Workers escaping family and domestic violence situations no longer have to choose between putting food on the table and their safety.
Support is always available
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Call 000 if you, a child, or another person is in immediate danger.
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1800RESPECT: Call 1800 737 732 if you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence.
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No to Violence Men’s Referral Service: Call 1300 766 491 for anonymous and confidential telephone counselling, information and referrals for men.
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Kids Helpline: Call 1800 55 1800 for 24/7 counselling for Australian children and young people.
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Q Life: Call 1800 184 527 for anonymous and free LGBTQIA+ peer support and referral.
Today is the day that paid Family and Domestic Violence leave will come into force for businesses with 15 or more employees. All employees can use 10 days paid leave to flee a violent relationship which, on average, costs $18,000.
Unfortunately, the leave has come too late for far too many women and their families. Now that the new entitlement is in place, lives will be saved.
These are your rights under the new laws:
- Full time, part time and casual workers will have access to 10 days paid leave regardless of whether they work a 38-hour week or fewer hours.
- Unlike annual leave and sick leave, you don’t need to wait for the leave to accumulate. The full 10 days are available as soon as you need it.
- There are rules to make sure your information is kept private and if you use Family and Domestic Violence leave, it won’t show on your pay slip.
- If you work full time or part time, you can take paid Family and Domestic Violence leave at your full pay rate for the hour you would’ve worked if you weren’t on leave. For casual employees, you’ll be paid at your full pay rate for the hours you were rostered to work in the period you took leave.
Even if you never have to use the leave yourself, it may help to know these details that you can then pass on to another worker in need.
A note for if you work at a business with less than 15 employees: the leave will come into force on 1 August 2023.
How did we get to this point?
The union-led campaign to make 10 days paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave reality has been a decade in the making.
It began with a member of the Australian Services Union introducing Family and Domestic Violence into their workplace’s Enterprise Agreement and ended with a nationwide effort to ensure all employees could access the leave entitlement.
As union members, our actions are never for the advancement of the individual alone. That’s why we act to make changes that benefit everyone.
Union members are building fairer and safer workplaces for today – and tomorrow.
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Paid Family and Domestic Violence leave is now available for workers to use