Sick on Annual Leave? How to Save Your Holiday Hours

Almost 7 in 10 Australians admit they’ve taken at least one “fake sickie” in the past year – and those days off are estimated to cost businesses around $7.3 billion and 24.6 million work days every year.

But what about the opposite situation – when you’re genuinely sick, and it strikes at the worst possible time: right in the middle of your hard‑earned annual leave?

You’ve saved for months for that week on the Gold Coast, or you’ve finally booked flights to see family interstate. On day two, you’re flattened by gastro, a brutal flu, or a flare‑up of a chronic condition. You drag yourself through half the trip in bed, then come home and realise all those days still came out of your holiday balance.

It feels unfair – and in many cases, under Australian employment law, it’s also unnecessary.

In this guide, we’ll walk through:

• When you can convert annual leave to sick leave if you fall ill
• What Fair Work (often still called “Fair Work Australia”) actually says about being sick on annual leave
• The evidence your employer can reasonably ask for (yes, that’s where a medical certificate or statutory declaration comes in)
• Exactly what to do, step‑by‑step, if you get sick on holiday
• How telehealth and online medical certificates can help you protect your precious leave hours – even if you’re far from your usual GP

We’re writing this from an Australian perspective, based on national rules like the Fair Work Act and National Employment Standards (NES), plus current guidance from the Fair Work Ombudsman.

We’ll keep it conversational and practical – think of this as a chat with a clued‑up mate who’s done the homework for you (and happens to work at a telehealth startup that issues medical certificates online).

By the end, you’ll know exactly when and how you can reclaim your holiday hours if you get sick on annual leave – and what to do next time illness crashes your getaway.

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1. Why getting sick on annual leave matters more than you think

On paper, Australians get generous leave compared to many countries:

• At least 4 weeks of paid annual leave each year for full‑time and part‑time employees
• At least 10 days of paid sick (personal/carer’s) leave per year for full‑time employees, pro‑rata for part‑timers, with unused sick leave carrying over from year to year

But in real life?

• Many people use annual leave to “recover” from burnout, stress, or illness they’ve been pushing through for months.
• Some workers avoid taking sick leave altogether because they fear looking unreliable or letting the team down.
• Others simply don’t know their rights, and let annual leave quietly soak up days they were legitimately too unwell to work.

At the same time, work‑related injuries and illnesses are far from rare. Recent Safe Work Australia data shows an injury/illness rate of 3.5% of workers per year, with around 146,700 serious workers’ compensation claims in a single year – more than 400 serious claims a day across Australia.

So it’s not far‑fetched that you might get genuinely crook during your holidays.

The good news

Under the National Employment Standards, if you become sick or injured while on annual leave, you may be able to switch those days to paid sick leave, and have your annual leave re‑credited – effectively saving your holiday hours for another time.

The catch? You need to:

• Meet certain legal conditions
• Follow the right process
• Provide reasonable evidence if your employer asks for it – often in the form of a medical certificate or statutory declaration

That’s where knowing your rights (and having quick access to a doctor, including via telehealth) makes all the difference.

2. Sick on annual leave: what Australian employment law actually says

Let’s go straight to the official source.

According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, if an employee is sick or injured while on annual leave, they can use their paid sick leave instead of their annual leave. Those sick days come out of the employee’s sick/carer’s leave balance, and their annual leave is recredited.

In plain English: if you’re on annual leave and you get genuinely unwell, you don’t just automatically “lose” those days. Under the NES, you can usually have them treated as sick leave instead – as long as you:

• Have paid sick leave available, and
• Provide notice and reasonable evidence if requested

If you don’t have enough sick leave:

• You can continue using annual leave for those days, or
• You can choose to take unpaid sick leave for the period where your paid sick leave runs out

This applies to full‑time and part‑time employees covered by the National Employment Standards. Casuals generally don’t get paid annual or sick leave under the NES, so the “swapping” concept doesn’t apply in the same way for casual employment.

