You need a doctor's certificate for sick leave only if your employer asks for evidence, and a statutory declaration does the same job. A valid one is signed by a registered doctor after a live consult, in person, by phone or by video.
This guide is about the certificate itself: what the Fair Work Act means by a "medical certificate", why the Medical Board of Australia says an online form is not a consultation, what the certificate should contain, how backdating works, and the one rule that puts a 24-hour clock on it. For the broader question of what proof your employer can demand, including notes from other health practitioners, see sick leave evidence.
Key takeaways
- Section 107 asks for evidence "that would satisfy a reasonable person", and only if your employer requires it. A doctor's certificate and a statutory declaration are both examples. The Act names no document.
- Under s 12 a medical certificate is one signed by a registered medical practitioner. A pharmacist's or physio's note can still be evidence, but it is not a medical certificate in that sense.
- Phone and video consults are telehealth and are fine. The Medical Board says doctors issuing certificates from an online questionnaire, with no consultation, may be breaching professional standards.
- A doctor can certify days that have already passed if the certificate shows the date it was issued and the period you were unfit. The doctor can decline if unsure of the facts.
- A doctor's certificate or stat dec given within 24 hours of the absence starting is one of the ways to secure protection from dismissal under reg 3.01.
When you need a doctor's certificate (and when a stat dec will do)
Section 107, the evidence rule for sick leave, does not name any document. Three points decide whether you need a certificate.
- Only when asked. Evidence is due only "if required by the employer". Your employer can ask for it even when you are off for 1 day or less.
- Any evidence that would convince a reasonable person. The Fair Work Ombudsman calls medical certificates and statutory declarations "examples" and says there are "no strict rules" on the type. Its own example is an employee who could not get a doctor's appointment, gave a statutory declaration on her return, and was paid.
- No evidence, no entitlement. If your employer properly asks and you give nothing, you lose the entitlement to that leave under s 107(4).
Separately, you must notify your employer as soon as practicable (the Act allows this to happen after the leave begins) and give the period, or expected period, you will be off. A pre-booked appointment or elective surgery counts as sick leave only if you are unfit for work because of it. Stress and pregnancy-related illness can both be covered, so a certificate for either is evidence like any other. The state rules for stress claims are in stress leave in NSW, stress leave in Victoria and stress leave in QLD.
Notice "must be given to the employer as soon as practicable (which may be a time after the leave has started); and ... must advise the employer of the period, or expected period, of the leave." The employee "must, if required by the employer, give the employer evidence that would satisfy a reasonable person". "An employee is not entitled to take leave under this Division unless the employee complies with this section." AustLII consolidation, retrieved 7 October 2026.
Fair Work Ombudsman, Notice and medical certificates (updated 10 August 2026): "Employers can ask employees to provide evidence for as little as 1 day or less off work." "Medical certificates or statutory declarations are examples of acceptable forms of evidence." "Medical appointments and elective surgeries that are pre-arranged can only be covered by sick leave if an employee is not able to work because of a personal illness or injury." Paid sick and carer's leave (updated 10 August 2026): "This can include stress and pregnancy related illnesses." Both retrieved 7 October 2026.
What counts as a doctor's certificate in law
Section 12 of the Fair Work Act defines a medical certificate as "a certificate signed by a medical practitioner", and a medical practitioner as someone registered or licensed as one under a State or Territory law. Any registered doctor qualifies, wherever you saw them. Pharmacists, physiotherapists and other health professionals are not medical practitioners, so on the Act's own definition their notes are not medical certificates.
| Who signed it | A "medical certificate" under s 12? | Can it still be evidence for paid sick leave? |
|---|---|---|
| A GP you see in person | Yes | Yes |
| A hospital or emergency department doctor | Yes | Yes |
| A registered doctor on a live phone or video call | Yes | Yes |
| A pharmacist (an "absence from work" certificate) | No: a pharmacist is not a medical practitioner | Yes, if it would satisfy a reasonable person |
| A physiotherapist, dentist or psychologist | No: none of them is a medical practitioner | Yes, if it would satisfy a reasonable person |
For being paid, the difference rarely matters, because s 107 asks for convincing evidence rather than a medical certificate. It matters in two places: the 24-hour dismissal rule further down, which names a medical certificate or a statutory declaration, and an award or agreement that names the kind of evidence it wants.
"medical certificate means a certificate signed by a medical practitioner." "medical practitioner means a person registered, or licensed, as a medical practitioner under a law of a State or Territory that provides for the registration or licensing of medical practitioners." AustLII consolidation, retrieved 7 October 2026.
Online and telehealth certificates
Phone and video consults
The Medical Board of Australia's telehealth guidelines say telehealth "can include video, internet or telephone consultations", and that they "do not prevent or discourage one-off telehealth consultations". A certificate from a registered doctor after a live phone or video call is still signed by a medical practitioner, and neither s 12 nor s 107 requires you to be in the room.
