Supporting Leave for Living Organ Donors
Donor Guidelines
1.
What is the Supporting Leave for
Living Organ Donors Programme?
The aim of the Supporting Leave for Living Organ
Donors Programme (the Programme) is to reduce
financial stress associated with being a living organ
donor, raise the profile of living organ donors and
encourage employers to support employees who have
chosen to donate an organ.
The Programme provides a financial contribution to
employers who have paid an employee for leave to
attend medical appointments to assess their
suitability to become a living organ donor (kidney or
partial liver) and/or undergo and recover from living
donor surgery in the form of paid leave, or an exgratia payment in lieu of paid leave. Payments are
calculated for up to nine weeks of leave, based on a
38-hour week, at up to the National Minimum Wage.
The payment to employers is to either replenish an
employee's leave or contribute towards reimbursing
the employer, where they have made a payment to
their employee in place of income lost due to organ
donation.
2.
Why do we have the Programme?
Living organ donation is major surgery and is not
without risk to the donor. Prospective donors are
required to undergo extensive testing to ensure they
are physically and mentally able to donate. If surgery
proceeds, the donor will require a significant amount
of time off work to recover. Some donors may be
required to take this period as leave without pay, or
they may exhaust their paid leave entitlements. This
can lead to financial stress with some donors feeling
compelled to return to work against medical advice.
The Programme is not an incentive to donate. It is
designed to help support those people who wish to
donate but cannot afford to due to loss of income and
the financial stress it would cause for them and their
family.
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3.
Who can apply?
To be eligible for the Supporting Leave for Living
Organ Donors Programme you, the donor, must be:
a) an Australian citizen or permanent resident with a
valid Medicare card;
b) 18 years of age or older;
c) intending to donate a kidney or partial liver
between 1 July 2015 and 30 June 2017;
d) employed by:
i. a registered Australian business;
ii. the same employer (or self-employed) for at
least 28 days prior (56 days prior for casual
employees) to either signing the Individual
Registration Form or the date of surgery
(whichever was first); and
iii. an employer willing to participate in the
Programme and pay you for your time-off.
The Department of Health will assess an applicant’s
eligibility based on the information and evidence
supplied on the Individual Registration Form.
4.
What is acceptable evidence for
eligibility?
You must provide acceptable evidence with the
Individual Registration Form to confirm you meet the
eligibility requirements, including:
a) Australian Citizenship/Residency
A copy of your Medicare card should be provided
so we can confirm your Australian citizenship or
residency.
b) Age
You must provide your age on the Individual Claim
Form and we will confirm this through your
Medicare record.
c) Intention to donate
You must provide your proposed date of surgery
on the Individual Claim Form. It must fall between
1 July 2015 and 30 June 2017.
d) Employer
Your employer’s ABN will be used to confirm you
are employed by a registered Australian business.
e) Length of time employed
You must be employed by the same employer for
at least 28 days (56 days for casual employees)
prior to signing the Individual Registration Form or
the surgery date (whichever was first). Suitable
evidence includes payslips or a letter on your
employer’s letterhead signed by a suitable office
holder.
f) Self-employed
If self-employed, you must have been selfemployed for at least 28 days prior to signing the
Individual Registration Form or the surgery date
(whichever was first). Suitable evidence would be a
business activity statement, tax return or profit and
loss statement that includes advice on your period
of self-employment.
g) Income
Suitable evidence is required to confirm the
income you earned for the 28 days (56 days for
casual employees) prior to signing the Individual
Registration Form or the surgery date (whichever
was first). Evidence can include payslips or a letter
on your employer’s letterhead signed by a suitable
office holder.
5.
How can I register for the
Programme?
You should submit your registration for eligibility
assessment and supporting documents prior to
commencing leave for donation (but no more than
28 days prior to your surgery date). If the application is
incomplete, the Department of Health will contact your
for more information.
5.1
Full-time/part-time employees
If you would like to register for the Programme, you
must:
 discuss the initiative with your employer and ensure
they agree to take part;
 download and complete the Individual Registration
Form and get the form signed by your employer;
 attach suitable evidence (i.e. payslips) to your
Individual Registration Form, that verify your
employment status, average weekly hours and
average weekly wage; and
 submit your form to the Department of Health by
email or post.
5.2 Self employed
If you are self-employed, in order for the Department
of Health to assess your eligibility, as part of your
Individual Registration Form you must include
appropriate evidence of:
 the average number of hours you work per week;
 the average income you earn per week; and
 the length of time that you have been selfemployed.
Appropriate evidence may include a business activity
statement, or a tax return or profit/loss statement for
the previous financial year.
5.3
Casual Employees
If you are in casual employment, your Individual Claim
Form must include details about the ex-gratia
payment paid by your employer, broken down into
work-up and donation / recovery.
You can calculate your average weekly hours and
‘regular’ weekly income by averaging the weekly
hours you worked and income you earned over the
8 weeks, or 56 days, prior to signing the Individual
Registration Form or the surgery date (whichever was
first). You should provide suitable evidence, such as
payslips, to verify this information.
6.
How will I know if I am eligible?
Following the assessment of eligibility, you will be sent
a letter to advise you of the outcome.
