Sick Leave WA: Sick Pay, Medical Certificates & Stat Decs

Published: 3 November 2026

Full-time employees in WA get 10 days of paid sick and carer's leave a year (76 hours on a 38-hour week). Part-timers get the same pro rata, it builds up as you work, and unused days carry over. Casuals get no paid sick leave. Your employer can ask for evidence for even a single day off, and a medical certificate or a statutory declaration can both do the job.

Last fact-checked: 3 November 2026, against Fair Work Ombudsman and WA Government (Wageline) guidance. Pay rates, rules and job numbers change; follow the linked source before you act.

How much sick leave do you get in WA?

Ten days a year for a full-time employee, pro rata for part-time. The exact amount depends on your ordinary hours, not on how many days you work. Someone working 38 hours over four days earns the same 76 hours as someone working 38 hours over five.

WA has two systems of employment law. Most employees of Pty Ltd companies are in the national system under the Fair Work Act 2009. Employees of sole traders, partnerships and trusts with no company involved, household employers, some not-for-profits, local governments and most WA public sector agencies are in the WA state system under the Minimum Conditions of Employment Act 1993. Our WA minimum wage guide explains how to tell which applies to you.

For sick leave the two systems land in the same place. National: 1/26 of your ordinary hours each year. State: the hours you ordinarily work in a 2-week period, capped at 76. The differences show up in casual entitlements and bereavement leave.

Sick, carer's and other personal leave in WA: national vs state system
Leave	National system (Fair Work Act / NES)	WA state system
Paid sick and carer's leave	10 days a year full-time (76 hours on 38 hours a week), pro rata part-time. Casuals: none	2 weeks of ordinary hours a year, up to 76 hours. Casuals: none
Unpaid carer's leave	2 days per occasion. Casuals, or permanents who've run out of paid leave	2 days per occasion. Casuals, or permanents who've run out of paid leave
Compassionate / bereavement	2 days per occasion: death or life-threatening illness of family or household, stillbirth or miscarriage. Paid for full-time and part-time, unpaid for casuals	Up to 2 days paid on the death of a family or household member, including casuals
Family and domestic violence	10 days paid a year for everyone, including casuals	10 days paid a year under the NES (since 9 September 2024), plus 5 days unpaid under the WA Act
Unused sick leave	Carries over. Not paid out when you leave	Carries over. No minimum right to a payout when you leave

How does sick leave accrue for part-time workers?

Sick leave builds up gradually from your first day, based on your ordinary hours. Multiply your weekly ordinary hours by 2 and you have your yearly entitlement. A full-timer earns about 1.46 hours for each week worked.

Sick and carer's leave by weekly hours (Jobs In Perth calculation at 10 days a year for 38 hours)
Ordinary hours a week	Paid sick/carer's leave a year	Earned per week worked
7.6 hours	15.2 hours	0.29 hours
15.2 hours	30.4 hours	0.58 hours
20 hours	40 hours	0.77 hours
22.8 hours	45.6 hours	0.88 hours
30.4 hours	60.8 hours	1.17 hours
38 hours	76 hours	1.46 hours

Worked example. Mia works three 7.6-hour days a week, so 22.8 ordinary hours. Each year she earns 22.8 × 52 ÷ 26 = 45.6 hours of sick and carer's leave, which is 6 of her working days. After 3 years she has earned 136.8 hours. She's used 10 hours, so her balance is 126.8 hours, or about 16 days.

In the national system, sick leave keeps accruing while you're on paid leave, such as annual leave, long service leave and community service leave. It doesn't accrue during unpaid leave or unpaid parental leave. Our guide to part-time employment explains how ordinary hours are set.

Is sick leave paid at your normal rate?

In the national system, sick leave is paid at your base pay rate for the ordinary hours you would have worked. Overtime, penalty rates, loadings, allowances and bonuses aren't included. In the WA state system, Wageline says you're paid your current rate of pay.

Worked example. Jake is a full-time retail worker in the national system with a base rate of $30.00 an hour. He's rostered for 7.6 ordinary hours on a Saturday, a shift that normally attracts a weekend penalty rate. He calls in sick. He's paid 7.6 × $30.00 = $228.00 from his sick leave balance, without the penalty rate. See our guide to weekend penalty rates in Perth for what he'd have earned working.

If a public holiday falls on a normal work day while you're on paid sick leave, you're paid for the public holiday and it isn't taken from your balance. That's been the rule in the WA state system since 31 January 2025, and it applies in the national system too.

Do casuals get sick leave?

No paid sick leave. Casuals are paid a casual loading instead, which is 25% for award-free casuals in both systems. Casuals can still take unpaid time off when sick, and they get:

2 days of unpaid carer's leave per occasion to care for a sick or injured family or household member, or in an unexpected emergency
2 days of compassionate leave per occasion: unpaid in the national system, paid bereavement leave in the WA state system
10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave a year

Considering a switch to permanent work for paid leave? Our casual vs part-time guide compares the two, or browse part-time jobs in Perth.

