How Employers Should Manage Compassionate Leave in Australia

When a team member experiences a loss or a serious family health event, you want to support them while staying compliant with Australian employment law. That’s where compassionate leave (sometimes called bereavement leave) comes in.

In this guide, we’ll walk through how compassionate leave works in Australia, whether it’s paid or unpaid (including for casuals), how to handle evidence and privacy, and the simple steps to set up your contracts, policies and payroll so you’re covered.

Our aim is to help you create a fair, consistent process that looks after your people and keeps your business on the right side of the law.

What Is Compassionate Leave In Australia?

Under the National Employment Standards (NES), employees are entitled to compassionate leave when:

• a member of their immediate family or household dies; or
• a member of their immediate family or household develops a life‑threatening illness or sustains a life‑threatening injury; or
• the employee or their spouse/de facto partner has a miscarriage.

Immediate family includes a spouse or de facto partner, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling, as well as the equivalent family members of a spouse or de facto partner. A household member is anyone who lives with the employee.

Entitlement is two days of leave per “permissible occasion.” Those two days can be taken in one block, in two separate days, or part‑days by agreement.

This entitlement applies to national system employers across Australia (most private sector employers). Some employees in Western Australia may be covered by the state system-more on that below.

Is Compassionate Leave Paid?

Payment depends on the employee’s type of engagement:

• Full‑time and part‑time employees: Paid at the base rate for the ordinary hours they would have worked during the period of leave (no overtime, loadings or penalties).
• Casual employees: Unpaid, but the job is protected. Casuals can take two unpaid days per permissible occasion.

Two quick points to keep in mind:

• The entitlement is per occasion, not per year-if there are multiple qualifying events, the entitlement resets each time.
• Some modern awards or enterprise agreements provide more generous terms. Always check the instrument that applies to your business.

If you’re updating contracts to reflect NES entitlements, it’s a good idea to ensure your Employment Contract clearly references compassionate leave and how it’s paid.

How Does Compassionate Leave Work In Practice?

Here’s how to manage compassionate leave day‑to‑day in a small business.

1) How Employees Request Leave

Employees should let you know as soon as practicable that they need compassionate leave. This might be after they’ve already left work, depending on the circumstances. Encourage a quick call or email to a designated contact (e.g. HR or the manager).

2) Duration And Flexibility

Two days per occasion is the minimum entitlement. Many employers choose to offer additional paid or unpaid days as a discretionary benefit, particularly where travel is involved or arrangements are complex.

Employees can take the leave as:

• two consecutive days;
• two non‑consecutive days (e.g. one day for arrangements, one day for the funeral); or
• part‑days by agreement (useful when there are multiple appointments).

3) Interaction With Other Leave

Compassionate leave is separate from personal/carer’s leave. If an employee is unwell, personal/carer’s leave rules apply. For a refresher on how medical evidence works for illness and injury, see our guide to requesting medical certificates.

If an employee needs more time than the compassionate leave entitlement, they may request annual leave or unpaid leave. During a resignation or termination process, normal entitlements continue to apply-this includes leave access during notice periods. For related considerations, see managing notice periods.

4) Managing Rosters And Coverage

Keep rosters flexible where possible. It’s common to allow short‑notice changes so the employee can attend a funeral or urgent medical appointments. Avoid penalising the employee for short‑notice changes-compassionate leave exists for precisely these unexpected situations.

Note For Western Australia Employers

Most private sector WA employers are in the national system (NES). Some sole traders and partnerships operating solely in WA may fall under the state system. In WA’s state system, the Minimum Conditions of Employment Act provides two days’ bereavement leave per occasion for permanent employees (unpaid for casuals). In practice, the minimums align closely with the NES. If you’re unsure which system applies, get tailored advice before finalising your policy or payroll settings.

Evidence, Privacy And Managing Requests

Compassionate leave is often sensitive. Your approach should be compassionate, consistent and privacy‑aware.

Reasonable Evidence

You can request “reasonable evidence” to confirm the entitlement-for example, a death notice, funeral notice, or a medical document stating a life‑threatening illness or injury, or a miscarriage. Only ask for what you genuinely need to verify the leave; avoid collecting more information than necessary. Our article on when employers can request medical certificates explains this principle in more detail.

