How Much Sick Leave Do You Get?
The National Employment Standards (Fair Work Act s 96) give every full-time and part-time employee 10 days of paid personal/carer’s leave for each year of service. Because it is worked out on ordinary hours, not days, a part-time employee gets exactly the share of 10 days that their hours are of full-time. How you spread the hours doesn’t matter: 38 hours over four days earns the same 76 hours as 38 hours over five.
| Ordinary hours a week | Sick leave a year | Each fortnight |
|---|---|---|
| 7.6 hours | 15.2 hours | 0.58 hours |
| 15.2 hours | 30.4 hours | 1.17 hours |
| 19 hours | 38 hours | 1.46 hours |
| 22.8 hours | 45.6 hours | 1.75 hours |
| 30.4 hours | 60.8 hours | 2.34 hours |
| 38 hours | 76 hours | 2.92 hours |
1/26 of a year’s ordinary hours (52 weeks). The Fair Work Ombudsman’s own example: 38 hours a week earns 76 hours, 19 hours earns 38. Your award or agreement can give more.
Sick Leave vs Carer’s Leave vs Personal Leave
They are the same entitlement. “Personal/carer’s leave” is the legal name; you use it either as sick leave, when you can’t work because of your own illness or injury (including stress and pregnancy-related illness), or as carer’s leave, to care for or support a member of your immediate family or household who is sick, injured or has an unexpected emergency.
Immediate family means your spouse or former spouse, de facto partner or former de facto partner, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling, and the same relatives of your spouse or de facto partner. Anyone who lives in your household also counts.
When your paid balance runs out, you can take 2 days of unpaid carer’s leave each time a family or household member needs care. Casuals, who have no paid balance, can take the same unpaid carer’s leave on each occasion.
How Sick Leave Is Paid
A sick day is paid at your base pay rate for the ordinary hours you would have worked. The base rate leaves out incentive payments, bonuses, loadings, allowances, overtime and penalty rates. If you usually work overtime on Wednesdays and call in sick on a Wednesday, you are paid for your normal hours only (the Fair Work Ombudsman’s example). Your award or agreement may pay more.
On your payslip, sick leave often shows as its own line with a running balance in hours. Check that the balance grows each pay: on a 38-hour week it should rise by about 2.92 hours a fortnight. To see what a pay period nets after tax, use the take-home pay calculator.
Medical Certificates and Notice
You must tell your employer as soon as you can, which may be after the leave has started, and say how long you expect to be off. Your employer can ask for evidence for as little as 1 day or less off work. The evidence has to convince a reasonable person that you were genuinely entitled to the leave: a medical certificate or a statutory declaration are both examples. If you don’t give evidence when asked, you may not be paid for the leave. Your award or enterprise agreement can set specific rules.
When Sick Leave Does and Doesn’t Accrue
| You are on | Sick leave keeps accruing? |
|---|---|
| Paid annual leave, paid sick or carer's leave | Yes |
| Long service leave | Yes |
| Community service leave, including jury duty | Yes |
| Unpaid annual leave or unpaid sick or carer's leave | No |
| Unpaid parental leave | No |
| Unpaid family and domestic violence leave | No |
Fair Work Ombudsman, paid sick and carer’s leave, read 24 September 2026.
Is Sick Leave Paid Out When You Leave?
No. Unused sick and carer’s leave isn’t paid out when your employment ends, unlike unused annual leave, which is (see the leave payout calculator and final pay calculator). Cashing out during employment is also restricted: only the Timber Award (MA000071) and Stevedoring Award (MA000053) allow it among modern awards, or an enterprise agreement that says so, and only with a separate written agreement each time that leaves you at least 15 days of untaken leave.
Related Calculators and Guides
- Compassionate Leave: 2 days paid bereavement leave, separate from sick leave
- Annual Leave Guide: four weeks a year and how it accrues
- Leave Loading Calculator: the 17.5% on annual leave
- Long Service Leave Calculator: by state
- Casual Loading Calculator: what casuals get instead of leave
Frequently Asked Questions
Sick leave questions and answers
How much sick leave do you get in Australia?
Full-time employees get 10 days of paid sick and carer's leave a year under the National Employment Standards. Part-time employees get the same pro rata. It is calculated as 1/26 of your ordinary hours, so a 38-hour week earns 76 hours a year and a 19-hour week earns 38 hours.
Is carer's leave separate from sick leave?
No. Sick leave and carer's leave are one entitlement, called personal/carer's leave. Carer's leave to look after an immediate family or household member who is sick, injured or has an unexpected emergency comes out of the same balance as your own sick days.
Do casual employees get sick leave?
Not paid sick leave. All employees except casuals are entitled to paid sick and carer's leave. Casuals can take 2 days of unpaid carer's leave each time a family or household member needs care, and unpaid compassionate leave.
Does sick leave roll over each year?
Yes. Paid sick and carer's leave accumulates from your first day of work and any balance at the end of each year carries over to the next.
Is sick leave paid out when you leave a job?
No. The Fair Work Ombudsman says sick and carer's leave isn't paid out when employment ends, unlike annual leave. It can only be cashed out during employment under the Timber or Stevedoring award or an agreement that allows it, and you must keep at least 15 days.
How much are you paid for a sick day?
At least your base pay rate for the ordinary hours you would have worked that day. Penalty rates, loadings, allowances, bonuses and overtime are not included, so a sick day on a Sunday shift is paid at your base rate, not the Sunday rate.
Can my employer ask for a medical certificate for one day off?
Yes. An employer can ask for evidence for as little as 1 day or less off work. The evidence has to convince a reasonable person you were genuinely entitled to the leave, and a statutory declaration can be acceptable. Your award or agreement may set specific rules.
Does sick leave accrue while on annual leave or unpaid leave?
It keeps accruing while you are on paid leave, including annual leave, sick leave, long service leave and community service leave such as jury duty. It does not accrue during unpaid leave, such as unpaid parental leave or unpaid sick or carer's leave.
How we worked this out▼
Sick leave earned = ordinary hours a week × weeks of service × 1/26, which is the Fair Work Ombudsman’s method (10 days a year for full-time; 76 hours on a 38-hour week). Weeks of service = years × 52 + months × 52/12; leave out any time on unpaid leave. The balance is earned minus taken, valued at the base hourly rate you enter. Days are hours divided by your average day length.
This is the National Employment Standards minimum for national-system employees. Your award, enterprise agreement or contract can give more. General information, not advice.
Sources & References
- 1Paid sick and carer's leave— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 2Payment for sick and carer's leave— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 3Notice and medical certificates— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 4Unpaid carer's leave— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 5Cashing out sick and carer's leave— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 6Final pay— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 7Sick and carer's leave and compassionate leave fact sheet— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 8Fair Work Act 2009, sections 95–107— Federal Register of Legislation
Last verified: 24 September 2026. Our content is based on the latest information from official Australian government sources.
Anita Bell
AuthorFounder & Senior Bookkeeper
Accountancy degree (2015); certified in Xero, QuickBooks Online, MYOB, Saasu, Zoho and Reckon One
Anita Bell earned her accountancy degree in 2015 and has worked as a senior bookkeeper with Prime Bookkeeping for over 5 years. This built her skills in Australian and New Zealand tax legislation and industry regulations. She is certified in Xero, QuickBooks Online, MYOB, Saasu, Zoho and Reckon One, and works with payroll and rostering software including Gusto, Deputy, Tsheets and KeyPay. She has strong experience in hospitality, building and construction, financial services, real estate, ecommerce, and medical and health services.
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