Managing family responsibilities
We recognise that sometimes family commitments may make it difficult to meet work responsibilities.
We have a range of leave options depending on your needs and employment type. Most leave can be applied for on HRonline.
Most full-time staff are entitled to four weeks annual leave each year including 17.5 per cent leave loading paid in December. Annual leave helps you to relax and rejuvenate and gives you a good work life balance.
It is best to use all annual leave days accrued each year. If you do carry days over to the following year, you should make sure your balance does not exceed 20 days at any time. If you are planning an extended absence such as a long holiday you can negotiate with your manager to build up your days. If you are doing this, the leave must be taken within two years.
Apply or check your annual leave balance using HRonline.
If you are an academic staff member, see annual leave for academic staff for more specific information.
Otherwise see the leave and holidays section of your relevant enterprise agreement.
Annual leave accrued in a calendar year is required to be taken within the period of the twenty (20) working days following the commencement of the University's annual closedown. Staff may access their annual leave entitlement during the year with prior approval of the Head of School.
Academic staff are encouraged to discuss and plan annual leave with their supervisor and book it in HRonline.
Staff may request to cash out an amount of paid annual leave on reasonable grounds. Other than in exceptional circumstances, the maximum amount of annual leave that may be cashed out during the life of the enterprise agreement is two (2) weeks.
For further advice or requests, please contact your HR Client Services Advisor.
The purchased leave scheme is available for all staff engaged under the University’s Enterprise Agreements.
Under this scheme you can apply to ‘purchase’ a minimum of one week in one block and up to eight weeks of additional paid leave a year. By purchasing this leave, you forgo a small part of your salary over a year period. The amount of this depends on how many weeks of purchased leave you apply for.
Further information on purchased leave is included in the University’s Enterprise Agreements.
To apply, complete the purchased leave form (PDF, 436KB).
For more information, see Information for Staff and Supervisors – Purchased Leave (PDF, 202KB).
Note: Staff that need to attend to critical operational matters may be required to work on University holiday days.
Staff members who are not required for duty will be allowed to observe the following days (or substitute holiday declared for the State of NSW) as holidays:
Staff (other than casuals) are entitled to 15 days paid personal/carer's leave per year of service. The entitlement is pro-rated for part-time staff.
A staff member can take personal/carer's leave;
Apply for personal/carer's leave using HROnline.
The University may grant an unpaid leave of absence for a variety of reasons. Unpaid leave can only be used when annual and long service leave has been exhausted. To apply for unpaid leave please complete the Unpaid Leave Application form and log a request in Service Now under 'Ask HR Advice".
You are entitled to three months leave (two months for casuals) after 10 years of service (whether continuous or broken). This entitlement then increases for every year after that. To apply for long service leave or to check your balance see HRonline. If you do not have access please complete the long service leave application form (PDF, 428KB).
To ensure you are using your long service leave accrual you should try to keep your accrued balance to no more than three months at any one time.
For more information see your relevant Enterprise Agreement.
Parents are able to take advantage of up to 26 weeks of paid parental leave (or 52 weeks on half pay) after the birth (or placement through adoption or fostering) of your child. This is separate from and may be taken at the same time as the Australian Government's Paid Parental Leave Scheme. The staff member taking the leave can be male or female but must be the primary carer of the child. If you are not the birth mother but intend to become the primary carer and take paid parental leave, please contact the HR Leave Specialist to get more information on your entitlements.
To apply please complete the parental leave application form (PDF, 488KB).
To vary or request an extension to parental leave please complete the variation form (PDF, 441KB).
Full details are outlined in the Parental Leave Booklet (PDF, 2MB).
Partners are entitled to three weeks paid leave after the birth (or placement through adoption or fostering) of your child. This is separate from the Australian Government Dad and Partner pay. You cannot receive the Government entitlement at the same time as you are taking paid leave from the University.
To apply please complete the partner leave application form (PDF, 488KB).
If you are a recognised member of an emergency services body you can get up to two days of paid leave to perform duties during an emergency. If the emergency is officially declared a natural disaster this can be extended by another two days. To apply for this leave please go to HRonline.
The University supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff by providing access to up to 10 days paid Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leave annually (in addition to the personal leave provisions) and 10 days unpaid Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leave, for the purposes of:
To apply for this leave please use HRonline.
A staff member will continue to be paid their normal salary on condition they reimburse the University the amount received as attendance fees. You will need to provide proof of your attendance including the duration of the service and the amount you were paid.
To apply for leave please use HRonline.
The University may grant study leave and/or examination leave and/or reimbursement of study fees for study leading to a formal qualification relevant and appropriate to the staff member's current or likely future duties and responsibilities at the University, and of benefit to the University.
For more information, please refer to the Study and Reimbursement of Fees Procedure or contact your HR Client Services Advisor.
You can apply for Study and/or Examination Leave through HRonline.
Staff who are members of the Australian Defence Force Reserves are able to access 14 days leave on full pay. If you are in your first year of the Defence Reserve Service you get an additional 14 days on top of this to attend training and inductions. You can apply for this leave through HRonline.
For more information see Defence Reserves Leave - information for Staff and Supervisors
If you are acting as a witness on behalf of the University, you will be considered to be on duty and will receive your ordinary pay.
If you are subpoenaed, summoned or called as a witness for all other proceedings, you will notify the University of your required absence and apply for and be granted annual leave, long service leave or unpaid leave for the period of the absence.
To apply for leave please use HRonline.
Academic staff are eligible to apply for the Special Studies Program.
You can reverse an approved leave request by logging on to HRONline.
If you are on a period of approved annual leave and become eligible for personal leave due to illness, injury or incapacity, you may be entitled under the Fair Work Act (2009) to have your annual leave re-credited.
If you are on long service leave, and you become sick, it is not possible to reverse the leave and re-book the period of leave as personal/carer's leave unless:
The University of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands within our footprint areas: Awabakal, Darkinjung, Biripai, Worimi, Wonnarua, and Eora Nations. We also pay respect to the wisdom of our Elders past and present.