Questionnaire-only "instant" certificates
Some services email a certificate minutes after you fill in a form, without a doctor ever speaking to you. The Board has said three times that this falls short. Its guidelines say care without a real-time consultation "is not good practice and is not supported by the Board". Its September 2023 announcement names issuing certificates in that list. Its July 2024 newsletter says writing a certificate "is a medical service" that "requires a real-time doctor patient consultation", and that doctors issuing them after a questionnaire alone "may be breaching professional standards".
That guidance is aimed at doctors. It does not declare such a certificate invalid as evidence. Your leave still turns on whether the evidence would satisfy a reasonable person, and a certificate produced from a form with no conversation is the kind an employer may question. Choose a service where a doctor talks with you live, by phone or video.
Telehealth consultations with patients (page reviewed 1 September 2023): "Prescribing or providing healthcare for a patient without a real-time direct consultation, whether in-person, via video or telephone, is not good practice and is not supported by the Board." Revised telehealth guidelines now in effect (1 September 2023): "Providing healthcare, including prescribing, issuing certificates and referring, via questionnaire-based asynchronous web-based tools in the absence of a real-time patient-doctor consultation is not good practice." Newsletter, July 2024: "Issuing a medical certificate is not just an administrative task. It requires medical judgement and is providing healthcare." All retrieved 7 October 2026.
What the certificate should say
The Medical Council of NSW, in an article published by the NSW Health Professional Councils Authority on 21 August 2017, lists what a certificate should contain:
- The name and address of the doctor who issued it
- Your name
- The date of the examination
- How far you are incapacitated (for example, unfit for your usual work)
- The date the doctor expects you to be able to return to work
- Who it is addressed to (the person or business asking for it)
- The date it was written and signed
A diagnosis is optional. The same article says the illness should not be described without your consent, while warning that a certificate with too little detail "may not be enough to attract sick leave". The Fair Work test is about the reason for the leave, being unfit for work through illness or injury, so a statement that you were unfit for work, with the dates, goes to the point that matters. The note to s 107 adds that personal information you give your employer may be regulated by the Privacy Act 1988, and the Fair Work Ombudsman's view is that an employer ringing your doctor for more detail is not reasonable.
The article also says an employer has "the ultimate right to accept or reject a certificate". Read that as a health regulator's general statement. For paid sick leave under the Fair Work Act, the legal test is still s 107(3): would the evidence satisfy a reasonable person?
Medical certificates: what you should know (published 21 August 2017): "the medical certificate must be based on facts known to the doctor, including the practitioner's own observations as well as information provided by the patient." "diagnosis or details of the illness should not be included in a medical certificate without a patient's consent." Fair Work Ombudsman, Notice and medical certificates: "We also don't consider it reasonable for an employer to contact the employee's doctor for further information." s 107 note: "Personal information given to an employer under this section may be regulated under the Privacy Act 1988." Retrieved 7 October 2026.
Backdated certificates
A doctor can write a certificate after you have already taken the time off. The NSW guidance sets two conditions: the certificate must show the date it was issued and the period the doctor believes you were unfit for work. A certificate dated as if you had been seen earlier would not meet them.
It is the doctor's call. A doctor may decline a retrospective certificate when not confident about the facts, and the Board's code of conduct requires doctors to sign only documents they believe are accurate. The practical lesson is to book the consult while you are still unwell. If a doctor will not cover a past day, a statutory declaration is the other route.
Medical Council of NSW, Medical certificates: what you should know: "Yes, a medical practitioner can issue a medical certificate after a patient has taken sick leave, providing the certificate states: the date the certificate was issued; the period during which the practitioner believes the patient would have been unfit for work." A practitioner "may decline to issue a certificate ... if a certificate is requested retrospectively and the practitioner is not confident about the facts of the matter". Medical Board of Australia code of conduct, quoted in its July 2024 newsletter: "being honest and not misleading when writing reports and certificates, and only signing documents you believe to be accurate". Retrieved 7 October 2026.
The 24-hour rule that protects your job
This is the one place the law gives a doctor's certificate a deadline. Section 352 stops your employer dismissing you for being temporarily away with an illness or injury of a kind the regulations prescribe. Regulation 3.01(2) says the illness is of that kind if you provide a medical certificate (the s 12 kind, as the regulation's own note says) or a statutory declaration within 24 hours after the absence starts, or within a longer period that is reasonable in the circumstances.
Two other routes exist: following the notify-and-substantiate terms of your award or agreement, or having given s 107 evidence for paid sick leave. On the regulation's wording, a pharmacist's note fits only those two, while a doctor's certificate or stat dec inside 24 hours fits the first route on its own. The regulation does not say whether the clock starts at your shift or when you call in, so count from the earlier. How long the protection lasts is covered in can you get fired for too many sick days.
"A prescribed kind of illness or injury exists if the employee provides a medical certificate for the illness or injury, or a statutory declaration about the illness or injury, within: (a) 24 hours after the commencement of the absence; or (b) such longer period as is reasonable in the circumstances. Note: The Act defines medical certificate in section 12." AustLII consolidation, retrieved 7 October 2026.
If your award asks for a medical certificate
Section 107(5) lets a modern award or enterprise agreement set the kind of evidence you must give to be paid. The Fair Work Ombudsman adds that an award or agreement can also say when evidence is needed, and that whatever is asked for "must always be reasonable in the circumstances". Read the personal leave clause in yours. If it names a medical certificate, a certificate from a registered doctor is the evidence that clearly meets it.
