Can My Employer Refuse Annual Leave? — Your Rights in Australia (2026)

Yes, but only on reasonable business grounds. Under the NES, all full-time and part-time employees are entitled to 4 weeks of paid annual leave per year. While you have the right to take this leave, your employer can refuse a specific request if there are genuine business reasons — for example, a critical project deadline, peak trading period, or too many staff already on leave at the same time.

However, the employer cannot unreasonably refuse leave requests indefinitely. If your employer repeatedly refuses your leave without good reason, this may breach the Fair Work Act.

There's no exhaustive list, but reasonable grounds for refusing annual leave include: (1) The requested dates fall during a known busy period (e.g., Christmas for retail). (2) Insufficient notice — most workplaces require at least 2-4 weeks notice for leave. (3) Other team members are already on leave and approving more would leave the team understaffed. (4) A critical deadline or project requires the employee's presence. An unreasonable refusal would be: refusing leave simply because the employer doesn't want to find cover, refusing leave year after year so the employee can never take a break, or refusing leave for discriminatory reasons (e.g., because the employee is going to a religious event).

Yes, in certain situations. Your employer can direct you to take annual leave if: (1) Your business has a temporary shutdown (e.g., Christmas closedown) — most awards allow this with at least 28 days' notice. (2) You've an excessive annual leave balance — generally 8 weeks or more (10 weeks for shift workers). In this case, your award may allow the employer to direct you to take leave to reduce the balance, as long as you keep at least 6 weeks in reserve.

The employer must give reasonable notice and can't direct you to take leave that would result in financial hardship.

Step 1: Ask your employer in writing for the reason for the refusal. Step 2: Propose alternative dates — this shows you're being flexible and reasonable. Step 3: Check your award or enterprise agreement for any specific leave approval processes.

Step 4: If the employer continues to refuse without good reason, contact the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94. They can intervene and facilitate a resolution.

Step 5: Keep records of all leave requests and refusals. If the refusal amounts to a pattern of adverse action (for example, refusing leave as punishment for making a complaint), you may have a general protections claim (check your payslip).