right Certificate

For carer's leave, you need a certificate for the person who is ill — not yourself. The certificate should:

• Confirm the person has a medical condition
• Indicate they require care or support
• Cover the dates you took leave
• Be from a registered medical practitioner

If you can't reasonably get a certificate (for example, if the illness was very brief), a statutory declaration is an acceptable alternative.

Common Situations

Caring for a Sick Child

When your child is unwell and can't attend school or childcare, you can use carer's leave. For brief illnesses, many employers accept a simple notification. For longer absences, a certificate from the child's doctor may be requested.

Caring for an Elderly Parent

If your parent needs care due to illness, injury, or a medical appointment they can't attend alone, carer's leave applies. Their doctor can provide a certificate confirming they needed assistance.

Caring for a Partner

When your partner is ill and needs care — whether from surgery recovery, acute illness, or a flare-up of a chronic condition — you can take carer's leave to support them.

What If You Run Out of Leave?

If you've used all your paid personal leave, you may be able to take:

• Unpaid carer's leave (2 days per occasion)
• Annual leave, with your employer's agreement
• Leave without pay, if your employer approves
• Long service leave, if you're eligible and employer agrees