If you are found to be eligible, your letter will include
an Individual Claim Form for you to complete after you
have completed your time-off. Your employer will also
receive a letter to confirm your eligibility which will
include an Employer Payment Form.
If you are found not eligible, you and your employer
will receive letters to advise you of this outcome.
7.
Can I request a review on the
decision of my eligibility?
If you're not satisfied with the decision about your
eligibility, you can ask for a review.
After receiving the eligibility decision letter, you have
28 days to request a review.
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You can contact the Department of Health and request
a review by telephone or in writing (contact details are
at the end of the Guidelines). The request must state
the reasons why you are asking for the decision to be
reviewed.
Your eligibility will be reviewed by a departmental
officer who was not involved in the original decision
and you will be advised of the outcome within 21 days.
7.1
What if I am not happy with the
review outcome?
The Commonwealth Ombudsman can investigate
complaints about the actions and decisions of
Australian Government agencies to see if they are
wrong, unjust, unlawful, discriminatory or unfair.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the review
of your eligibility, you can contact the Ombudsman’s
office through the Commonwealth Ombudsman
website or by phoning 1300 362 072.
8.
How can I make a claim?
Following completion of your time away from work, if
you have previously submitted an Individual
Registration Form (and had your eligibility confirmed
by the Department of Health), you can submit your
Individual Claim Form. You can make a claim for leave
taken to undergo work-up tests, donation and
recovery or both.
a) Work-up tests – time claimed must be a minimum
of 1 day (7.6 hours) and a maximum of 2 weeks
(76 hours). Claims can be made when donation
does not proceed due to medical ineligibility.
b) Donation – time claimed cannot exceed 9 weeks
(342 hours).
c) Work-up and donation – these can be claimed
together, as long as the total period of leave does
not exceed 9 weeks (342 hours) and is in
accordance with (a) and (b) above.
Note: Work-up only can only be claimed where
donation did not proceed due to medical ineligibility.
Where work-up testing occurred prior to 1 July 2015
and donation occurred on or after 1 July 2015, workup is not claimable.
A person is only eligible to claim once for the
Programme. The total claim cannot be more than
nine weeks (342 hours) in a lifetime.
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You cannot submit a claim until you have completed all
leave related to the donation and your employer has
paid you for this time off work.
The Department of Health cannot process your claim
until we received all relevant information. If your claim
is incomplete, we will contact you for the necessary
information.
All forms and evidence must be submitted by
30 September 2017 to be eligible for reimbursement
under the Programme.
8.1
What if I cannot return to work
after 9 weeks?
In this situation, the donor and their employer can
submit the claim after a period of 9 weeks leave is
completed but before the donor returns to work.
However, the employer must have paid the donor as
per the requirements of the Programme.
Payments under the Programme are limited to a
maximum leave period of 9 weeks.
8.2 Steps in the Claim Process
To submit a claim under the Programme, you must
complete the Individual Claim Form that was mailed
to you with the confirmation of your eligibility (or
available for download on the Department of Health’s
website). To complete this form, you must:
 arrange for relevant sections to be
completed/signed by a donation professional;
 attach supporting documentation to verify the
amount of leave taken (medical certificate); and
 submit your form to the Department of Health by
email or post.
9.
How is the payment calculated
and when is it made?
The payment will be calculated based on the average
number of weekly hours you work and the hourly rate
of pay (up to the National Minimum Wage) and the
amount of time you took off work for the purpose of
living organ donation (up to nine weeks).
Your average weekly hours and rate of pay will be
determined by the evidence you provided in your
Individual Registration Form.
No payments will be made directly to donors, with the
exception of self-employed donors. The payment will
be made to your employer when we have received
your completed Individual Claim Form and the
Employer Payment Form from your employer.
You and your employer will be advised when we have
made the payment and finalised your claim.
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Definitions
Donor employee
An employee who has undergone surgery for the
purpose of donating a kidney or partial liver.
Prospective donor
Someone who has made a fully informed decision to
undergo medical evaluation to be a living organ
donor.
Donation professional
An employee of the hospital that is involved in the
donation process eg. social worker, nurse, donation
coordinator or clinician.
Work-up
Tests of physical and mental health that are taken to
ensure the donor is medically suitable to proceed to
donation
Regular (hours)
Casual employees should calculate their ‘regular’
hours by averaging their weekly hours worked over
the 8 weeks, or 56 days, prior to submitting the
Individual Registration Form.
Ex-gratia payment
For the purposes of this Programme, an ex-gratia
payment is a sum of money provided as a favour
(i.e. without there being any legal obligation or legal
liability to do so) by an employer to an employee
and at the discretion of the employer where the
employee has no entitlement to paid leave.
Living organ donor
A person who donates a kidney or partial liver to
someone with end stage kidney disease or liver
failure.
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Where can I get more information?
For further information about the Supporting Leave for Living Organ Donors
Programme:
Visit
The Department of Health website
Email
livingorgandonation@health.gov.au
Mail
Department of Health
Supporting Living Organ Donors Leave Programme
GPO Box 9848
CANBERRA ACT 2601
Call
Department of Health – (02) 6289 5055
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