Emergency Leave Advice (Post Natural Disaster)
Scenario 1 – You are dealing with an active emergency at home (Emergency Leave)
If your home or living situation has been directly impacted — structural damage, flooding, unsafe conditions, major debris, evacuation or displacement — you should be eligible for Emergency Leave.
This leave is designed to give you time to:
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make your home safe
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organise urgent repairs
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arrange temporary accommodation
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deal with insurers or essential services
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stabilise immediate living arrangements.
A template email for requesting Emergency Leave is available here.
Scenario 2 – You volunteered as part of the official emergency response (Emergency Management / Miscellaneous Leave)
If you:
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volunteered with an official emergency service (NTES, Bushfires, Fire & Rescue, etc.), or
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volunteered or were directed by the Department to assist in a shelter or other emergency operation,
you should be entitled to Emergency Management / Miscellaneous Leave, or to have that time treated as duty.
This leave ensures you are not disadvantaged in your own leave balances because you contributed to the Territory’s emergency response.
A template email for requesting Emergency Management / Miscellaneous Leave is available here.
Scenario 3 – You are injured, exhausted, or otherwise not fit for work (Personal Leave)
If you are:
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physically unwell or injured
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emotionally depleted
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experiencing distress or anxiety
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caring for a family or household member who is not coping
then Personal Leave is appropriate.
If you are not fit for duty, you can say so. Obtain a medical certificate or documentation if possible.
A template email for requesting Personal Leave is available here.
Scenario 4 – You are able to attend work
If your home is safe, you are fit for duty and you can make it in, your presence will support colleagues who need time and space to deal with the impact of the storm on their homes, families and health.
Government schools form part of the Territory’s essential public services. In situations like this, you may be asked to take on tasks that sit outside your usual day-to-day duties. Your enterprise agreement and contract allow for this flexibility in such exceptional circumstances — including helping with clean-up, supervision, administrative work or supporting operations at another site.
At the same time, your capacity matters. Being part of an essential service does not mean disregarding your own safety or wellbeing. We encourage you to use the leave options above if they better reflect your situation. Remember the advice of every flight attendant — fit your own mask first before you assist those around you.
Contacting the union
Power is currently out at the AEU NT office, so our phones are not yet operating as normal. We will staff the phones as soon as systems are safely restored.
In the meantime, if you need support or advice:
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please complete the support form on our website, and
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we will triage amongst our team to have someone reach out to you as soon as possible.
If you can’t reach us and you are in doubt — we will support you to take the day off as necessary.
