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How Employers Verify a Telehealth GP Certificate, AHPRA Check and QR Code Guide
25 Sept 2026
Guide
Grief vs Compassionate Leave: What Is the Difference at Work?
They're two different entitlements. Here's how compassionate leave and a grief-related certificate differ, why grief doesn't follow a timeline, and when you might need both.
5 min readMedically reviewedAustralia-wide
Grief-related absence may fall under different leave categories depending on your circumstances. Compassionate leave can apply to specific family or household events under workplace law, while sick leave may be relevant if grief is causing symptoms that make you unfit for work. A doctor can assess health-related impairment, but your employer determines workplace leave entitlements.
Compassionate Leave vs Personal Leave: Which One Fits the Situation?
Compassionate leave generally covers a set number of days around a death or life-threatening illness in the family, regardless of your capacity to work. A sick leave certificate for grief instead certifies a period where grief is genuinely affecting your ability to attend or perform work, which can extend beyond typical compassionate leave.
Compassionate leave
Triggered by qualifying family/household circumstances under Fair Work. The person does not first have to prove they are medically unfit for work.
Personal leave due to grief-related incapacity
Relevant when the person's own symptoms are impairing capacity to work and medical evidence is requested.
Privacy
A certificate can confirm incapacity without describing the death or personal circumstances in detail.
Why Grief Doesn't Follow a Timeline
Grief often comes in waves rather than a steady decline; it's common to function reasonably for weeks, only to be hit hard around an anniversary, a birthday, or an unexpected reminder. Daily life during this time can include disrupted sleep, difficulty concentrating on routine tasks, and a reduced capacity for decisions that would normally feel simple. None of this is a sign that something is wrong with how you're grieving, and needing support months after a loss is just as legitimate as needing it in the first week.
Rebuilding a Working Routine After Loss
Grief affects concentration, energy, and decision-making in ways that often outlast the practical tasks that follow a death, funeral arrangements, notifying people, and paperwork. Many workplaces offer an Employee Assistance Program, flexible start times, or a graded return to full duties, and raising these options with a manager or HR doesn't require explaining what you're going through, only that you need some adjustment for a period. If you're having thoughts of harming yourself, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, or in an emergency call 000.
What Support Organisations Say About Grief and Time Away From Work
Grief doesn't resolve on a fixed timeline, and workplace policy is increasingly catching up. The Fair Work Ombudsman sets out compassionate and bereavement leave as a distinct, limited entitlement, while support organisations like Griefline note that grief reactions commonly resurface well after the initial bereavement period, around anniversaries or when practical demands ease and the loss fully sinks in. That's consistent with why this certificate is assessed against how you're doing now, rather than against a countdown from the date of the loss.
Support for Grief and Loss
For a broader look at taking time for grief, see grief and bereavement support. Griefline offers a free national grief and loss helpline, and the Fair Work Ombudsman explains compassionate leave entitlements.
Get Your Certificate Today
OMC Health provides real-time consultations with AHPRA-registered GPs, 7 days a week. If the GP determines a certificate is clinically appropriate, it's emailed the same day, from 9.99.
Frequently asked questions
They serve different purposes. Compassionate leave is a specific entitlement for bereavement, while a sick leave certificate covers assessed incapacity, which may extend beyond compassionate leave periods.
Yes. Grief commonly resurfaces around anniversaries or once practical demands ease, well after the initial bereavement period. This is a normal pattern, not a sign of complicated grief.
No. A medical certificate generally confirms that you were assessed and unfit for work for the certified period, without disclosing the specific diagnosis or reason. Employers can independently verify an OMC Health certificate through the certificate verification portal without accessing your private clinical information.
Refrences
● Griefline: free national grief and loss helpline and support resources.
● Fair Work Ombudsman: compassionate and bereavement leave entitlements.
