Circular 2025/08: Leave and working arrangements during a natural disaster or emergency

Published 18 December 2025

1. The purpose of this advice is to ensure a consistent approach to flexible working and leave arrangements across Australian Government employment for persons directly impacted where an official warning is issued for a disaster or emergency. This Circular reflects updated outcomes following the implementation of the Statement of Common Conditions (the Statement) as an outcome of Australian Public Service (APS) wide bargaining and replaces Circular WR 2016/5W.

Natural disasters and emergencies

2. The Australian Emergency Management Arrangements Handbook 2023 (The Handbook) defines a disaster as a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or society at any scale due to hazardous events interacting with conditions of exposure, vulnerability and capacity, leading to one or more of the following: human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts.
3. The Handbook defines an emergency as an event, actual or imminent, which endangers or threatens to endanger life, property or the environment and which requires a significant and coordinated response.
4. There is jurisdictional variation in the use of the terms ‘disaster’ and ‘emergency’. Agencies should consider the guidance which applies in the relevant location.

Disaster Support for employees

5. In accordance with the Statement, APS agencies have bargained enterprise agreements that incorporate a common clause on Disaster Support.
6. Non-APS agencies may have put in place workplace arrangements that have had regard to the Statement.
7. The common clause on disaster support provides that where an official disaster or emergency is declared and this prevents an employee from reasonably attending work or where it affects their household or home, the Agency Head will consider flexible working arrangements to assist the affected employee to perform their work.
8. The common clause on flexible work further notes that employees will not be required by their agency to work from home unless it is lawful and reasonable to do so. This may include where circumstances prevent attendance at an office during a pandemic or natural disaster. In these situations, the agency will consider the circumstances of the employees and options to achieve work outcomes safely.
9. Where flexible working arrangements are not appropriate, the common clause on disaster support provides that an Agency Head may grant paid miscellaneous leave with regard to the scale and nature of the emergency. All leave for this purpose should count as service. It may be approved retrospectively.
10. In considering what period of leave is appropriate, Agency Heads are to consider the safety of the employee, their family (including their household) and advice from local, state and Commonwealth authorities.
11. These arrangements should apply until the responsible state or territory emergency management authority declares that the emergency or disaster warning has passed.
12. Where an employee is already on pre-approved leave during a disaster or emergency, then the employee shall remain absent from work on that pre-approved leave.
13. Where access to miscellaneous (or equivalent) leave is not appropriate, personal/carer’s leave or another form of accrued leave is able to be accessed if the requirements of that leave type are met.

Employees affected by school closures and other carer responsibilities

14. Agencies are reminded that in accordance with APS bargaining and the implementation of the Statement, APS agencies have bargained enterprise agreements that incorporate the common clause on personal/carer’s leave as outlined in the Statement. Some agency enterprise agreements have retained more beneficial conditions.
15. Consistent with agency enterprise agreements and the Statement, employees are entitled to access carers’ leave to care for a person they have a caring responsibility for (including caring responsibilities outside an employee’s immediate family or household) who is affected by an unexpected emergency.
16. Non-APS agencies may have put in place workplace arrangements that have had regard to the Statement. Non-APS agencies are asked to apply the terms of their particular personal/carer’s leave arrangements accordingly.

Emergency Response leave

17. Agencies are reminded that under the National Employment Standards, employees volunteering for a recognised emergency service are entitled to be absent from work for participation in voluntary emergency management activities. There is no limit to the entitlement to unpaid leave under the National Employment Standards.
18. The 24 December 2019 Prime Minister’s direction under subsection 21(1) of the Public Service Act 1999 provides for a minimum of 20 working days or for employees who work a roster/perform shift work, 28 calendar days (which may be accessed continuously or on separate occasions) paid emergency response leave per annum for APS employees who are members of a recognised volunteer service and are deploying as part of an emergency response. Further information on the Prime Minister’s Direction can be found on the APSC website.
19. Consistent with APS bargaining and the implementation of the Statement, agencies have bargained enterprise agreements that incorporate the common condition on Emergency Response leave as outlined in the Statement. Some agency enterprise agreements may have retained more beneficial conditions.
20. Non-APS agencies may have put in place workplace arrangements that have had regard to the Statement. Non-APS agencies are asked to apply the terms of their particular emergency response leave arrangements (where applicable) accordingly.
21. Emergency Response Leave allows employees who are members of a recognised emergency management body to be absent from work to volunteer for emergency management duties. This includes the time engaged in the activity, reasonable travelling time and reasonable recovery time. In accordance with the common clause, full-time and part-time employees are able to access 20 working days of paid emergency response leave at their full rate of pay per year if required.
22. Agencies should check the Emergency Response Leave term in their Enterprise Agreement before applying the provisions as required.
23. The Prime Mi nister’s direction continues to operate until repealed. The Emergency Response Leave common clause implements this provision. It is not intended that employees access the leave provided by their agency’s enterprise agreement in addition to the Prime Minister’s Direction.
24. State and territory emergency services Acts have provisions for voluntary emergency management leave, which may include paid leave. Those conditions may override an enterprise agreement, any other employment instrument and the National Employment Standards. Agencies should refer to the Act applicable to their state or territory.

Measures following a natural disaster

25. Agencies should provide an appropriate and compassionate response to employees' needs after a disaster or emergency. The principles outlined above should guide granting such leave entitlements and/or ad hoc flexible working arrangements with regard to the needs of the affected employees.
26. Agencies should also remind employees of access to relevant supports such as Employee Assistance Program services or other helplines and published resources.

Work health and safety obligations

27. All employers have a legal duty, through the relevant work health and safety laws applying to each state and territory, and the Commonwealth, to provide a safe workplace and to protect the health and wellbeing of employees. These obligations:
    • extend to circumstances involving disasters and emergencies and the need to ensure that workers are adequately protected from risks to personal harm in these circumstances;
    • apply when workers work from home just as they do in traditional workplaces such as offices; and
    • include psychosocial hazards.
28. Agencies should always remain mindful of their obligations when considering their response to disaster and emergency warnings.

Further information

29. Further information on the National Employment Standards:

Personal/carers leave

Community service leave

30. Further information on the Statement of Common Conditions.
31. State and territory governments administer the declaration of disasters and emergencies. Agencies and employees are encouraged to maintain an awareness of relevant instructions and advice from state, territory and local governments following a warning being issued .
32. Agencies should refer to the relevant state or territory government emergency management information for further detail:

New South Wales Government Ministry for Police and Emergency Services

Emergency Management in Victoria

Queensland Government Disaster Management

Department of Fire and Emergency Services - Western Australia

South Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commission

State Emergency Services—Tasmania

Northern Territory Emergency Service

Australian Capital Territory Emergency Services Agency

33. For information on warning services, see the Bureau of Meteorology website.
34. For further information and resources see the National Emergency Management Agency website and the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience. Additional resources include the, Australian Emergency Management Arrangements and the Australian Disaster Resilience Handbook Collection
35. Should you need any further information please contact your APSC Relationship Manager or email the Workplace Relations Branch at workplacerelations@apsc.gov.au.