Few things are harder than losing someone close, or hearing that a family member has a life-threatening illness or injury. Australian workplace law recognises this through compassionate leave, also known as bereavement leave. It is one of the National Employment Standards, so it applies to every employee in the national system, including casuals. This guide explains what the leave covers, how the 2 days per occasion rule works, who counts as immediate family, how it is paid, how stillbirth and miscarriage are treated, and how it differs from carer's leave and paid family and domestic violence leave.
Key takeaways
- You get 2 days of compassionate (bereavement) leave for each permissible occasion, not a yearly cap.
- It applies when an immediate family or household member dies, or contracts or develops a life-threatening illness or injury.
- Full-time and part-time employees are paid at their base rate of pay; casuals take it unpaid.
- It also covers a stillbirth, and a miscarriage experienced by you or your current spouse or de facto partner.
- Source: Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) ss.104-106 and the Fair Work Ombudsman.
What compassionate leave is
Compassionate leave, also called bereavement leave or funeral leave, is a minimum entitlement guaranteed by the National Employment Standards. Every employee covered by the national workplace relations system has it, whether full-time, part-time or casual. The core rule is simple: you are entitled to 2 days each time a qualifying event happens, which the law calls a permissible occasion. Because it is a national minimum, an award or enterprise agreement can add to it but never take it away. Under the Fair Work Act 2009it is separate from annual leave and from sick and carer's leave, so using it does not eat into any other balance.
When you can take it: a death or a life-threatening illness or injury
Compassionate leave is not only for after a death. You can take it when an immediate family or household member is still alive but seriously unwell. Under the Act, a permissible occasion arises when a member of your immediate family or household:
- contracts or develops a personal illness that poses a serious threat to their life;
- sustains a personal injury that poses a serious threat to their life; or
- dies.
It also arises if a baby who would have been in your immediate family or household is stillborn, or if you or your current spouse or de facto partner has a miscarriage. So a life-threatening diagnosis for a parent, child or partner qualifies just as a death does, and each qualifying event is its own permissible occasion, which is why the leave is counted per occasion rather than per year.
Who counts as immediate family and household
Compassionate leave can only be used for someone in your immediate family or your household. Under the Fair Work Act your immediate family includes your:
- spouse or former spouse;
- de facto partner or former de facto partner;
- child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling; and
- a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling of your spouse or de facto partner (including a former spouse or partner).
Immediate family also takes in step-relations (such as a step-parent or step-child) and adoptive relations. A household member is anyone who lives with you, related or not, so a housemate who shares your home is covered. For relatives outside this list who do not live with you, such as cousins, aunts and uncles, you can still take the leave if your employer agrees. Our leave glossary explains immediate family, de facto partner and permissible occasion in plain English.
How many days: per occasion, not per year
The entitlement is 2 days per permissible occasion, with no annual limit on how many occasions you can claim. Compassionate leave does not accumulate from year to year and is not part of your sick and carer's leave pool, so an unused day cannot be banked or carried forward. You can take the leave in whichever way suits the situation:
| How you can take the 2 days | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| A single continuous block | Two days in a row, for example the day of and the day after a funeral |
| Two separate single days | One day now and one day later within the same occasion |
| Any other pattern you both agree | Separate periods, including part-days, as agreed with your employer |
Where the occasion is a life-threatening illness or injury, you can take the 2 days at any time while it persists. And if you are already on another leave type (for example annual leave) when a qualifying event happens, you can switch to compassionate leave instead.
How it is paid, and what casuals get
Full-time and part-time employees are paid for compassionate leave at their base rate of pay for the ordinary hours they would have worked during the leave. The base rate does not include incentive-based payments and bonuses, loadings, monetary allowances, overtime or penalty rates. Casual employees take compassionate leave unpaid, reflecting their casual loading. Compassionate leave cannot be cashed out, and it is not paid out if unused when your employment ends.
Stillbirth and miscarriage
The law makes clear that compassionate leave covers the loss of a pregnancy, and it is worded with care. You can take compassionate leave if a baby who would have been a member of your immediate family or household is stillborn, which the Fair Work Ombudsman describes as the birth of a baby of at least 400 grams or 20 weeks gestation who has not breathed or had a heartbeat since delivery. You can also take it if you, or your current spouse or de facto partner, has a miscarriage, the spontaneous loss of an embryo or foetus before 20 weeks of pregnancy. The miscarriage limb does not apply to a former spouse or former de facto partner, and where a miscarriage results in a stillborn child the stillbirth rules apply instead. Parents in this situation may also have rights to parental leave.
Notice and evidence
To be entitled to compassionate leave you must give your employer notice as soon as you can. Because these events are sudden, the law accepts that notice may be given after the leave has already started. You should say how much leave you are taking, and when. Your employer can ask for reasonable evidence of the reason, and a death or funeral notice or a statutory declaration will usually satisfy that request. If you do not provide evidence when it is properly asked for, you may not be entitled to the leave. These notice and evidence rules come from section 107 of the Fair Work Act and apply to paid and unpaid compassionate leave alike.
How it differs from carer's leave and paid family and domestic violence leave
Compassionate leave is easy to confuse with two other entitlements, but each has a different trigger and balance.
- Personal and carer's leavecovers when you are unwell yourself, or caring for a family or household member whose illness, injury or emergency is not life-threatening. It draws on an accruing 10-day yearly balance, unlike compassionate leave's fresh 2 days per occasion. See carer's leave and personal leave versus sick leave.
- Paid family and domestic violence leave is a separate 10 days per year for employees experiencing family or domestic violence, with its own privacy rules, and has nothing to do with bereavement. See family and domestic violence leave.
- Compassionate (bereavement) leave is triggered by a death, a life-threatening illness or injury, a stillbirth or a miscarriage, and gives 2 days each time without accruing.
Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) ss.12, 16, 104-106 and s 107. See the Fair Work Ombudsman, Compassionate and bereavement leave and the legislation.
Common questions
Is compassionate leave 2 days a year or 2 days each time?
It is 2 days for each permissible occasion, not a yearly allowance. Every qualifying event is a separate occasion with its own 2-day entitlement, so there is no annual cap.
Do casual employees get compassionate leave?
Yes. Casuals have the same entitlement to 2 days per occasion, but it is unpaid. Only full-time and part-time employees are paid, at their base rate for the ordinary hours they would have worked.
Can I take compassionate leave for a friend or a cousin?
Only if that person lives with you and so counts as a household member, or if your employer agrees. Cousins, aunts and uncles are not automatically immediate family.
Can my employer ask for proof?
Yes. An employer can ask for reasonable evidence, such as a death or funeral notice or a statutory declaration. If you do not provide it when properly asked, you may not get the leave. See our frequently asked questions for more on notice and evidence.
Does compassionate leave come out of my sick leave?
No. It is a standalone entitlement that does not accumulate and is not part of your sick and carer's leave balance, so taking it leaves your personal and carer's leave untouched.
Author & reviewer
Sarah has spent over a decade advising Australian SMBs on Fair Work, NES compliance, and payroll. Based in Sydney, she has worked across hospitality, retail and professional services.