The rules are national for employees in the national system, so a doctor's certificate works the same way in NSW, Victoria and Queensland, with any extra terms coming from your award or agreement. Employees of non-national employers in Western Australia's state system have a similar test: the WA Government says reasonable evidence "may include a medical certificate, but is not necessarily limited to this".
Fair Work Act 2009 s 107(5): "A modern award or enterprise agreement may include terms relating to the kind of evidence that an employee must provide in order to be entitled to paid personal/carer's leave, unpaid carer's leave or compassionate leave." (AustLII.) Fair Work Ombudsman, Notice and medical certificates: "An award or registered agreement can specify when an employee has to give evidence to their employer and what type of evidence they have to give." WA Government, Personal leave (updated 3 September 2026). All retrieved 7 October 2026.
Worked example: one illness, two certificates
Hannah works full-time in Parramatta, 38 hours a week, 7.6 hours a day. She wakes with gastro and rings her manager at 6:30am on Monday 2 November 2026, before her shift. Counting from that call, the earlier of the two possible start points, her 24-hour window under reg 3.01(2) closes at 6:30am on Tuesday 3 November.
At 11:00am she has a video consult with a registered GP, who certifies her unfit for 2 and 3 November and dates the certificate 2 November. She emails it to her manager at 11:40am. On Wednesday she is still unwell and gets an in-person appointment on Thursday 5 November, where the GP certifies 4 to 6 November.
| Day | Evidence covering it | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 2 Nov | Certificate 1 (video consult, issued 2 Nov) | Emailed at 11:40am, 5 hours 10 minutes after she rang in |
| Tue 3 Nov | Certificate 1 | Inside the period the doctor certified |
| Wed 4 Nov | Certificate 2 (in person, issued 5 Nov) | A day before the issue date, so the certificate must show the issue date and the period of unfitness |
| Thu 5 Nov | Certificate 2 | The day of the consult |
| Fri 6 Nov | Certificate 2 | Inside the certified period |
| Total | 5 days, 38 hours of paid sick leave | |
Certificate 1 is a s 12 medical certificate from a telehealth consult and reached her employer well inside 24 hours. Certificate 2 covers one day before it was written, which the NSW guidance allows because it states the issue date and the period of unfitness. Had the GP not been confident about Wednesday and declined to cover it, a statutory declaration for that day would have been the fallback.
The sick leave calculator shows your yearly accrual, and accrued sick days works out the balance you have banked from your start date.
Doctor's certificate for sick leave: questions
Can I get a medical certificate without going to the doctor?
Yes, through a live phone or video consult with a registered doctor. Services that issue a certificate from a questionnaire alone go against Medical Board guidance. A statutory declaration is the other option if your employer asks for evidence.
Are medical certificates required for sick leave?
Only if your employer asks for evidence, and then any evidence that would satisfy a reasonable person will do. A doctor's certificate is one example, not the only one.
How do I get a doctor's certificate?
See a GP in person, or book a telehealth consult where the doctor speaks with you by phone or video. Ask for the certificate during the consult, and check it shows the doctor's details, the examination date and the dates you are unfit.
Can a pharmacist write a medical certificate?
A pharmacist can give you an absence-from-work certificate, but a pharmacist is not a medical practitioner, so it is not a medical certificate as s 12 defines it. It can still count as evidence for paid sick leave if it would satisfy a reasonable person. Notes from other practitioners are covered in sick leave evidence.
Can a doctor backdate a medical certificate?
A doctor can certify a period that has already passed, provided the certificate shows the date it was issued and the period the doctor believes you were unfit. The doctor can refuse if not confident about the facts.
Is an online medical certificate valid?
Yes, if a registered doctor signed it after a real-time consult by phone or video. A certificate produced from a form with no consult may breach the Board's standards for doctors and is more likely to be questioned.
Does my certificate have to say what is wrong with me?
No. A diagnosis should appear only with your consent. The test for paid sick leave is that you were unfit for work because of illness or injury, which the certificate can state without naming the condition.
Do I need a medical certificate for one day off?
Only if your employer asks. It can ask for evidence for as little as 1 day or less, and a statutory declaration can do instead of a certificate. Your award or agreement may say when evidence is needed.
Is a doctor's certificate different in NSW, Victoria or Queensland?
No. The Fair Work rules apply nationally to national-system employees, and any extra evidence terms come from your award or agreement. WA state-system employees have their own, similar rule.
Can my employer call my doctor?
Not to ask for more information. The Fair Work Ombudsman's position is that an employer contacting your doctor for further information is unreasonable.
Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) s 12 and s 107; Fair Work Regulations 2009 reg 3.01 (AustLII consolidations). Fair Work Ombudsman: Notice and medical certificates; Paid sick and carer's leave. Medical Board of Australia: Telehealth consultations with patients; Revised telehealth guidelines now in effect; Newsletter, July 2024. Medical Council of NSW, Medical certificates: what you should know (2017). WA Government, Personal leave.
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.