Privacy And Sensitive Information

Documents connected to a death, serious illness, or miscarriage can include health information, which is sensitive. Store it securely, restrict access to a need‑to‑know basis and set clear retention limits in your internal processes. If you collect personal information (including health information) about staff, your business should have a clear, accessible Privacy Policy explaining how you handle it.

Wellbeing And Mental Health

Bereavement and serious illness can have ongoing impacts. Touch base with the employee about any adjustments needed (temporary work changes, EAP referrals if you have one, etc.). Your duties under work health and safety and Fair Work extend to psychological safety and reasonable adjustments. You can read more about employer responsibilities in our overview of mental health obligations.

Consistency And Documentation

Handle similar requests consistently to avoid perceptions of unfairness. Keep a short, factual record of requests, approvals/declines, the dates taken and the type of evidence sighted. Limit those records to what’s necessary for compliance and payroll accuracy.

Practical Steps: Contracts, Policies And Payroll

A little preparation goes a long way. Here’s a simple checklist to get compassionate leave settings in place.

1) Bake The NES Into Your Contracts

Ensure your Employment Contract acknowledges the NES and sets out the basics of leave, including compassionate leave. Where you offer any additional benefit (for example, an extra paid day of bereavement leave), state this clearly.

2) Adopt A Clear Leave Policy

Codify the request process, evidence expectations, and privacy safeguards in a concise Workplace Policy. Include:

• who to notify and how (phone/email/SaaS HR system);
• timing expectations (as soon as practicable);
• whether part‑days can be taken by agreement;
• what “reasonable evidence” means in your business; and
• how sensitive documents will be handled and stored.

Make sure your policy aligns with any applicable award or enterprise agreement (and is never less generous than the NES minimum).

3) Configure Payroll And Timekeeping

Set up specific leave codes so you can track compassionate leave separately from personal/carer’s leave or annual leave. Confirm that paid compassionate leave for part‑timers is calculated at their base rate for their ordinary hours. For casuals, ensure the leave code records unpaid, job‑protected leave.

4) Train Managers

Give managers a short script and checklist to handle requests with empathy and consistency. Emphasise that evidence requests must be reasonable, and that privacy standards apply to any documents or discussions.

5) Plan For The Unexpected

Identify backup coverage for critical roles and keep a simple handover checklist for urgent tasks. This helps you approve leave quickly without operational chaos.

6) Connect Compassionate Leave With Your Broader People Framework

Compassionate leave often overlaps with other policies-personal/carer’s leave, flexible work and wellbeing initiatives. Make sure these documents speak to each other and don’t conflict. If you’re reviewing your leave settings generally, it can help to revisit how you handle illness and injury in parallel with compassionate leave. For context on illness entitlements and fit notes, see our guide to taking sick leave in Australia.

7) Know When To Get Advice

Questions often arise about evidence, award interactions, WA coverage, part‑day calculations or whether extra discretionary leave can be offered consistently. If you need tailored support, our employment lawyer team can help draft or update your policy, align your contracts and check payroll settings.

Key Takeaways

• Compassionate leave under the NES is two days per permissible occasion for death, life‑threatening illness/injury of an immediate family or household member, or miscarriage (employee or their spouse/de facto).
• Full‑time and part‑time employees get paid compassionate leave at the base rate for ordinary hours; casuals receive two unpaid days per occasion.
• Employees can take the leave in one block, separate days, or part‑days by agreement-be flexible and keep rosters adaptable.
• You can ask for reasonable evidence, but handle any health or bereavement information carefully and align practices with your Privacy Policy.
• Document your approach in an Employment Contract and a clear Workplace Policy, and configure payroll codes so paid/unpaid settings work correctly.
• Awards, enterprise agreements and WA’s state system may add detail-never go below the NES and check which industrial instrument applies to your team.

If you’d like a consultation to set up or review compassionate leave in your business, you can reach us at 1800 730 617 or team@sprintlaw.com.au for a free, no‑obligations chat.