35. Personal and wellbeing leave

35.1. The provision of personal and wellbeing leave is an acknowledgement that staff of the University are also members of families and communities, and have commitments not related to work. The University expects supervisors to be sensitive and flexible in planning for staff members to attend to personal matters.

35.2. In addition to the personal leave available in accordance with this Clause, staff may use available annual leave or long service leave or leave without pay for personal reasons.

35.3. Personal and wellbeing leave is provided for all staff, other than casual staff, in the following circumstances:

1. Sick leave for the purpose of when the staff member is unable to attend work because of personal illness, injury, or health reasons impacting attendance at work, or attend a medical appointment during the staff member’s ordinary hours of work;
2. Carer’s leave for the purpose of caring for an immediate family member, or a person of the staff member’s household, who requires care or support because of a personal illness, personal injury, personal incapacity, unexpected emergency, or medical condition;
3. Bereavement leave of up to five days for an immediate family member;
4. Cultural leave for the purpose of attending essential religious or cultural obligations associated with the staff member's particular religious faith, culture or tradition, subject to the provision of clause 35.16 and reasonable evidence as to the nature of the activity or ceremony the staff member is obliged to attend;
5. Antenatal leave for the purpose of attending appointments associated with antenatal care, surrogacy, pre-adoption or permanent placement, subject to relevant evidence;
6. Community volunteering leave of up to two days per calendar year, for the purpose of undertaking volunteering activities with registered charitable groups and not-for-profit organisations in accordance with University policy;
7. Wellbeing leave of up to two days per calendar year; which are designated days of leave that can be taken by a staff member to focus on their own mental and physical wellbeing; or
8. On compassionate or other appropriate grounds as determined by the Chief People Officer.

35.4. For the purpose of personal leave, immediate family member means a staff member’s spouse or de facto partner (including former spouse or de facto partner), child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling of the staff member; or a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling of the staff member’s spouse or de facto partner (including former spouse or de facto partner).

Personal and wellbeing leave entitlements

35.5. A staff member is entitled to personal leave on full pay at the rate of:

35.6. All paid personal leave is cumulative.

35.7. On commencement a staff member will be credited with the first year’s entitlement. The second and subsequent years’ entitlements accrue throughout the year and become available on the anniversary of appointment.

35.8. Where reasonable circumstances exist, the delegate may approve a staff member taking part of their personal leave entitlement as additional days on a half pay basis.

35.9. In extenuating circumstances, a staff member who has used all of their personal leave credits (including sick leave for casual staff) and who is suffering substantial hardship may apply to the Chief People Officer for assistance.

Sick leave for casual employees

35.10. Casual staff are entitled to up to three instances of paid sick leave per year for when the staff member is unable to attend work because of personal illness, injury, or health reasons. An instance shall consist of one day, and the entitlement to paid leave will be for all work a casual staff member was rostered to work on that day. For the avoidance of doubt, a casual staff member may take multiple instances of sick leave consecutively.

35.11. Casual staff are required to provide a medical certificate or relevant supporting documentation for all sick leave applications. The evidence may include: a statutory declaration; medical certificate; or other reasonable evidence considered acceptable by the University.

35.12. Casual staff will be paid at their full pay rate for the hours they were rostered to work in the period they took leave.

Notice and evidence requirements

35.13. All staff must advise their supervisor as soon as possible of their inability to attend work and submit an application for all periods of personal leave.

35.14. A medical certificate or relevant supporting documentation is required for absences in excess of three consecutive days. The evidence may include: a statutory declaration; medical certificate; or other reasonable evidence considered acceptable by the University. Where considered warranted, the delegate may require a medical certificate for any future absence(s).

35.15. Staff members with long term and chronic illness or disability may discuss and agree with their supervisor on the evidence required for absences relating to regular treatment or appointments, or their workplace adjustment plan.

35.16. Applications for personal leave for the purpose of attending a significant cultural event and undertaking community service in accordance with clause 35.3 will normally be submitted four weeks prior to leave to allow the work area to make appropriate staffing arrangements to cover the absence if necessary.

Compassionate leave

35.17. A staff member may apply for compassionate leave, in addition to personal leave of up to two days per occasion, as provided for in the National Employment Standards, where:

1. a member of the staff members’ immediate family or household dies, or contracts or develops a life-threatening illness or injury;
2. a baby in their immediate family or household is stillborn;
3. they have a miscarriage; or
4. their current spouse or de facto partner has a miscarriage.

Personal leave for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff members

35.18. For the purpose of bereavement leave (clause 35.3 (c)), “immediate family member” for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff members means family by marriage, adoption, fostering, traditional kinship and refers to a staff member’s spouse or former spouse, domestic partner or former domestic partner; their child or adult child (including their adopted child, step child, or an ex-nuptial child), parent, brother, sister, grandparent, foster-grandparent, step-grandparent, grandchild, in-law relative, guardian, ward or a person with respect to whom the staff member has an Indigenous kinship relationship of equivalent significance or a person who stands in a bona fide domestic or household relationship with a staff member including situations in which there is implied some dependency or support role for the staff member.