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

No, not if you're entitled to it and you've met the notice and evidence rules. Paid sick and carer's leave (personal/carer's leave) is part of the National Employment Standards. Full-time employees get 10 days a year and part-time employees get a pro-rata amount (Fair Work Act s 96). Unlike annual leave, sick leave isn't something your employer approves or schedules. If you're not fit for work because of a personal illness or injury, you can take it (s 97), and it's paid at your base rate for the ordinary hours you would have worked (s 99).

What your employer can do is insist you follow the rules in s 107:

• Notice: tell your employer you're taking leave as soon as practicable (this can be after the leave has started), and how long you expect to be away.
• Evidence: if asked, give evidence that would satisfy a reasonable person that you were unfit for work. A medical certificate or a statutory declaration usually does it.

If you don't give the notice or the evidence your employer asked for, you're not entitled to be paid for the leave (s 107(4)). That's the main way a "refusal" can be lawful. Refusing paid sick leave to someone who has the balance and has followed s 107 is a breach of the National Employment Standards, which is a civil penalty provision (s 44). Source: Fair Work Act 2009; Fair Work Ombudsman, Sick and carer's leave.

Yes. The Fair Work Act doesn't set a minimum number of days before evidence can be requested, so an employer can ask for evidence even for a single day off. Some awards and enterprise agreements add their own rules, so check yours. The evidence has to satisfy a "reasonable person". It doesn't have to state your diagnosis, and your employer isn't entitled to your medical details just because you took sick leave.

The Fair Work Ombudsman's notice and medical certificates page lists what generally counts. For more on single-day certificates see our guide to medical certificates for one day off.

Situation	Paid sick leave?	Why
You have a balance, gave notice and evidence (if asked)	Yes. It can't be refused	FW Act ss 96, 97, 99, 107
You didn't give evidence after being asked	No	s 107(4)
Your balance has run out	No. Unpaid leave, or annual leave by agreement	s 96 sets the yearly amount
You're a casual	No paid sick leave. 2 days' unpaid carer's leave per occasion	NES; casuals are paid a loading instead
You're not actually unfit for work	No	s 97 covers illness or injury that makes you unfit

Running out of paid leave doesn't mean you can be sacked for being sick. See the next section.

The Fair Work Act protects you in two ways:

• Workplace right (s 340). Taking leave you're entitled to is a workplace right. Your employer can't take adverse action against you because you exercised it. That includes cutting shifts, demoting you or issuing a warning for it.
• Temporary absence (s 352). Your employer can't dismiss you because you're temporarily absent due to illness or injury. The Fair Work Regulations 2009 (reg 3.01) set when an absence stops being "temporary": broadly, unpaid absences of more than 3 months in total over a 12-month period. They also set evidence requirements you need to meet to rely on the protection.

Your employer can still manage genuine attendance problems: talking with you about a pattern of absences, asking for evidence each time, or seeking medical information about your ability to do the job. What it can't do is penalise you for using an entitlement you're owed. If you're dismissed, the deadline to lodge a general protections or unfair dismissal application with the Fair Work Commission is 21 days from the dismissal. More: fired for being sick and the general protections checker.

1. Put it in writing. Email your manager: the dates, that you were unfit for work, and the evidence you've given or offered.
2. Check your balance. It should appear on your payslip. The sick leave calculator shows what you should have accrued.
3. Check the next pay. If the leave isn't paid, that's an underpayment. Ask payroll to correct it, citing s 96 and s 107.
4. Escalate. If it isn't fixed, the Fair Work Ombudsman can help with unpaid entitlements. Small claims for unpaid amounts can go to the Federal Circuit and Family Court or a state court.

For employers: you can require notice and evidence, and you can apply a reasonable policy consistently. You can't refuse paid leave that has been properly evidenced, deduct it from pay, or treat taking it as misconduct.