Compassionate leave: guide for employers

Last updated: 2 April 2026

What is compassionate leave?

Compassionate leave is leave taken by an employee when a member of the employee’s immediate family or household is seriously ill or dies. Other known term: bereavement leave.

Key takeaways

• Compassionate leave may be taken when a member of an employee’s immediate family dies or where a member of the employee’s immediate family contracts or develops a life-threatening illness or suffers a life-threatening injury.
• The National Employment Standards provide all employees, including casuals, with an entitlement to compassionate leave.
• Employees are entitled to 2 days compassionate leave each time they meet the criteria.
• Full-time and part-time employees receive paid compassionate leave. Casual employees receive unpaid compassionate leave.

Who counts as “immediate family”?

Under the Fair Work Act 2009, immediate family is defined as a spouse or former spouse, de facto partner or former de facto partner, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling of an employee, or a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling of an employee’s spouse or de facto partner. It includes step-relations (e.g. stepparents and stepchildren) as well as adoptive relations.

Examples of when compassionate leave may be taken

Employees can take compassionate leave if:

• a member of their immediate family or household dies, or contracts or develops a life-threatening illness or injury
• a baby in their immediate family or household is stillborn
• they have a miscarriage, or
• their current spouse or de facto partner has a miscarriage.

Compassionate leave: the entitlement explained

Employees are entitled to 2 days compassionate leave each time they meet the criteria.

Employees can take this leave as:

• a single continuous 2 day period
• 2 separate periods of 1 day each
• any separate periods as agreed with their employer.

Employees don’t accumulate compassionate leave and it’s not a part of their sick and carer’s leave entitlement. Employees can take compassionate leave any time they need it.

If an employee is already on another type of leave (for example, annual leave) and needs to take compassionate leave, they can use compassionate leave instead of the other leave.

Compassionate leave and the National Employment Standards

Compassionate leave forms part of the National Employment Standards (NES) in the Fair Work Act. The National Employment Standards are a set of minimum rights or entitlements that apply to all employees under the Australian national workplace relations system. 

The NES provide all employees, including casuals, with an entitlement to compassionate leave.

Awards, enterprise agreements and other registered agreements can also provide additional entitlements to compassionate leave.

Read our comprehensive guide to ensuring Fair Work Act compliance.

Permanent vs casual employees: payment for compassionate leave

All employees, including permanent and casual, are entitled to 2 days of compassionate leave per occasion when an immediate family/household member dies or faces a life-threatening illness/injury.

Permanent (full-time/part-time) employees receive this entitlement as paid leave, while casual employees take it as unpaid leave.

Payment for compassionate leave

Full-time and part-time employees are entitled to paid compassionate leave. They’re paid at their base pay rate for the ordinary hours they would have worked during the leave. Payment for compassionate leave does not include separate entitlements such as incentive-based payments and bonuses, loadings, monetary allowances, overtime or penalty rates.

Casual employees receive unpaid compassionate leave.

Compassionate leave cannot be cashed out.

Notice and evidence requirements

An employee taking compassionate leave has to give their employer notice as soon as they can (this may be after the leave has started). The employee has to tell the employer how much leave they are taking, or expect to take, and when.

An employer can request evidence about the reason for this type of leave (for example, a death or funeral notice or statutory declaration). This request for evidence has to be reasonable. If the employee doesn’t provide the requested notice or evidence they may not get paid compassionate leave.

Managing compassionate leave: a guide for employers

Like all things HR, having the right policies, procedures and communications in place is the key to effective management of compassionate leave. Handling your employees’ personal crisis sensitively results only in positives for your brand as an employer: increased engagement, retention and goodwill. Employers should:

