Family Leave

The University provides a variety of flexible work arrangements for staff members to access to attend to their personal needs including flexible hours of work, rostered days off and time off in lieu arrangements. Staff members should seek to utilise these flexible work arrangements to attend to their personal needs.
Staff members may apply for paid leave for the purpose of carer's responsibilities, bereavement or other contingency leave.

General staff members are entitled up to a maximum of 8 days family leave each 12 months from the staff member's anniversary date and on a proportionate basis for part-time staff members. Family leave will not be cumulative from year to year. In extraordinary circumstances, where a staff member has exhausted their family leave entitlement the staff member may be granted up to an additional 2 days leave which will be deducted from their sick leave accrual.

Family leave may be taken for part of a single day. Paid family leave in relation to carer responsibilities and bereavement will only be approved in relation to the staff member's:

  1. Immediate family members, defined as including biological, adoptive, fostering and step relationships including parent, grandparent, brother, sister, child, grandchild, partner (married, de-facto, same sex, opposite sex, current or former) and their parent, grandparent, brother, sister, child, grandchild;
  2. Household members where the staff member is the primary carer; and in the case of carer's responsibilities, where the staff member is the primary care giver.
  3. In normal circumstances a staff member shall not take carer's leave under this Clause where another family or household member is taking leave at the same time.

The staff member may be required to provide sufficient supporting documentation, as applicable, which may include a medical certificate or statutory declaration to establish the illness of the person concerned and that the illness is such as to require care by another; or newspaper notice or copy of the death certificate or statutory declaration.

Where a staff member has exhausted their family leave and annual leave entitlements, additional family leave may be granted on the approval of the Vice Chancellor.

Last reviewed: 13 March, 2008