Yes, it is possible to get medical certificates online in Australia, if the doctor is appropriately trained and fully registered with AHPRA. These days it is quite common for Australian GPs and specialists to assess their patients via video consultation, for all sorts of health issues. You should expect the doctor to ask you some questions about your medical history and your symptoms, just as you would in a regular clinic. Sometimes the doctor may advise that you need to see a doctor in person, if they feel a physical examination is needed. A medical certificate issued via an appropriately conducted online assessment is a legal document, just the same as one you’d receive in a clinic. For more information on your rights as an employee go to www.fairwork.gov.au

Yes, an online medical certificate from one of our doctors is a legal document and contains all the appropriate information you’d expect- including relevant dates, full professional details of the doctor, and their signature. Qoctor has issued over 50,000 online medical certificates to date. Our service is supported by employees and employers alike.

An employee must inform their employer if intending to take sick leave or carer’s leave. This has to be done as soon as possible, but can be after the leave has started. It should be specified how long the absence from work will be, or is expected to be.

An employer can ask an employee to give evidence that confirms they took leave because they were unable  to work because of an illness or injury, or needed to care for an immediate family or household member who was experiencing illness, injury, or unexpected emergency.

Employers are entitled to ask employees for evidence for as little as 1 day or less off work.

An employee who does not provide their employer with evidence when asked may not be entitled to be paid for sick leave or carer’s leave.

An award or registered agreement can specify the circumstances in which an employee must give evidence to their employer and what type of evidence is required. The type of evidence requested must be reasonable in the circumstances.

Medical certificates and statutory declarations (stat decs) are  considered acceptable forms of evidence.  Although there are no strict rules on what type of evidence should be provided by an employee, the evidence has to convince a reasonable person that the employee was genuinely entitled to the leave.

What about medical appointments and planned surgery?

Medical appointments and elective surgeries that are pre-arranged can only be covered by sick leave if an employee is unable to work because of an illness or injury. It will depend on each individual circumstance. An employer can ask for evidence from an employee to confirm that they were unfit for work. This can help decide whether an employee should be paid sick leave or a different type of leave/entitlement.

Employers attending medical appointments

It is not considered reasonable for an employer to attend a medical appointment with an employee, unless the employee requests it. It is also not considered reasonable for an employer to contact the employee’s doctor to obtain information.

Further information about Australian law relating to sick leave and your rights as an employee can be found at www.fairwork.gov.au

Qoctor takes data security very seriously. Our website has 256 bit SSL data encryption and authentication. And we do not share your information with third parties.

As per Australian guidelines, the standard requirements for a medical certificate are:

• Name and address of the doctor issuing the certificate
• Name of the patient
• Date on which the examination took place
• Date on which the certificate was issued
• Date(s) on which the patient is or was unfit for attendance
• A diagnosis is not usually required. If it is a requirement for a diagnosis to be provided, the doctor should inform the patient and only proceed to include the diagnosis following the express consent of the patient.

• • Seeing an online doctor may be a new experience for many.
  • You can rest assured that every doctor on the Qoctor team is a licensed, registered & fully insured doctor based in Australia.
  • Qoctor adheres to the highest clinical standards.
  • Every document you receive from Qoctor will quote the AHPRA registration number and Medicare provider number of the relevant doctor- you can easily view the doctor’s registration details on the AHPRA website.

• • The short answer is yes- all our certificates are provided after an online consultation with a registered doctor based in Australia. Our certificates are valid legal documents and meet the appropriate legal requirements.
  • Online health services are commonplace in the United Kingdom and America and relatively new to Australia. Your employer may want to know more about us and our services. They can use the ‘contact us’ section or live chat on the bottom right, for more information about how our service works- we’ll be happy to help. Of course doctor-patient confidentiality is paramount- we’ll never share any of your personal information or health details with an employer or any third parties without your express permission.

• • Just follow the website instructions – you can choose a timeslot for a video consultation with the online doctor. 
  • Simply ensure you’re online on the video platform when your appointment is scheduled (don’t forget there may be a time difference, depending where you live. Our time slots are AEST)
  • You should receive an SMS and email 30 minutes prior to your appointment with a link to the video platform. Once your time slot begins, click on this link and you should find yourself in the video waiting room.
  • After your appointment, your medical certificate will be immediately uploaded to your account and emailed to you as a PDF.
  • If the doctor assesses you and feels you need to see a doctor in person, they may refund you and advise you what you need to do next.

• Click on the link ‘change consult time’ within the confirmation email and then select a time slot of your choice
• Alternatively you can access your profile on the website, and click on ‘change consult time’ 
• This can be done up to 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment slot.

• • You will receive your downloadable certificate within moments of your video consultation- it’ll be uploaded to your Qoctor account, and it will be emailed to you as a PDF attachment.

• • We will try to contact you firstly on the video platform and then on your mobile number if there is no answer. 
  • If we are still unable to get hold of you, we will send you a link via email which will allow you to book another later appointment for free, if you wish. You will have 48 hours to rebook, after which time the link will expire.

• Occasionally, following your video consultation, the online doctor may feel you need to be assessed in person. They may advise you that your symptoms require a physical examination, for safety reasons.
• In that case, you will be refunded and advised what to do next.

• • Following assessment, if the doctor deems it appropriate, they can certify that a period of illness occurred
    prior to the date of examination.
  • This means the medical certificate can state that you were unwell on recent dates in question, though the date of your video consultation must also appear on your medical certificate (that’s a legal requirement).
  • People are sometimes incorrectly advised by employers or others that getting a medical certificate relating to previous dates is not allowed. However, Australian employment law states that it is allowable for employees to obtain a medical certificate after the dates in question. According to www.fairwork.gov.au : “an employee has to let their employer know that they are going to take sick or carer’s leave. This has to be done as soon as possible, and can be after the leave has started. They should also specify how long they will be off or expect to be off work”.
  • If our online doctor is unable to issue a certificate for any reason, you will be issued a full refund.

• We do not currently offer these services, and recommend you see your regular GP
• Please register for updates about upcoming new services

• • Most employers will accept a PDF copy of your certificate- and they can go online to check its validity (though patient confidentiality is always maintained, your personal information is not shared).
  • We have issued over 52,000 certificates across Australia and have never had a certificate rejected.
  • Unfortunately we are unable to supply a paper copy of your online certificate, but you can obviously print out the document yourself if necessary. It will contain all the required information, including the doctor’s credentials, AHPRA registration number and their signature.
  • All certificates are generated electronically- we are a paperless practice as this improves efficiency and is kinder to the environment.