1. Hold an Employee Leave policy: information on annual leave, personal leave (sick and carer’s leave), compassionate leave and unpaid leave available to employees. Your policy should clearly explain each type of leave, any differences between permanent and casual employee entitlements, the procedures for applying for leave and what evidence may be required (if applicable). Read more about leave entitlements.
2. Communicate the entitlement to compassionate leave to all employees: at induction and periodically throughout their employment.
3. Allow employees to take compassionate leave and show empathy when the situation arises: when a valid occasion arises, you must allow eligible employees to take compassionate leave. Discuss the request privately to understand the employee’s needs without making them feel pressured or uncomfortable.
4. Above and beyond: employers can also consider offering paid leave beyond legal entitlements, offering flexible working arrangements, and providing access to Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs).
5. Establish a supportive work environment: this includes provision of training to managers to ensure leaders are trained to handle compassionate leave requests with sensitivity and confidentiality considerations. Employers should also maintain contact with the employee at an appropriate level during the employee’s time away from work.
6. Request evidence: an employer can request evidence about the reason for compassionate leave (for example, a death or funeral notice or statutory declaration). This request for evidence has to be reasonable and, depending on the circumstances, the requirement to provide evidence may be waived by the employer.
7. Keep accurate records of the leave request and any related correspondence and ensure all documentation is handled confidentially to respect the employee’s privacy.
8. Have a tailored return to work plan and recognise that people respond to grief differently: accept that the employee’s performance in the workplace may be less than their best for a while.

Common mistakes: 3 things to avoid as an employer

1. Intrusive questioning: few employees will fabricate a family member’s life-threatening illness or death situation. While you have an employer’s right to request information, consider limiting your questioning to what you require from the employee for them to fulfil their lawful obligations to access compassionate leave obligations and for you to provide tailored support to the employee. 
2. Rigid policy application: every compassionate/bereavement situation is different. If an employee needs more time off than your compassionate leave policy allows, consider additional unpaid leave or other arrangements.
3. Know the entitlement: compassionate leave is not deducted from the employee’s personal leave balance.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between compassionate leave and carer’s leave?

Compassionate leave is 2 days of paid (unpaid for casuals) leave to deal with the death or life-threatening illness of an immediate family member, taken per occasion. Carer’s leave (part of personal leave) is for supporting family with illness, injury, or emergencies, allowing 10 days of paid leave (for permanent employees) that accrues annually.

Compassionate leave is separate from personal/carer’s leave and does not subtract from the employee’s annual leave or sick leave balances.

Is compassionate leave available immediately?

Yes. Unlike annual leave or sick leave (which accrues based on an employee’s period of continuous services), compassionate leave is available immediately for eligible employees when a member of their immediate family or household dies, or develops a life-threatening illness or injury.

Does compassionate leave accrue?

No, compassionate leave does not accrue (accumulate) over time like annual or sick leave.

Is there a limit to how many times an employee can access compassionate leave?

As long as an employee meets the permissible occasion requirements, there is no limit to the number of occasions an employee can take compassionate leave in a year.

What about members other than those defined as “immediate family”?

Aunts, uncles and cousins are not included in the Fair Work Act definition of immediate family. Consequently, an employee is not entitled to paid compassionate leave upon serious illness or death of such a person.

Employees can take compassionate leave for other relatives (for example, cousins, aunts and uncles) if they are a member of the employee’s household or if their employer agrees.

Can compassionate leave be taken as two separate days?

Compassionate leave can be taken as separate days. Under the National Employment Standards (NES), employees can take the two-day entitlement as a single continuous 2-day period, two separate 1-day periods, or any other separate periods agreed upon with their employer.

Are there any alternatives to compassionate leave?

Should an employee request compassionate leave in excess of their entitlement, an employer may agree to the employee accessing paid annual leave, time off in lieu (TOIL), leave without pay, or other accrued leave.

Bare Bones Consulting: right experience, right results and right price for you

Compassionate leave is one form of leave small business employers are often unsure about, simply because a life-threatening illness or bereavement situation might be comparatively uncommon in a smaller workplace.

But life is life and it’s inevitable at some point one of your team will face a life-threatening illness or bereavement situation involving a family member. And as an entitlement under the Fair Work Act, it’s smart to have a procedure in place so you’re not in panic mode when it happens. That’s where Bare Bones Consulting steps in. Policy on compassionate leave? No problem. Training for your leadership team on responding to bereavement in the workplace? Can do. Guidance on the best way to support an employee through challenging personal circumstances like serious illness or death of a family member? We can explain your options in plain English.  With over 25 years in HR, Bare Bones Consulting offers you what other HR consultants cannot: results tailored to your business, designed and delivered by a professional who’s been a HR Manager across multiple industries.

When getting the right advice first time is important to you, the choice is simple.  Call us for a chat or shoot us a message via our “Contact Us” portal on our website.