All full-time, part-time, and casual employees can access 10 days of paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave as of 1 August 2023.
The full 10 day leave entitlement is available immediately - it does not need to be accumulated like annual leave. It also doesn’t increase over subsequent years if it is not used and will reset to 10 days each year on the employee’s work anniversary.
- Full-time and part-time employees will be paid their full rate of pay for the hours they would have worked. Casual workers get the full rate of pay for the hours they were rostered to work.
- Pay slips must not mention Family and Domestic Violence Leave, record leave balances, or the amount of leave taken.
According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, employees can take paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave if they need to do something to deal with the impact of family and domestic violence. This could include:
- making arrangements for their safety, or the safety of a close relative (including relocation)
- attending court hearings or accessing police services
- attending counselling, or appointments with medical, financial, or legal professionals.
If employees need to take leave, they must let their employer know as soon as possible. In some cases, this could be after the leave starts.
An employer can ask for evidence to show the employee took the leave to deal with family and domestic violence. Employers can ask employees to provide this evidence for one day or less than one day off work.
The types of evidence can include:
- documents issued by a police service.
- documents issued by a court.
- family violence support service documents
- a statutory declaration.
Introduction of this workplace change was staggered on 1 February and 1 August 2023 (depending on number of employees).
A paid family and domestic violence leave for small business employers webpage is available on the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations for more information.