The legal basis (without putting you to sleep)

The key rules sit in:

• The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)
• The National Employment Standards (NES) – which set out minimum leave entitlements for most Australian employees

The Fair Work Ombudsman’s specific guidance on “Sick leave during annual leave” spells it out clearly: if you’re sick or injured while on annual leave, you can claim sick leave instead, provided you meet the usual notice and evidence requirements.

It’s worth noting:

• Your award, enterprise agreement or employment contract may have extra rules (for example, stricter evidence requirements or specific notice clauses).
• But they can’t give you less than the minimum entitlements under the NES.

This is why you often see employer policies saying things like “a medical certificate is required for sick leave taken on the day before or after a public holiday” – they’re allowed to set reasonable evidence rules on top of the NES.

3. When can you convert annual leave to sick leave?

Let’s zoom in on the core question: Can I convert annual leave to sick leave if I get sick on holiday?

Under the Fair Work Ombudsman’s guidance, the answer is yes if all of these are true:

1. You’re a full‑time or part‑time employee (not casual).
2. You were on paid annual leave under the NES.
3. During that annual leave, you were not fit for work because of a personal illness or injury (this includes mental health conditions and pregnancy‑related illness).
4. You have enough accrued paid sick (personal/carer’s) leave to cover some or all of the days.
5. You notify your employer as soon as practicable that you’re sick and intend to take sick leave.
6. You provide reasonable evidence, such as a medical certificate or statutory declaration, if your employer asks for it.

If those boxes are ticked, your employer should:

• Deduct the relevant days from your sick leave balance
• Recredit your annual leave balance for those days

This is exactly what the Fair Work Ombudsman example shows: Georgia takes two weeks annual leave, gets sick in the second week, uses 3 days of paid sick leave, and only 2 days of annual leave are deducted for that week.

What if I only have some sick leave left?

You can partially convert your annual leave.

Example:

• You book 5 days of annual leave.
• On day 2, you catch a nasty flu and are bed‑ridden for 4 days.
• You only have 2 days of paid sick leave left.

In this situation, you could:

• Convert 2 days to paid sick leave (using up your accrual), and
• Either:
  • Leave the remaining 2 days as annual leave, or
  • Ask to take unpaid sick leave for those days instead of using annual leave.

Whether your employer will agree to unpaid sick leave rather than annual leave may depend on your contract or agreement, but the NES allows unpaid sick leave when paid leave is exhausted.

4. Notice and evidence: what your employer can expect

Being sick on annual leave isn’t a free‑for‑all. You still need to follow the normal sick leave rules.

Notice: tell your employer as soon as you reasonably can

Fair Work says employees must let their employer know they are taking sick or carer’s leave “as soon as possible” – and this can be after the leave has started. You should also tell them how long you expect to be away.

Applied to annual leave, that means:

• As soon as you realise you’re too unwell to work (i.e. if you were rostered, you couldn’t safely do your job), you should:
  • Contact your employer (often HR or your manager)
  • Explain that you’re sick and wish to treat those days as sick leave, not annual leave
  • Follow your usual company communication process (email, portal, phone call etc.)

If you get violently ill in the middle of the night in Cairns, no one expects you to email HR at 2 am. But letting them know the next morning or as soon as you’re capable is generally expected.

Evidence: medical certificates and statutory declarations

The Fair Work Ombudsman is very clear: employers can ask for evidence for as little as one day of sick leave, including when you’re sick on annual leave.

Acceptable examples of evidence include:

• A medical certificate
• A statutory declaration (stat dec)

The evidence doesn’t need to disclose your full diagnosis, but it must satisfy a “reasonable person” that you were genuinely entitled to the leave.

So a typical medical certificate will state:

• Your name
• The date of consultation/examination
• The period during which you were (or will be) unfit for work
• The doctor’s details and signature

It may or may not specify your condition – that’s often left more general to protect your privacy, especially for mental health or sensitive issues.

We’ve broken down what makes a strong, legally robust medical certificate (and common reasons certificates get rejected) in more detail in our blog post “Online Medical Certificates: Top 5 Reasons for Rejection” if you’d like to go deeper.

What about statutory declarations?

