How unpaid leave affects your insurance
At some point in your career, you may need to take unpaid leave. The impact your leave will have on your super and insurance cover will depend on the length of time you take and the reason why you take it.
Unpaid leave for GESB Super and West State Super members
When you take unpaid leave, your employer will not be paying you a salary or making any Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contributions on your behalf. With no SG contributions being paid into your account, your insurance cover may also be affected.
Let’s look at the effect that taking unpaid leave may have on different types of insurance cover.
Death cover and Total & Permanent Disablement cover continues
When taking unpaid leave, your Death cover and Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) cover will continue. During this time your insurance premiums will still be deducted from your account. If there’s not enough in your account to keep paying your premiums, and your premiums remain unpaid, your cover will lapse.
Salary Continuance Insurance might not continue
If you take unpaid leave, you need to let us know. If you go on unpaid leave you can choose to continue your Salary Continuance Insurance (SCI) cover for up to 24 months (from the time your leave started) if you keep paying your premiums for that period.
Premiums will be deducted from your account to continue your SCI cover while you are on unpaid leave.
Your SCI cover will lapse after 180 days unless you let us know
Your SCI cover will automatically lapse if 180 days (previously 120 days prior to 1 October 2022) have passed since your last SG contribution was received, even if you’re taking approved unpaid leave for up to 24 months. Your cover may also lapse after 16 months if no other relevant contributions are made. You can inform GESB if you want to elect to retain cover in either or both of these circumstances. See the Insurance and your super brochure for details.
You could extend or reinstate your SCI cover
You can apply to extend the cover period beyond 24 months but you need our Insurer’s approval.
You may be able to reinstate SCI cover that lapsed during a period of leave without pay. If your SCI cover has lapsed due to us not receiving employer contributions during a period of leave without pay, you will be able to apply to reinstate your SCI cover without assessment by the Insurer. You would need to:
- Apply before your approved return to work date from your approved leave without pay
- Pay your premiums during the period of approved leave
- Provide written evidence of the approved leave without pay when you apply
Your agreed return to work date would need to be within 24 months of going on leave without pay (or, where an extension was approved beyond the 24 months by the Insurer, within the extended period approved).
Are you on unpaid parental leave?
If you are on approved unpaid parental leave and have been a member of GESB Super or West State Super for at least 12 months, you may be eligible for an insurance premium waiver which could apply to Death cover, TPD cover or SCI cover. This means there will be no cost for the cover you have during the period you are on unpaid parental leave (subject to the eligibility criteria and a 12-month maximum period of time for the waiver).
If you would like to apply for the waiver, you will need to complete the ‘Notification of unpaid parental leave' form.
Check your details are up to date
It’s important we have your current contact details so that we can contact you if we need to tell you important information about your account or your insurance cover.
To view or change your current details, login to Member Online or call us on 13 43 72.
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Thank you for printing this page. Remember to come back to gesb.wa.gov.au for the latest information as our content is updated regularly. This information is correct as at 06 June 2026.