Leave entitlements
Queensland Government employee leave entitlements are guaranteed by a set of employment standards contained in the Industrial Relations Act 2016. Most government employees have further guarantees provided for by a modern award and certified agreement. See Employee pay and benefits.
Most Queensland Government employees (employees employed under the Public Sector Act 2022) are entitled to the following leave. See your certified agreement, modern award, and employment standards for a full list of leave types and entitlements.
You’re entitled to a minimum of 20 working days per year accumulative (pro rata for part-time employees) plus 17.5% leave loading. See the Industrial Relations Act 2016 and Recreation leave directive.
You may have further guarantees provided by a modern award or certified agreement. See the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission website for modern awards and public service agreements.
Cashing out recreation leave
You can apply to have a part of your annual leave 'cashed out'. This means you’ll be paid for an amount of your annual leave instead of taking it as an absence. See the Cashing out annual leave circular for more.
You’re entitled to 10 working days per year accumulative (pro rata for part-time employees) on full pay that can also be accessed for caring responsibilities of immediate family and household members. See the Industrial Relations Act 2016 and Sick leave directive.
You may have further guarantees provided by a modern award or certified agreement. See the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission website for modern awards and public service agreements.
You may be entitled to sick leave without pay if you have used all your full pay sick leave. Speak to your manager or your HR team.
Meritorious sick leave
You can apply for up to 13 weeks additional sick leave after 26 years continuous service with the Queensland Public Sector. See the Sick leave directive for more.
To find out how to apply, visit the Leave request page.
Paid parental leave
You may be entitled to paid parental leave in relation to the birth, adoption, surrogacy or cultural parentage of a child or children. This includes 14 weeks long paid parental leave, 1-week short paid parental leave, long paid spousal leave, and appointment leave. See the Paid parental leave directive for more.
Unpaid parental leave
You may be entitled to unpaid parental leave in relation to the birth, adoption, surrogacy or cultural parentage of a child or children. See the Industrial Relations Act 2016 for more.
Keeping in touch days
There are circumstances where an employee may work a ‘keeping in touch day’ during a period of parental leave. See the Industrial Relations Act 2016 and Paid parental leave directive for more.
Employees can access up to 10 working days per annum (non-cumulative) paid reproductive health leave to use:
- when chronic reproductive health conditions (such as, but not limited to, endometriosis, dysmenorrhea, adenomyosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, and menopause symptoms) require absence from the workplace
- to receive fertility treatment such as, but not limited to, in vitro fertilisation (IVF)
- to attend preventative screening associated with reproductive health, including, but not limited to, breast and prostate screening
- for treatment associated with reproductive health including, but not limited to, hysterectomy and vasectomy.
See the Reproductive health directive for more.
You’re entitled to 13 weeks long service leave after 10 years' continuous service, with pro rata access after 7 years continuous service. See the Long service leave directive for more.
You can purchase up to 6 weeks additional leave per year by reducing your fortnightly salary. See the Implementing purchased leave arrangements guide for more.
To find out how to apply, visit the Leave request page.
You may be entitled to special leave either on full-pay or without pay. This includes election leave, declared emergency situation leave, Defence Reserves Forces leave, bereavement leave, compassionate leave etc. See the Special leave directive for more.
You’re entitled to a minimum of 10 days paid leave per year. You can take as consecutive days, a single day or part of a day to attend medical, legal and counselling appointments, and arrange alternative accommodation and childcare assistance. See the Support for employees affected by domestic and family violence directive for more.
Your agency can grant additional leave (e.g. discretionary paid or unpaid special leave) in addition to the minimum 10 days paid leave provided under this directive.
Speak to your manager or HR team to find out how to apply for this leave.
You can access paid or unpaid leave to undertake study or research or attend examinations. See the Study and examination leave directive for more.