By Sue Jackel
One of the more common issues we see early in the intern year is uncertainty regarding leave. The Enterprise Agreement (EA) sets out your pay and conditions – including 14 types of leave.
What leave is available?
As an intern, you have already been allocated your annual leave for 2026. This is 2 weeks during the year, and 3 weeks at the end of your intern period.
You must have 47 weeks of experience to gain your General Registration, and it is assumed that you may take a modest amount of personal leave during this period.
If you use more than ‘a few days’ (in total), you may be required to work during the final 3-week period of your intern contract. In this instance, please contact AMA Victoria / ASMOF Victoria to discuss.
Leave entitlements
There are 14 leave types allowed under the Enterprise Agreement.
However, as an intern you will not need or be able to take many of these, as you must have 47 weeks experience to gain your General Registration.
The 14 types are:
Examination leave (Clause 49)
Conference leave (Clause 50)
Annual leave (Clause 60)
Personal leave – includes sick leave and carer leave (Clause 61)
Compassionate leave (Clause 64)
Pre-natal leave (Clause 65)
Pre-adoption leave (Clause 66)
Parental leave (Clause 67)
Long service leave (Clause 68)
Jury service leave (Clause 69)
Voluntary Emergency Management Leave (Clause 70)
Defence leave (Clause 70A)
Special Disaster leave (Clause 70B)
Family Violence leave (Clause 71)
The types of leave interns usually take
Personal leave – for when you are sick or injured. You have 3 individual days where you do not need evidence of your illness. Beyond that, you will need a medical certificate from your GP or a statutory declaration. If you are unwell for more than 2 days, you will be pressed to provide a medical certificate as your health service will want to know that you have sought treatment.
You may need leave to care for a family member or household member. In these situations, a medical certificate or statutory declaration will usually be required as proof.
Some health services will grant you your full 28 days per year from internship, but others will accrue it progressively. This is lawful – check your payslip for your leave balances.
Conference leave – as an intern, your goal is to satisfactorily complete your rotations. If you want to attend a conference, you must ensure that it is relevant to your rotation. Depending on how much personal leave you take, taking conference leave may mean that you do not meet the 47-week requirement. If you are thinking about conference leave, contact AMA/ASMOF to discuss.
Parental leave – a doctor, who is the birthing parent, who has completed 6 months service is entitled to 12 months parental leave (14 paid and 38 unpaid weeks). If you find that you are pregnant and will need parental leave, contact AMA/ASMOF immediately for advice specific to your situation. A non-birthing parent is entitled to two paid weeks.
Compassionate leave – you are entitled to 2 days leave on each occasion, when:
A member of your immediate family or household has an illness or injury that poses a serious threat to life or dies
A stillborn child is born (where the child would have been immediate family or a household member)
A spouse or partner has a miscarriage.
Family Violence leave – 20 days of paid special leave is available. If you may need this leave, contact AMA/ASMOF immediately for advice specific to your situation.
How to take leave
Your health service will have forms you need to complete to apply for leave, so check your Intranet. You should have been provided with this information during Intern Orientation Week.
What to do if you are having problems
Issues are much easier to resolve early.
Check first – make sure that you have applied for the correct leave and if needed, provided a medical certificate or statutory declaration.
Raise it locally – contact your hospital’s Medical Workforce Unit or Payroll. Be clear and specific about what you think is incorrect. Ensure that this is in an email trail as you can rely on that if needed.
Keep records – Having your own records is important now and throughout your career. Keep a diary of your rosters and include days of leave, reason for leave and keep a digital copy of evidence in your personal email. Save your payslips to your personal computer. Do not rely on accessing your information from your current health service, as if/when you change health services, you will not be able to access your email or other folders.
Contact AMA Victoria – if the issue is ongoing, unclear, you cannot get an answer or is not being resolved, contact us. We will help you understand your entitlements and how to escalate appropriately.
Click here to learn more about your EA.
And if needed, we are here to support you – email us at [email protected]
Sue Jackel is Workplace Relations Team Leader at AMA Victoria and a Victoria Industrial Officer at Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation (ASMOF) Victoria.