A statutory declaration is a formal written statement that you declare to be true, which can be used as evidence for things like employment and leave applications.

The Fair Work Ombudsman confirms that a statutory declaration is an acceptable form of evidence for sick leave in many situations.

From 1 January 2024, you can now even create a digital Commonwealth statutory declaration online through myGov using a verified Digital ID, without needing an in‑person witness.

That can be handy if:

• You genuinely couldn’t see a doctor while you were ill (for example, remote camping or stuck on a cruise with patchy access)
• Your employer is willing to accept a stat dec instead of a medical certificate

But a couple of important cautions:

• Always check your employer’s policy, award or enterprise agreement – some specifically prefer or require medical certificates in certain situations (e.g. repeated single‑day absences, days next to public holidays).
• Making a false statement in a statutory declaration is a criminal offence under Commonwealth law.

If your employer asks for a medical certificate and you can reasonably obtain one (including via telehealth), that’s usually the safest route.

5. How public holidays fit into the picture

The public holiday question comes up a lot:

"“If I’m sick on a public holiday during my annual leave, do I lose that day as leave too?”"

Under the NES, if a public holiday falls during a period of paid leave (like annual leave or sick leave), that day is treated as a public holiday, not as leave. You still get paid for it, but it doesn’t come off your leave balances.

So if:

• You’re on two weeks of annual leave over Easter
• You get sick for three days, one of which is a public holiday (say, Easter Monday)

Then:

• The sick days (excluding the public holiday) can generally be converted to sick leave
• The public holiday remains a paid public holiday – not sick leave, not annual leave
• Only the remaining annual leave days are actually deducted from your holiday balance

The same principle applies if you’re on paid sick leave alone and a public holiday falls during your absence – you’re paid for the public holiday, and it doesn’t reduce your sick leave balance.

6. Step‑by‑step: what to do if you get sick on annual leave

Let’s make this super practical.

You’re away from work on annual leave and you get properly unwell. What should you actually do?

Step 1: Look after your health first

If you’re experiencing:

• Severe pain
• Trouble breathing
• Chest pain or pressure
• Signs of stroke (face drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty)
• Heavy bleeding, or any other urgent symptoms

Call 000 or attend the nearest emergency department immediately.

For non‑emergency but worrying symptoms, you can call healthdirect on 1800 022 222 (24/7 nurse helpline) for advice, or use telehealth to speak with a doctor.

(This article is general information and not a substitute for emergency care or personal medical advice.)

Step 2: Decide if you were “unfit for work”

Ask yourself honestly:

• “If I were scheduled to work today, would I be reasonably fit to do my normal job safely?”

If the answer is no – whether due to physical illness, a flare‑up of a chronic condition, or mental health issues like acute anxiety or severe stress – then you’re likely entitled to treat that time as sick (personal) leave.

Australian employment law recognises conditions like stress and mental illness as legitimate reasons for taking paid personal leave, as long as you’re unfit for work and can provide reasonable evidence if asked.

Step 3: Contact your employer as soon as you can

Even if you’re on a beach in Noosa or snowed in at Mount Hotham, it’s important to:

• Email, message or call your manager/HR
• State that you are unwell and unfit for work
• Clearly say that you wish to take sick leave for [dates] instead of annual leave
• Ask if they require a medical certificate or statutory declaration, and how you should submit it

A simple, clear message might be:

"“Hi [Manager], I’ve come down with a bad flu and have been in bed since Tuesday. If I were rostered, I wouldn’t be fit to work. I’d like to treat 14–16 January as sick leave instead of annual leave and will obtain a medical certificate via telehealth to cover those days. Please let me know if that’s okay and where to send the certificate.”"

This shows you understand your obligations and are acting in good faith.

Step 4: Get evidence – even if you’re away from home

If your employer asks for evidence (or you anticipate they will), your options may include:

• Seeing a local GP or medical centre near where you’re staying
• Using a telehealth service to speak with an Australian‑registered doctor and obtain a medical certificate online, if clinically appropriate
• Providing a statutory declaration, if your employer accepts this and a medical certificate genuinely wasn’t practical

This is exactly where we can help. At NextClinic, we connect you with Australian‑registered doctors via telehealth, and we can issue online medical certificates for work or study, often within an hour, starting from $19.90.