Do you need a medical certificate for sick leave?

Only if your employer asks for evidence. You must tell your employer you're taking sick or carer's leave as soon as possible, which can be after the leave has started, and say how long you expect to be off.

Your employer can ask for evidence for as little as 1 day or less. If you don't provide it when asked, you may not be paid for the leave. The evidence must be enough to convince a reasonable person that you were genuinely entitled to the leave. Your award or agreement can set out when evidence is required and what type.

A medical certificate is the most common evidence, but it isn't the only kind. In the WA state system, Wageline gives examples like coming to work with a cast on your arm, or your employer sending you home because you looked ill. The Fair Work Ombudsman considers it unreasonable for an employer to go to your medical appointment unless you ask, or to contact your doctor for more information.

Can you use a statutory declaration for sick leave?

Yes. The Fair Work Ombudsman lists statutory declarations alongside medical certificates as acceptable evidence. Its own example is a worker who couldn't get a doctor's appointment on a Monday, gave a statutory declaration instead, and was paid.

A Commonwealth statutory declaration can be made in 3 ways:

online through myGov using your Digital ID, with no witness needed
on the approved form, signed in front of an approved witness in person
on the approved form, signed while an approved witness watches by video link

State statutory declarations have different requirements. If your employer has a policy on which form it accepts, follow it. Making a false statement in a statutory declaration is an offence.

Who can you take carer's leave for?

An immediate family member or anyone who lives with you. In the national system, immediate family is your spouse or former spouse, de facto partner or former de facto partner, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling, and those relatives of your spouse or partner. Step and adoptive relations count. The WA state system's list is similar but doesn't include former spouses or former de facto partners.

An unexpected emergency doesn't have to be an illness. Picking up a child from school at short notice can qualify, depending on the circumstances.

How much compassionate or bereavement leave do you get?

Two days each time it's needed, in both systems. It's separate from your sick leave balance and doesn't accumulate.

National system: 2 days of compassionate leave when a member of your immediate family or household dies or develops a life-threatening illness or injury, when a baby in your immediate family or household is stillborn, or when you or your current spouse or de facto partner has a miscarriage. Full-time and part-time staff are paid at their base rate. Casuals' compassionate leave is unpaid. You can take it as one 2-day block or two separate days. Your employer can ask for reasonable evidence, such as a death or funeral notice or a statutory declaration.

WA state system: up to 2 days of paid bereavement leave on the death of a family or household member. Casuals are paid too, including their casual loading. Your employer can ask for reasonable proof of the death and of your relationship to the person who died.

Family and domestic violence leave in WA

All employees, including casuals, get 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave each year. The full 10 days is available straight away, resets on your work anniversary and doesn't build up. It's separate from sick leave.

It's paid at your full pay rate, which includes loadings, allowances and penalty rates. Casuals are paid for the hours they were rostered to work. This NES entitlement has applied to WA state system employees since 9 September 2024. State system employees also get 5 days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave under the WA Act. In the state system, your payslip must not show that leave was taken for family violence reasons.

If you need support, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732.

What happens to unused sick leave?

It carries over to the next year, so a long-serving employee can build up a large balance. But it isn't paid out when your job ends, in either system. That's different from annual leave, which is paid out (see our annual leave guide).

If you're sick while on annual leave, the national system lets you use paid sick leave instead and keep the annual leave. The WA state system has no minimum right to swap, though some WA awards allow it. Once your paid leave runs out, permanent employees can take unpaid carer's leave of 2 days per occasion, and any other time off is by agreement with your employer.

Frequently asked questions

How many sick days do you get a year in WA?

10 days for a full-time employee, which is 76 hours on a 38-hour week. Part-time employees get the same pro rata: 1/26 of their ordinary hours each year.

Can my employer ask for a medical certificate for one day?

Yes. An employer can ask for evidence for as little as 1 day or less off work. The type of evidence requested must be reasonable, and a statutory declaration can be acceptable.

Is sick leave paid out when you resign in WA?

No. Unused sick and carer's leave isn't paid out when employment ends in the national system, and there's no minimum entitlement to a payout in the WA state system.

Do casual workers get paid sick leave in WA?

No. Casuals get a casual loading instead. They do get 2 days of unpaid carer's leave per occasion and 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave a year.

Does sick leave include penalty rates?

Not in the national system. Sick leave is paid at your base rate for the ordinary hours you would have worked, excluding penalty rates, overtime, loadings and allowances.

Can I take sick leave to look after my child?

Yes. That's carer's leave, and it comes out of the same paid balance as sick leave. You can take it when a family or household member is sick, injured or affected by an unexpected emergency.

Looking for an employer with better leave? Browse current jobs in Perth or casual jobs in Perth. For 10-year entitlements, see long service leave in WA.