Options if you need a medical certificate for sick or carer's leave

Many workplaces require documentation for sick and carer's leave but with the rising price of GP consultations, getting one can be an expensive and time-consuming exercise.

So what options are available and what are the most cost-effective choices?

Know whether you need one

Shae McCrystal, a Professor of Labour Law at the University of Sydney Law School, specialises in employees' rights and responsibilities and advises workers to make sure they are familiar with their enterprise agreements and industrial awards.

"Medical evidence is not always required [for personal leave], so it's a good idea, just in general, really, for employees to have some familiarity with the industrial instrument that applies to their workplace.

"It will have this kind of information in it and lots of employers will also have the relevant information on their websites and in their policy documents."

Visiting a doctor

The most cost-effective method of obtaining documentation for sick or carer's leave is by visiting a fully bulk-billing doctor for a free consultation and certificate.

That's often easier said than done, with new data showing there has been a drop in medical clinics that bulk bill adults without concession cards in 87 per cent of electorates across Australia.

The Australian Medical Association recommends clinics charge $102 for consultations lasting between six and 20 minutes and although Medicare cardholders are entitled to a $41.20 rebate, this is still likely to leave a patient about $60 out of pocket for documentation for a day off.

Medical certificates cannot be "backdated" – they must be dated on the day in which they were written.

A practitioner may be able to certify that a period of illness occurred before the date of consultation and are advised to give careful consideration before issuing a certificate that includes days prior to the examination date.

Whether or not you're bulk-billed or paying a gap to see a GP may be a moot point. Especially in rural and remote areas, where declining workforces and population increases have made it increasingly difficult to see a GP at short notice.

Consult your pharmacist

Pharmacists are able to issue medical certificates for a range of ailments that may require an absence from work.

"It could be a migraine or severe headache, it could be temporary diarrhea … cold and flu," Pharmacy Guild of Australia national vice president Anthony Tassone explains.

"Infections [where] they're not well enough to work but it should resolve soon," Mr Tassone, who also practices at a pharmacy he co-owns in Victoria, says.

Mr Tassone says "it's a matter for the pharmacy what they charge their patients, should they offer that service".

"My pharmacy charges a fee of $25 and that is for a one-on-one consultation with the patient, or carer, if someone's seeking carer's leave.

"That's conducted in a private consultation room and notes are taken about the history of the patient and the presenting complaint and then, should a certificate be suitable, one is produced and recorded and provided to the patient."

Opting for online

Telehealth services and apps have been available for several years and have gained more prominence since the pandemic.

One provider offers certificates from as little as $9.

Another, which charges $19 for single-day absences, claims that an Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency-accredited doctor or nurse practitioner will review requests "within 15 minutes, 24/7", after patients fill out a short questionnaire, and approved certificates will then be issued via email.

Many of these services also issue medical certificates for up to seven days' medical leave for less than $50 after a telehealth consultation.

Submitting a statutory declaration

According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, a statutory declaration is an example of "an acceptable form of evidence" for medical leave.

The ombudsman states that "while there are no strict rules on what type of evidence needs to be given, the evidence has to convince a reasonable person that the employee was genuinely entitled to the sick or carer's leave".

Writing a statutory declaration in lieu of a medical certificate might sound like an easy option, but there's more to the process than simply drafting an email that declares you were unfit for work.

The declaration must be approved by either a Justice of the Peace (JP), Commissioner for Declarations or a lawyer and although a JP cannot charge a fee for their services, an employer may still question whether it constitutes reasonable evidence.

False information or documentation

Professor McCrystal, also warns providing any potentially false or misleading information to your employer could have serious consequences.

"If you go down the stat dec line, that's a legal document," she says.

"You never want to be telling untruths to your employer, but [doing so] in that very formal way could very much be grounds for a future disciplinary matter."