Our doctors are available from 6 am to midnight (AEST/AEDT), 7 days a week, so even if you wake up sick during your holiday or before a long drive home, you can request a certificate without hunting for a local clinic.

You can read more about what an online medical certificate is and when it’s appropriate in our dedicated blog post “Online Medical Certificate”.

Step 5: Submit the certificate and check your payslip

Once you have your evidence:

1. Email or upload the medical certificate (or stat dec) following your workplace process.
2. Clearly link it to the dates you’re asking to convert from annual leave to sick leave.
3. When your next payslip or leave report comes through, check:
   • Your sick leave balance has decreased by the correct number of days/hours
   • Your annual leave balance has been recredited for those days
   • Any public holiday in that period wasn’t incorrectly counted as leave

If something doesn’t look right, start with a friendly query to payroll or HR. If you still feel your rights aren’t being respected, you can seek advice from your union, a workplace lawyer, or directly from the Fair Work Ombudsman.

7. Common myths about being sick on annual leave

We see a lot of confusion and myths floating around. Let’s bust a few.

Myth 1: “If you’re sick on annual leave, bad luck – you just lose those days.”

Wrong in many cases.

Fair Work’s own guidance explicitly states that if you’re sick or injured while on annual leave, you can use your paid sick leave instead, and your annual leave is recredited.

The key is:

• You must actually be unfit for work
• You must follow the notice and evidence rules

Myth 2: “You can only convert annual leave to sick leave if you’re at home.”

No. The law doesn’t care where you are physically – it focuses on whether you:

• Are an employee entitled to paid personal leave
• Were unfit for work
• Have evidence to support that fact if requested

So if you’re:

• In Byron Bay with gastro
• In Tassie with severe sinusitis
• Visiting family in Darwin and wiped out by a nasty virus

You can still request to convert annual leave to sick leave as long as the usual criteria are met. Telehealth is especially handy here, because you can often speak to a doctor and get a medical certificate without stepping foot in a local clinic.

Myth 3: “Employers can automatically reject online medical certificates.”

Not true, as long as the certificate is genuine and meets the usual legal standards.

Under Australian employment law, what matters is whether the evidence would convince a reasonable person that you were genuinely unfit for work – not whether the consult was in‑person or online.

A medical certificate issued by an Australian‑registered doctor after a proper telehealth assessment is generally valid evidence. We tackled this in depth in our blog “Common Medical Certificate Myths Debunked”, including the myth that employers can simply refuse any certificate obtained online.

Myth 4: “You need to reveal your exact diagnosis.”

In most cases, you don’t.

Your employer is usually only entitled to know that:

• You were unfit for work for a certain period, and
• A registered health practitioner (or your stat dec) supports that

You don’t normally have to disclose private details like the specific condition, unless a law, award or genuine safety concern requires more information. Many medical certificates intentionally keep descriptions general (e.g. “medical condition” or “unfit for work from X to Y”).

Myth 5: “Mental health doesn’t ‘count’ for sick leave.”

It absolutely does.

The Fair Work Ombudsman confirms that personal/carer’s leave can be taken when an employee can’t work because of a personal illness or injury, which includes mental health conditions and stress‑related illness.

If burnout, anxiety, depression or other mental health issues leave you genuinely unfit to work – even if it hits during annual leave – you may be entitled to convert those days to sick leave, just like with a physical illness, provided you meet the evidence requirements.

We’ve explored this further in our post “Is Stress a Justifiable Reason for Sick Leave?” which breaks down your rights and how online medical certificates work for mental health days.

8. How telehealth (and NextClinic) can help when you’re sick on holiday

Getting sick on annual leave is stressful enough without:

• Trying to find an open GP clinic in an unfamiliar town
• Waiting in a crowded waiting room while you feel awful
• Worrying about how you’ll prove your illness to your employer

That’s exactly the kind of situation telehealth was built for.

