Guide

Medical Certificate Rules in Australia: What Employers Can Ask For

The medical certificate rules Australia uses for sick and carer's leave come down to two steps: tell your employer, then give evidence if they ask.

5 min readMedically reviewedAustralia-wide

You must tell your employer you're taking sick or carer's leave as soon as possible, even after the leave starts. Your employer can ask for evidence, even for one day off. The evidence must convince a reasonable person the leave was genuine. A medical certificate or a statutory declaration can both work.

Notice First, Evidence Second

The Fair Work Ombudsman's page on notice and evidence sets out the order. You must let your employer know you're taking leave as soon as possible, and that can be after it has started.

You should also say how long you expect to be off. Evidence is a separate step, needed only when your employer requests it. A sick leave certificate is the most common kind.

The Sequence From Sick Morning to Payslip

Read in order, Fair Work's guidance gives a short chain of events.

You fall ill, or someone you care for does.
You tell your employer as soon as possible, with a rough idea of how long you'll be off.
Your employer may ask for evidence, even for a day or less.
You supply something that would convince a reasonable person, such as a certificate or a statutory declaration.
If it never arrives, the leave may go unpaid.

Evidence follows a request from your employer. Notice comes first, and it comes from you.

The Reasonable Person Test in Section 107

The source is section 107 of the 2009 Fair Work Act. Under it, your employer can ask for evidence of why you took the leave. That might be illness or injury, or caring for a family or household member.

The type of evidence isn't fixed, according to Fair Work. What counts is whether a reasonable person would accept that your time off was justified. Employers can ask for it even when you've been off for one day or less. Checking what a medical certificate looks like before you send yours helps you confirm the dates and doctor's details are there.

If you don't provide evidence when asked, you may not be paid for that leave.

How the Paid Leave Balance Builds

The National Employment Standards give employees other than casuals paid sick and carer's leave from one shared balance. Full-time staff get 10 days a year. Fair Work puts the amount at 1/26 of your ordinary hours in a year, so part-timers get a pro rata share.

The balance starts growing from your first day. It carries over from year to year. It keeps building during paid leave, jury duty and long service leave, but stops during unpaid leave. "Personal illness" is wider than a cold. According to Fair Work, it covers stress and pregnancy-related conditions as well as injury. Carer's leave is for an immediate family or household member who needs support.

When a Statutory Declaration Is Enough

Statutory declarations are named by Fair Work as an example of acceptable evidence, alongside medical certificates. Its example describes a worker who couldn't get a doctor's appointment and gave a statutory declaration instead, and was paid. Before choosing one, check where to get a medical certificate the same day, including from a telehealth GP.

A paper Commonwealth statutory declaration is signed in front of an authorised witness. You can also make a digital Commonwealth statutory declaration through myGov, using your Digital ID instead of a witness. Choosing between a medical certificate vs statutory declaration depends on your workplace and how quickly you can see a GP.

The digital route has its own conditions, set by the Attorney-General's Department. You need a myGov account with a Digital Identity of at least standard strength. The finished declaration carries an encrypted QR code, which can be scanned in the myGov app to check it hasn't been altered. The department also says myGov doesn't keep a copy, so save yours.

The Statutory Declarations Act 1959 applies to digital declarations too. Making one is a formal act, so only declare what is true.

How Awards and Agreements Change the Rules

Awards and registered agreements can set the timing and type of evidence. Whatever they require, Fair Work says the request must stay reasonable for the situation.

The guidance also says what Fair Work sees as unreasonable. In its view, an employer shouldn't come to your medical appointment unless you invite them. Nor should they contact your doctor for more details.

Rules for Casuals, Students and Carers

According to Fair Work's paid sick and carer's leave page, all employees except casuals get paid sick and carer's leave. Full-time employees get 10 days a year, and part-time employees get a pro rata amount.

Casuals, like all employees, can take 2 days of unpaid carer's leave each time it's needed. That applies when a family or household member is ill, injured or facing an unexpected emergency. Full-time and part-time employees use it once their paid leave runs out. For university assessments, students follow their university's own special consideration process instead.

If you need a certificate, the GP consults by phone first and decides when video is needed. The same applies to carer's consults. For anyone under 18, a parent or guardian joins the consult. That real-time consult sits behind every online medical certificate OMC Health issues.

A Worked Example: The Balance Runs Out

Say a full-time employee has used their paid leave and their child falls ill. They still need to stay home. Under Fair Work's rules, they can take unpaid carer's leave. It's 2 days each time it's needed, taken as 2 working days in a row or in smaller blocks if employer and employee agree. Fair Work also says an employer can't take negative action against an employee for taking this leave. If the employer asks for evidence, a carer's leave certificate can cover those days, if clinically appropriate.

A casual employee in the same spot has no paid balance to run out. The unpaid entitlement is the same.

Call 000 in an emergency. OMC Health does not provide emergency care.

General information only, not a substitute for personalised advice; speak with a qualified practitioner.

Frequently asked questions

Fair Work says there's no minimum or maximum amount of paid sick or carer's leave you can take at one time. The practical limit is the paid leave balance you've built up. Your payslip or HR system usually shows that balance, so check it before a longer absence.

It can. Fair Work says a registered agreement, award or contract can set out different entitlements. What it can't do is give you less than the National Employment Standards minimum. So read your own agreement, because it may offer more paid leave or different terms than the national baseline.

Only in some cases. Fair Work says pre-arranged appointments and elective surgery are covered by sick leave only if you can't work because of a personal illness or injury. A routine appointment while you're otherwise well generally isn't. Ask your employer what other leave might apply.

Sometimes. A GP can include yesterday if there's clinical justification, such as symptoms that clearly began earlier when you couldn't get care sooner. The certificate is dated the day it's issued, and the consult date appears on it. Whether earlier days are covered is the GP's clinical decision.

A certificate covers the dates written on it, including the first and last day. For ordinary sick leave, there's no fixed maximum period, because the doctor sets the duration based on your condition. Other types, such as WorkCover certificates, carry a review date. Needing longer than the dates shown usually means a follow-up consult.