Your safety is important
You need to consider your personal circumstances and safety if there are:
- power outages
- school closures
- road closures
- weather updates and warnings
- public transport disruptions
- emergency services updates
- flash flooding or bushfires
- debris
- damage to property.
Your site status
Workplace Services and Site Leadership, with help from onsite security guards, will determine if your site is safe to remain open.
Emergency Services or a Continuity Management Team (CMT) will close your site if it's unsafe.
Find out if your site has been closed
You will receive an SMS from the BCM team if your site has been closed. Make sure your emergency contact details are up to date in mySAP Services to receive these messages. To update your contact details, visit myATO and search 'emergency contact details'.
If you’re unsure if your site is open, phone the ATO Emergency Helpline on 1800 800 800 and select option 3 to listen to the pre-recorded message.
If your site is open
If it's possible to get to your site but is difficult, time consuming, or dangerous to do so – discuss flexible working arrangements with your manager. These options include working from home or from another site. If this is not possible, discuss leave options.
If your site is closed
If your site is closed, inform your manager and discuss flexible working arrangements with them. These options include working from home or from another site. If this is not possible, discuss leave options.
Flexible working arrangements and leave
Depending on your situation, during a natural disaster or other emergency you may be entitled to:
- annual leave
- personal leave (carers or sick)
- flex leave
- miscellaneous leave
- emergency service volunteer leave.
Declared official disaster or emergency
If a declared official disaster or emergency prevents you from attending your site, or affects your household or home, and flexible working arrangements:
- are appropriate, use flexible working options (such as working from home) even if they are adhoc or unique to your formal working from home agreement
- are not appropriate, this is called 'disaster support' and paid miscellaneous leave is available.
All leave is approved on a case-by-case basis, subject to your manager’s discretion and with broad guidance from Site Leadership.
Phone People Helpline on 13 15 50 for more specific advice and guidance.
Other emergencies
If you have to attend to an emergency situation that is not a declared official disaster or emergency, paid miscellaneous leave for emergency circumstances applies. For more information, visit myATO and search 'Miscellaneous leave guidelines'.
Emergency management volunteers
If you are a volunteer for emergency management duties and have been deployed as part of an emergency response, apply for either:
- emergency response leave
- paid miscellaneous leave if you are a non-ongoing employee.
If you have caring responsibilities
If your household or home isn't affected during a natural disaster or other emergency, but you can't work due to caring requirements, consider taking carers leave or personal leave.