Request annual leave with clear dates, the expected return to work and any information needed under your workplace’s process. Check your balance and the applicable rules, then obtain the employer’s response before treating the time away as agreed.
A leave balance and permission to take particular dates are different things. Planning early helps identify coverage issues, but there is no single notice period that applies to every workplace and every leave request.
Check the entitlement and request process
Fair Work’s annual leave fact sheet explains the minimum entitlement for employees in the national system. Non-casual employees generally accumulate four weeks per year based on ordinary hours; qualifying shiftworkers may have a different entitlement.
Check your award or agreement, contract and workplace policy for the process that applies. Fair Work’s taking annual leave guidance states that an employer must not unreasonably refuse a request. A pending request is still different from confirmed dates.
Use hours as well as dates where your roster varies. Check whether a public holiday falls within the period and ask payroll how the absence will be recorded. Do not independently change the balance to match an estimate.
Prepare a complete request
Include the first day away, last day away, expected return and the relevant leave type. If your employer uses a portal, submit there rather than assuming an informal conversation completed the request.
The following original email is fictional. Alex, the dates and the work arrangements are invented.
Subject: Annual leave request — 16 to 20 November
Dear Manager,
I would like to request annual leave from Monday 16 November to Friday 20 November, returning on Monday 23 November.
I have submitted the request through the leave system. My proposed handover would identify outstanding enquiries, their owners and the documents the team needs. Please let me know whether these dates can be approved or whether we need to discuss an alternative.
Kind regards,
Alex Example
Adapt the message to the actual roster and year. The fictional five-day pattern is not a calculation of your leave entitlement or an approved absence.
Offer useful handover information
A practical handover makes work visible without promising that colleagues will accept extra duties. List deadlines, current status, the responsible person and any approval needed. Ask the manager to confirm cover rather than allocating colleagues yourself.
Use this short planning record:
- Before departure: finish or identify work that cannot wait.
- During leave: name the agreed contact for each remaining task.
- Access: confirm that authorised colleagues can find the current records.
- Return: note decisions or changes that should be included in the handback.
Do not make routine availability during leave a condition you offer automatically. Discuss any genuine operational issue separately and clarify the arrangement.
Record the outcome and changes
Keep the approval or written response, check the dates in the system and review the resulting leave entry. If your circumstances change, request the change through the same verified process. Do not assume a colleague’s agreement substitutes for the employer’s approval.
If a request is refused, ask for the reason and discuss alternatives. Seek official guidance about an unresolved entitlement question instead of turning a disagreement into an unauthorised absence.
Our employment-type comparison provides broader context for different work arrangements. Check your own arrangement and records before using another worker’s leave experience as a guide.
