COVID-19 support for workers
This page outlines guidance and advice for workers affected by COVID-19.
COVID-19 and work
NSW Health strongly recommends people who are sick or have tested positive to COVID-19 stay home until their symptoms have gone.
Read the advice for people who test positive to COVID-19 and immediately notify your employer.
Employers must follow a risk management approach to keep other workers safe from COVID-19 and read the advice for businesses with a worker who tests positive.
Read the payments and support available to people affected by COVID-19 on Services Australia.
Payments if you get sick
Financial support for people who test positive to COVID-19 and need to self-isolate has changed.
Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment ended on 14 October 2022.
Some workers may be able to claim paid leave, such as sick leave, while others may be well enough to continue working from home.
If you can't earn an income because you or someone you’re caring for had to self-isolate or quarantine due to COVID-19, there are other crisis payments available through Services Australia.
Support for health care workers, including in-home care
The High-Risk Setting Pandemic Payment (HRSPP) is for workers in high-risk settings like health care or aged care who can’t earn an income due to COVID-19.
HRSPP supports eligible healthcare workers in Aboriginal, hospital, aged care and disability care work, including those providing in-home care, if they get sick.
It pays:
- $450 if you lost at least 8 hours or a full day’s pay, but less than 20 hours
- $750 if you lost 20 hours or more of work.
This payment helps workers isolate if they test positive to COVID-19, protecting their patients and people at a higher risk of becoming very sick.
To be eligible, you must meet all of the following:
- you have not claimed or been paid HRSPP or Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment for any day since testing positive to COVID-19
- work in a high-risk setting
- have no paid leave entitlements available
- have lost at least 8 hours or a full day’s work
- have liquid assets of less than $10,000 on the first day of the period you’re claiming for
- haven’t exceeded the claiming limit
- all other eligibility for this payment.
If you caught COVID-19 at work
Talk to your employer as soon as possible if you have COVID-19 and think you caught it at work. You may be able to claim workers compensation.
In most cases, you’ll need to prove that your work activities were the main contributing factor in getting COVID-19.
To make a claim, you’ll need:
- a certificate of capacity from your doctor to prove your diagnosis
- information from your employer and doctor that shows your job was the main contributing factor in catching COVID-19.
For more information on making a claim see icare Coronavirus information.
The State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) also has guidance on making workers compensation claims.