Extreme weather across parts of Australia

Published 8 January 2026

Some individuals and workplaces may be affected by extreme weather and bushfires.

Learn about your workplace rights and responsibilities if you’re affected.

On this page:

Help if you’re affected by severe weather

If you have an urgent enquiry about your workplace entitlements or obligations, you can call us.

Go to the Bureau of Meteorology website to check for any warnings and alerts. State authorities also have their own alerts and incidents pages.

Stand down

Some employees may be exposed to severe weather conditions such as bushfires, smoke, haze or hot conditions that may affect whether some workplaces can stay open.

If a business 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 break down, if the employer can't reasonably be held responsible for it, or
  • stoppage of work for which the employer can't reasonably be held responsible, which may include severe and inclement weather or natural disasters (such as bushfires or floods).

Tip: Before standing down employees use the 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.

The full checklist can be found 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
  • will be paid for any public holidays that fall during the period.

Awards, enterprise agreements and employment contracts can have different or extra rules about when an employer can stand down an employee without pay. An employer needs to follow these rules if they choose to stand down an employee.

Go to Pay during inclement or severe weather and natural disasters to learn more about:

  • when an employer can stand an employee down
  • whether an employee needs to be paid during a stand down, and
  • the difference between a stand down and a shut down.

Example: Business forced to close due to bushfire danger

Joe runs a business surrounded by national parks.

There are limited roads in and out of the town which increase the risks on high fire danger days.

Joe is contacted by their local fire station and is told that there will be a mandatory evacuation order the following day.

As Joe's business has been directed to close due to a reasonable direction from emergency services, Joe will stand down his employees that day.

Employees who are stood down are not entitled to be paid for that time.

Joe speaks to his employees. Some of his employees ask to take annual leave instead of being stood down. Joe agrees to this.

If you have any applicable award, enterprise agreement or workplace contract, check it for further information.

Taking paid or unpaid leave

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

Leave options may include:

Minimum entitlements to leave come from the National Employment Standards (NES). Awards and enterprise agreements can’t offer less than the minimums in the NES but they can provide more.

For more information on leave entitlements, go to Leave.

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.

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, visit:

Sick and carer’s leave

Employees (other than casual employees or employees who are stood down) can take paid sick leave when they can't work because of a personal illness or injury. For example, an employee injured during severe weather may be entitled to sick leave.

Example: Taking sick leave during severe weather

Penny is an architect who lives in a regional area.

After her town experiences a bushfire, she injures her wrist while helping residents evacuate. She can’t work until her wrist heals.

Penny contacts her employer, George, and asks to take sick leave to cover this period.

When George asks for evidence, Penny 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
  • affected by an unexpected emergency.

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

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 for one of these reasons.

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

Employees, including casual employees, can take community service leave for certain voluntary emergency management activities. This applies when 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 while the employee is engaged in the activity and for 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 heatwaves and bush fires

Asha is a registered volunteer for the local Country Fire Authority (CFA). She’s been told that she needs to help for one week in response to severe weather in her local area.

Asha is entitled to unpaid community service leave because:

  • the CFA is a recognised emergency management body
  • Asha is a volunteer engaged in an emergency management activity during a natural disaster or emergency.

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

After further discussion, Kelly asks Asha to provide her with a letter from the CFA for evidence of the reason for her absence. Asha does this and then takes leave to assist with the heatwave warnings and bushfires.

Find out more at Community service leave.

Defence Reservists

Defence Reservists may be called to help with natural disasters and extreme weather conditions.

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 Defence reservists – rights and responsibilities at work fact sheet.

Accessing flexible working arrangements

Some employers and employees might want to negotiate ways to make their workplace more flexible to help navigate the challenges of natural disasters such as a bushfire or a heatwave. For example, employers and employees can discuss changes to:

  • hours of work
  • patterns of work
  • location of work.

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

Emergency

In case of an emergency, call 000.

Workplace health and safety

Some work sites may currently be unsafe due to the extreme weather.

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.

State and territory emergency support

Financial assistance

If you have been affected by the extreme weather or a bushfire and need financial or welfare support or assistance, please visit:

Health and wellbeing support

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

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