Under the Industrial Relations Act 1999 (PDF, 1.9MB), bereavement leave (also known as compassionate leave) is leave to assist employees when there is a death in an employee's immediate family or household.
For bereavement leave, members of the immediate family are defined under the Act as the employee's spouse, and a child, ex-nuptial child, stepchild, adopted child, ex-foster child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling of the employee or employee's spouse.
In addition to the stipulated entitlement to a number of days bereavement leave, all employees can take additional unpaid bereavement leave if they require extra reasonable time to travel to and from the funeral or other ceremony for the death of a member of their immediate family or household.
A full time or part-time employee is entitled to two days leave on full pay for each bereavement.
There is no limit on the number of times an employee can take leave in any year.
Yes, but only with the agreement of the employer.
An employee could also take unpaid leave on the death of a person who is not a member of the employee's immediate family or household - but only with the employer's agreement.
A long term casuals 
employee is entitled to at least 2 days unpaid bereavement leave for each death of a member of their immediate family or household. [from 1 April 2005].
A short term casual employee is entitled to be unavailable for work for up to 2 days unpaid bereavement leave each occasion. [from 22 February 2006].
An employer must not fail to re-engage a casual employee only because they have taken bereavement leave.
Pieceworkers are excluded from any entitlement to bereavement leave.
Yes. If required by the employer, the employee must produce a copy of the funeral notice or other evidence of the death.
Wageline's fact sheet on bereavement leave:
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© The State of Queensland (Department of Employment and Industrial Relations) 2006
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