Fast, legitimate medical certificates online

At NextClinic, we provide online medical certificates for short‑term illnesses (like viral infections, gastro, migraines, period pain, exhaustion, mild respiratory infections and similar self‑limiting conditions) through a streamlined telehealth pathway.

Here’s how it works:

1. Complete a short clinical questionnaire online about your symptoms.
2. An AHPRA‑registered Australian doctor reviews your request and may call you for more information.
3. If clinically appropriate, they issue a medical certificate for 1 or 2 days (or more via a longer telehealth consult), delivered straight to your inbox, typically within 60 minutes.

We also:

• Limit certificate numbers over time for safety – if you’re frequently unwell, we encourage follow‑up with your regular GP.
• Provide certificates that contain the information employers expect, including doctor details, dates and clear statements of unfitness for work – which helps minimise the risk of your certificate being questioned.

If your condition is not suitable for telehealth (for example, you might need a physical examination), our doctors won’t issue a certificate – instead, they’ll advise you to seek urgent in‑person care. You’re not charged if we can’t safely help you.

For a deeper guide on the process, check out “How to Get a Medical Certificate Online for Work in Australia?” on our blog – we walk through step‑by‑step how online certificates work under Australian rules.

Managing more than just “a sickie”

Because we’re a telehealth clinic, not just a certificate factory, our doctors can also help with:

• Flu, sinus and respiratory infections – including prescriptions where appropriate
• UTIs and other common infections, which often hit during travel
• Period pain, migraines and gastrointestinal bugs
• Many aspects of sexual and reproductive health – such as emergency contraception, treatment for common STIs, or managing genital herpes outbreaks – which can be especially stressful if they flare up while you’re away from home.

That means you can often:

• Get assessed and treated and
• Obtain the documentation you need for work

…all from your hotel room, your parents’ spare room, or your couch.

9. Quick FAQ: sick on annual leave in Australia

1. Can I really convert annual leave to sick leave in Australia?

Yes – if you’re a full‑time or part‑time employee and you become sick or injured while on paid annual leave, you can generally take paid sick leave instead, and have your annual leave recredited, as long as you provide notice and reasonable evidence if asked.

2. Does this apply if I’m overseas on holiday?

Fair Work’s rules focus on your employment status and fitness for work, not your location. The same NES principles apply whether you’re in Perth, Paris or Phuket.

However:

• It may be trickier to access an Australian doctor while overseas due to time zones, phone access or local regulations.
• Many Australian telehealth services, including ours, are designed primarily for patients physically in Australia; check the specific service’s conditions.

If you’re overseas and unwell, seek appropriate local medical care first. You can usually still supply evidence such as a local medical certificate to your Australian employer.

3. Do I have to use sick leave, or can I just leave it as annual leave?

You don’t have to convert your annual leave if you don’t want to. Some people choose to keep it simple and just let annual leave run, especially for a one‑day minor illness.

But if you’re very unwell for several days, converting to sick leave can help preserve your precious annual leave for an actual break later.

4. Can my employer refuse to convert my leave?

If you meet the legal criteria and provide reasonable evidence that you were unfit for work, your employer should not unreasonably refuse to treat those days as sick leave under the NES.

However, individual disputes can arise, especially if:

• There’s disagreement about whether you were really unfit for work
• The certificate is vague, incomplete or questionable
• Employer policies, awards or agreements set specific evidence standards

If you hit a stalemate, consider:

• Talking to your HR department or line manager
• Contacting your union, if you’re a member
• Seeking advice from the Fair Work Ombudsman or a workplace relations professional

5. What if I’m sick right before my annual leave starts?

If you fall sick before your annual leave begins and you’re unfit for work, you can usually:

• Take sick leave instead of annual leave for the days you’re unwell, and
• Still take your annual leave as planned once you’ve recovered, or reschedule it by agreement

The same notice and evidence rules apply.

6. Do these rules apply to casual employees?

Casuals don’t get paid annual leave or paid personal/carer’s leave under the NES, so the idea of “converting annual leave to sick leave” doesn’t apply in the same way.

