Flooding in parts of Australia

Published 19 December 2023

There may be individuals and workplaces affected by flooding in parts of Australia.

Learn your workplace rights and responsibilities if you're affected.

On this page:

Help if you’re affected by a natural disaster

If you have an urgent enquiry about your workplace entitlements or obligations, please contact us. You can call us or lodge an online enquiry.

Stand down

Floods may affect whether some workplaces can stay open.

If a business can’t open or needs to temporarily close, employers may be able to stand down an employee in some circumstances. This includes when an employee can't do useful work because of:

  • equipment breakdown if the employer isn't responsible for it, or
  • stoppage of work for which the employer can't be held responsible, including severe and inclement weather or natural disasters (such as floods).

Before standing down employees: Employer checklist

Employers should consider all available options before making the decision to stand down their employees. This can include:

  • working from home arrangements
  • changes to duties, hours of work or rosters
  • accessing paid or unpaid leave.

Read the full checklist at Before standing down employees: employer checklist.

During a stand down period, an employee:

  • doesn't need to be paid
  • accrues leave in the usual way.

Some awards, agreements and employment contracts have extra rules about when an employer can stand down an employee without pay. 

If you have one, check your registered agreement or contract for further information. You can search for your agreement on the Fair Work Commission’s website: Find an agreement.

Example: Stand down and annual leave when a business can’t operate

Anthony’s cafe has been damaged by a flood and can’t open.

Anthony’s not sure what to do about paying his 3 employees. He finds that the award covering his cafe doesn’t talk about businesses shutting down due to natural disasters. This means Anthony can stand down his employees without pay because:

  • Anthony can’t be held responsible for the flood
  • there’s no useful work for them to do.

Anthony would like to make sure his employees are still paid during the stand down, so he checks their current leave entitlements. He finds that they all have annual leave available.

Anthony contacts each one to tell them the business can’t open because of the floods and he can’t provide them with useful employment at this stage. He also tells them that the Fair Work Act allows him to stand them down without pay until the business can re-open.

As an alternative, he gives them the option of using their paid leave entitlements. Anthony makes it clear there’s no obligation to take this leave. 2 employees choose to take paid leave. The other decides to keep their leave for a future holiday.

Anthony emails his employees to confirm the arrangements they discussed and gives them his contact details. He advises the employees that he will be in regular contact throughout the closure period. He’ll also notify them when the business is up and running again.

Go to our Pay during inclement or severe weather and natural disasters page for more information.

Taking paid or unpaid leave

There are paid and unpaid leave entitlements employees can access if they’re affected by the floods. They can also take leave to assist with emergency management activities.

Leave options include:

Minimum entitlements to annual leave, sick and carer’s leave and community service leave come from the National Employment Standards (NES). Awards and registered agreements can’t offer less than the minimums in the NES but they can provide more.

Annual leave

Annual leave can be taken at any time an employer and employee agree. An employer can only refuse a request for annual leave if the refusal is reasonable.

Example: Taking annual leave to prepare for a flood

Angelo is a warehouse manager in a regional town. His house sits on a flood plain and is vulnerable to flooding.

Severe weather is expected in the coming days and his house is at risk of flooding.

Angelo talks with his employer, Christina, about taking time off work to prepare his house for potential flooding. Christina agrees for Angelo to take 3 days paid annual leave he has accrued to help prepare for possible flooding.

The request is put in writing and then lodged within the payroll system.

Angelo promises to keep Christina updated on any changes, such as needing to request more annual leave.

In some cases, an employer may be able to direct an employee to take annual leave. These rules are set out in awards and registered agreements. 

For more information about taking annual leave and directing an employee to take leave, see: 

Sick and carer’s leave

Employees (other than casual employees) affected by a natural disaster or emergency may be entitled to take paid sick and carer’s leave.

An employee can take paid sick leave when they can't work because of a personal illness or injury. For example, an employee injured during a flood may be entitled to sick leave.

Example: Taking sick leave during a flood

Shannon is a civil engineer who lives in a regional area.

After her town experiences severe flooding, she injures her foot in the floodwaters. She can’t work until her foot heals.

Shannon contacts her employer, Peter, and asks to take sick leave to cover this period.

When Peter asks for evidence, Shannon provides him with a medical certificate from her doctor.

An employee can take paid carer’s leave to care for or support a member of their immediate family or household who is:

  • sick
  • injured, or
  • has an unexpected emergency.

For example, an employee may be able to take carer’s leave if their child’s school closes unexpectedly due to a flood.

Full-time and part-time employees who have used all of their paid sick and carer’s leave are entitled to 2 days unpaid carer's leave per occasion to provide care and support to a family or household member due to:

  • illness
  • injury, or
  • an unexpected emergency.

Casual employees can also take unpaid carer’s leave for one of these reasons.

An employee has to let their employer know that they are taking sick or carer’s leave. They may also need to provide evidence.

Find out more about:

Community service leave

All employees (including casuals) are entitled to take community service leave for certain voluntary emergency management activities. This applies so long as what they are doing fits the definition of a voluntary emergency management activity. Learn more about this definition at Community service leave.

Community service leave is unpaid. It can be taken for both voluntary emergency management activity and reasonable travel and rest time. 

There’s no limit on the amount of community service leave an employee can take.

Example: Taking community service leave to help with the floods

Shona is a registered volunteer for the Queensland State Emergency Service (SES). She’s been requested to volunteer for one week in response to a flood.

Shona would like to help but isn’t sure whether she can take time off work and whether she’s entitled to any income.

Shona is in fact entitled to unpaid community service leave because:

  • the SES is a recognised emergency management body
  • Shona is a volunteer engaged in SES emergency management activity during a natural disaster or emergency.

Shona emails her employer, Eva, telling her that she will be taking community service leave and expects to be back in 7 days.

After further discussion, Eva asks Shona to provide her with a letter from the SES for evidence of the reason for her absence. Shona does this and then takes leave to assist with the flood recovery.

Find out more at Community service leave.

Defence Reservists

Defence Reservists may be called to help with the floods.

In addition to the NES and any entitlements under an award or agreement, Defence Reservists have rights and protections under the Defence Reserve Service (Protection) Act 2001 when they are absent from work on defence service leave. This includes the right to:

  • be released from work while undertaking defence service
  • continue to be employed on their return.

For more information, read our fact sheet: Defence reservists – rights and responsibilities at work.

Accessing flexible working arrangements

Some employers and employees may wish to negotiate ways to make their workplace more flexible to help navigate the challenges of the floods. For example, employers and employees can discuss changing:

  • what hours they work
  • what days they work
  • where they perform their work.

Example: Requesting to work from home

Vijay runs an accountancy business in a town surrounded by floodwaters.

One of his employees, Sandra, lives out of town and road closures mean she can’t get into work. Sandra would prefer to keep working instead of taking leave, so she talks to Vijay about her options.

Vijay agrees to flexible working arrangements and tells Sandra she can work from home until the roads re-open. They formalise this arrangement in writing.

Find out about the formal ways employers and employees can make their workplace more flexible at Flexibility in the workplace.

Other services and useful contacts

Workplace health and safety

Some work sites may currently be unsafe due to the floods. 

For information about health and safety in the workplace, please contact your state or territory workplace health and safety authority. Go to List of all state and territory WHS bodies.

Emergency

In case of an emergency, call 000.

State and territory emergency support

Access government support and state or territory emergency effort information at:

Financial assistance

If you have been affected by the floods and need financial or welfare support or assistance, please visit:

Support services

Learn how support services are available at Health and wellbeing support.

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