Guide
How Employers Verify a Telehealth GP Certificate, AHPRA Check and QR Code Guide
25 Sept 2026
CARER'S LEAVE
Carer's Leave Certificate for Sick Child
A carer's leave certificate for a sick child confirms you needed to care for or support your child because they were unwell. The consultation is conducted via video with an AHPRA-registered GP, who can issue the certificate naming you as the carer.
- Real-time consultation with an AHPRA-registered GP
- Certificate names you as the carer, not your child's diagnosis
- Covers a single day or multiple days of care
- Accepted by employers Australia-wide
- Same-day delivery if approved
Certificate emailed the same day, if approved
From $9.99
- One-off payment
- Full refund if declined
- Same-day delivery if approved
AHPRA-registered GPs
Same-day delivery if approved
100% secure & private
Full refund if declined
Accepted across Australia
Caring for Your Child, Covered
A carer's leave certificate request for a sick child is assessed in real time by an AHPRA-registered GP. The assessment focuses on whether you need to provide care or support for the relevant period and whether the available clinical information supports that need.
When your child is unwell, your employer may ask for reasonable evidence supporting the time you need away from work to care for them, even though you are not the person who is ill.
The certificate documents the assessed caring responsibility and period rather than becoming a detailed treatment record about your child's condition.
Key Facts
What it supports
Your assessed need to provide care or support during the certified period.
Consult mode
The parent or guardian participates in a real-time consultation. Video may be required when the GP needs to observe the child.
The GP decides whether the caring need and requested period can reasonably be supported after assessment.
Child illness
When Parents Need a Carer's Leave Certificate for a Child
A carer's leave consultation is not simply a certificate for the child. The GP is assessing whether the employee needs to provide care or support for the relevant period and whether the available clinical information supports that need.
The child may need to be observed on video or assessed separately if the GP cannot safely understand the condition from the history alone. This can be especially important where age, symptoms, worsening illness or safety concerns make further assessment necessary.
Immediate family
How Children Fit the Immediate Family Definition
A child is included in Fair Work's definition of immediate family. The caring-leave question then depends on whether care or support is needed because of illness, injury or an unexpected emergency.
Household membership is a separate pathway that can also be relevant for someone who is not otherwise an immediate family member.
How to Get Started
We operate as a platform that connects you with trusted Australian medical practices.
1
Book Your Certificate
Select the carer's leave certificate on the OMC Health booking page and tell us a bit about your situation.
2
Consult with an AHPRA-Registered GP
We connect you with an available AHPRA-registered GP from one of our partner practices for a real-time phone consultation.
3
Receive Your Certificate If Approved
If the GP determines it's clinically appropriate, your certificate is digitally issued and emailed the same day.
Ready to get started?
Book a real-time consult with an AHPRA-registered GP. From 9.99.
GP assessment
What the GP Is Assessing When Your Child Is Unwell
The GP considers what is happening with your child, why care or support is needed, how that caring responsibility affects your ability to attend work and the period for which the need can reasonably be supported.
The parent or guardian participates in a real-time consultation. The GP may require video so the child can be observed when clinically necessary, particularly where age, symptoms or safety concerns make visual assessment important.
If remote assessment does not provide enough information for a safe clinical decision, the GP may recommend separate or in-person assessment of the child instead of treating certificate issuance as the priority.
For current Australian telehealth expectations, see AHPRA's updated telehealth guidance.
Certificate details
What Your OMC Health Carer's Certificate Records
OMC Health's standard carer's certificate can document the employee or carer, the assessed caring period and the issuing practitioner's details without routinely including the child's diagnosis or detailed clinical history.
A workplace may have its own reasonable evidence requirements, so the certificate should be considered in the context of the relevant absence and workplace arrangements.
Fair Work explains that employers can ask for evidence that would satisfy a reasonable person that the employee was entitled to take the leave.
Fair Work guidance on notice and evidenceSchool and childcare
School and Childcare Exclusion Is a Separate Decision
The child's school or childcare exclusion period and the parent's carer's leave evidence are related but separate decisions. The GP assesses the caring need; current health or education guidance determines any return-to-school or childcare exclusion period.
A carer's certificate is workplace evidence for the employee. If a school or childcare service requires a separate clearance document or follows a specific exclusion rule, that should be handled according to the relevant health or education requirements.
For a condition-specific example, see how long a child may need to stay home from school with chickenpox.
Healthdirect health informationShared care
What if Both Parents Need Time Away From Work?
Each employee's leave entitlement and evidence requirements are considered separately. The fact that the same child is unwell does not automatically mean both parents require or qualify for leave for the same period.
If both parents genuinely need time away from work, each should consider their own caring circumstances, leave balance and workplace evidence requirements.
Certificate duration
How the Caring Period Is Assessed
The GP's certificate period and the employee's statutory leave balance answer different questions. The GP assesses the period for which care or support can reasonably be supported from the clinical circumstances.
A one-day, two-day or longer caring period should not be treated as a fixed legal entitlement. If the caring need continues beyond the certified period, a further assessment may be appropriate.
For the distinction between certificate duration and leave entitlement, see how long carer's leave can last.
Fair Work entitlement
Paid and Unpaid Leave Depends on Employment Type
Full-time employees accrue 10 days of paid personal/carer's leave each year. Part-time employees accrue paid personal/carer's leave on a pro-rata basis, and casual employees do not receive paid personal/carer's leave under the National Employment Standards.
Unpaid carer's leave can apply in qualifying circumstances. The amount of paid leave available to an individual employee also depends on their accumulated balance.
Parent or guardian consultation
Your Role During the Child-Related Consultation
The parent or guardian participates in the real-time consultation and provides the history needed to understand the caring situation. Depending on the child's age and presentation, the GP may also need to speak with or observe the child.
The purpose is to establish whether care or support is required and for what period. If the child's presentation needs a different level of clinical assessment, the GP may recommend video, separate assessment or in-person care.
Certificate Verification
Once an OMC Health carer's certificate is issued, its certificate ID or QR verification details can be used to check authenticity.
Verify a certificate →PRICING
Simple, transparent pricing
One-off payment. No hidden fees. If the GP declines, you get a full refund.
FROM$9.99
One-off payment. All prices include GST.
View full pricing details- AHPRA reviewed by a registered GP
- Delivered on the same day if approved
- Secure and confidential
- Full refund if GP declines
- No hidden fees
Secure payment
Same-day delivery
Frequently asked questions
View all FAQsYes. Each parent can access their own carer's leave entitlement independently through their employer, since the leave belongs to each employee rather than being shared or split between two working parents caring for the same child.
This draws on the same 10-day combined personal and carer's leave balance most full-time employees have each year, shared with any sick days you've used yourself. A single episode usually lasts a day or two; an ongoing illness can be recertified as needed.
No. The certificate is written from your perspective as the carer, confirming you needed to provide care during the stated period, without needing to detail your child's specific diagnosis unless you want that included.
Potentially, if the grandparent is genuinely part of the child's immediate family or household under the Fair Work Act's broad definition, and their own employer's leave policy applies in the same way as for a parent.
A carer's leave certificate for a sick child confirms you needed to care for or support your child because they were unwell. The consultation is conducted via video with an AHPRA-registered GP, who can issue the certificate naming you as the carer without needing to examine your child directly.