Personal & Sick Leave Calculator.
Work out your paid sick and carer’s leave balance under section 96 of the Fair Work Act 2009. Ten days a year full-time, pro-rata by hours if you are part-time, and whatever you do not use carries over.
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Here's your entitlement
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| Component | Formula | Value |
|---|---|---|
| NES entitlement | (38h × 52) ÷ 26 (s.96(1)) | 76.00 hrs/yr |
| Accrual rate | 76.00 ÷ 52 | 1.462 hrs/wk |
| Hours accrued | 1.462 × 52 wks | 76.21 hrs |
| Days equivalent | 76.21 ÷ 7.6h | 10.03 days |
Disclaimer: This tool does not constitute legal or financial advice. Results may be inaccurate due to changes in legislation or your circumstances. This tool does not constitute legal or financial advice. We do not recommend taking actions based solely on these results. The calculator makes assumptions and results may be inaccurate due to changes in legislation, modern awards, or your personal circumstances. You use this information at your own risk. We can't guarantee to be perfect, so do note you use the information at your own risk and we can't accept liability if things go wrong. For official guidance, visit Fair Work Ombudsman (fairwork.gov.au). Fair Work Ombudsman.
What you are entitled to
Section 96 of the Fair Work Act 2009 gives every permanent employee 10 days of paid personal/carer’s leave per year of service. It is one combined entitlement covering both your own illness or injury and caring for an immediate family or household member.
It accrues progressively as you work rather than arriving in full on day one, and it is cumulative: an unused balance carries forward indefinitely and keeps building.
Ten days does not mean ten days
This is the part that trips up part-time employees and payroll teams alike. In Mondelez Australia Pty Ltd v AMWU[2020] HCA 29, the High Court held that a “day” in section 96 is a notional day, being one tenth of an employee’s ordinary hours over a two-week period.
The formula. Annual entitlement = ordinary hours per week x 52 / 26. Which is the same as ordinary hours per week x 2.
The practical consequence: entitlement scales with hours, not with the number of days you attend. A part-timer working three 12-hour shifts a week does not get ten 12-hour days.
| Ordinary hours per week | Annual entitlement | Accrual per week |
|---|---|---|
| 38 hours | 76 hours | 1.46 hours |
| 40 hours | 80 hours | 1.54 hours |
| 30 hours | 60 hours | 1.15 hours |
| 25 hours | 50 hours | 0.96 hours |
| 20 hours | 40 hours | 0.77 hours |
| 15 hours | 30 hours | 0.58 hours |
Section 96 Fair Work Act 2009, as interpreted in Mondelez v AMWU [2020] HCA 29. Entitlement is 1/26 of annual ordinary hours.
Sick leave and carer’s leave are the same balance
There is no separate carer’s leave account. The same 10 days covers your own illness or injury and caring for an immediate family or household member who is ill, injured, or affected by an unexpected emergency.
Once the paid balance is exhausted, you can take 2 days of unpaid carer’s leave per occasion. That unpaid entitlement does not accumulate, and it is also available to casuals. See carer’s leave and personal leave vs sick leave for the distinctions.
It is not paid out when you leave
Unlike annual leave, unused personal leave is not paid out on termination under the NES. It lapses. A small number of enterprise agreements provide otherwise, but there is no statutory right to a payout. If you are working out your final pay, leave it out of the calculation.
Evidence your employer can ask for
Section 107 allows an employer to require evidence that would satisfy a reasonable person. A medical certificate or a statutory declaration both qualify.
There is no statutory two-day rule. An employer can require evidence for a single day’s absence if their policy says so and the request is reasonable in the circumstances. See sick leave evidence requirements.
Common mistakes
- Treating a “day” as a shift. It is 1/26 of annual ordinary hours, which matters most for long-shift part-timers.
- Expecting a payout on resignation. Personal leave is not paid out.
- Tracking sick and carer’s leave separately. One combined balance.
- Assuming casuals accrue it.They get 2 days unpaid carer’s leave per occasion instead.
- Believing evidence is only required after two days. No such rule exists in the Act.
Related calculators
- Personal leave explained, the full entitlement guide.
- Personal leave on a 38-hour week, the most common full-time pattern.
- Annual leave calculator and leave accrual calculator.
- Taking leave during probation.
- Do you accrue leave while on leave.
- Family and domestic violence leave, a separate 10-day entitlement.
Sick and carer's leave questions.
What employees ask when they need to take a day off.
How much sick leave am I entitled to in Australia?
How many hours is 10 days of sick leave?
Does sick leave carry over each year?
Is sick leave paid out when I resign?
Can I use sick leave to care for someone else?
Do casual employees get sick leave?
When can my employer ask for a medical certificate?
Do I accrue sick leave while on leave?
Where these figures come from.
The 10-day entitlement is set by section 96 of the Fair Work Act 2009, which also makes the leave cumulative. The 2 days of unpaid carer's leave per occasion come from section 102, and the evidence requirement from section 107.
The hours-based calculation follows Mondelez Australia Pty Ltd v AMWU [2020] HCA 29, in which the High Court held that a "day" for section 96 purposes is a notional day equal to one tenth of an employee's ordinary hours in a two-week period. Entitlement is therefore 1/26 of annual ordinary hours, which is why part-time entitlement scales with hours rather than with days attended.