Casuals may still have access to:

• Unpaid carer’s leave for caring responsibilities
• Protections from unfair dismissal or adverse action for being temporarily absent due to illness or injury (if they meet certain conditions)

7. Is an online medical certificate enough proof?

In most cases, yes – as long as:

• It’s issued by a registered Australian doctor after a genuine consult (including telehealth)
• It contains the usual details (your name, dates, period of unfitness, doctor’s details)

Your employer is entitled to verify that the certificate is genuine, but they can’t usually insist on an in‑person GP visit instead of a legitimate telehealth consult.

We’ve unpacked this in more depth in “Common Medical Certificate Myths Debunked” and “Online Medical Certificates: Top 5 Reasons for Rejection” on our blog.

10. Bringing it all together – and a challenge for this week

Let’s recap the big takeaways:

• Under Australian employment law, if you get sick on annual leave and you’re genuinely unfit for work, you can usually convert annual leave to sick leave, so long as you’re a full‑time or part‑time employee with sick leave available.
• Your annual leave for those days should be recredited, and the time instead comes out of your paid personal/carer’s leave balance.
• You must still follow normal notice and evidence rules: tell your employer as soon as practicable and provide a medical certificate or statutory declaration if they reasonably ask.
• Public holidays during paid leave don’t come out of your leave balances – they remain paid public holidays, not sick or annual leave.
• Online medical certificates from legitimate telehealth providers like NextClinic are generally valid evidence, as long as they’re issued by registered Australian doctors and meet usual documentation standards.
• If a medical certificate just isn’t practical, a Commonwealth statutory declaration may be acceptable evidence in many workplaces – but making a false declaration is a criminal offence, so honesty is non‑negotiable.

Your challenge for this week

Before your next trip – whether it’s a long‑awaited Bali escape or a long weekend down the coast – pick one of these actions and actually do it:

1. Check your employer’s leave policy.

Find out what they say about sick leave, medical certificates, and being sick during annual leave.

1. Look up your sick leave balance.

Log into your HR/leave portal and see how many hours or days of sick leave you actually have banked.

1. Save a telehealth option in your phone.

Bookmark our NextClinic site or save it to your home screen so if you wake up sick on holidays, you know exactly where to go for fast, legitimate help.

1. Talk to your manager or HR.

Ask, “Hey, if I got properly sick while on annual leave, what’s the process to switch those days to sick leave?” You might be surprised how many workplaces support this – once someone asks.

We’d love to hear from you:

• Have you ever been seriously sick on annual leave?
• Did you manage to convert your annual leave to sick leave, or did you only learn about this option afterwards?
• Which of the strategies above are you going to try this week?

Share your experience or questions in the comments – your story might help another Aussie worker avoid losing precious holiday hours the next time illness crashes the party.

References

• One act most Aussies admit to faking
• Sick and carer's leave - Fair Work Ombudsman
• Holidays and taking time off work - Fair Work Ombudsman
• Key Work Health and Safety Statistics Australia 2025 | dataswa
• Sick leave during annual leave - Fair Work Ombudsman
• Notice and medical certificates - Fair Work Ombudsman
• Paid sick and carer's leave - Fair Work Ombudsman
• Online Medical Certificates: Top 5 Reasons for Rejection | NextClinic
• Statutory declarations | Attorney-General's Department
• Commonwealth statutory declarations | myGov
• Not working on public holidays - Fair Work Ombudsman
• Online Medical Certificate | NextClinic
• Fast UTI Treatment Online | Speak to a Doctor Now
• Online Doctors: Telehealth Consultations at NextClinic
• Common Medical Certificate Myths Debunked | NextClinic
• Is Stress a Justifiable Reason for Sick Leave? | NextClinic
• Get Work Medical Certificates Online | NextClinic
• How to Get a Medical Certificate Online for Work in Australia? | NextClinic
• NextClinic: Online Medical Certificates, Instant Scripts and Telehealth Consults
• Temporary absence – illness or injury | Fair Work Commission

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