Fair Work (Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Amendment Bill – second reading speech

Tuesday 21 February 2023 

S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (12:33): I rise to speak in support of the Fair Work (Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Amendment Bill 2022. I stand here as a feminist, an advocate for equality and as a proud member of the Australian Services Union (the ASU), a union that has been advocating in workplaces across our country for family and domestic violence leave for more than a decade. 

ASU members negotiated Australia's first domestic violence leave entitlement in the Surf Coast Shire council over 10 years ago. In February 2023, 10 days of paid domestic violence leave came into effect for all private sector employers across Australia by the Albanese Labor government. This is a historic change that would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of ASU members across Australia. These workplace-level changes led to a movement that has now changed federal workplace laws, and today it is our chance to make history with this bill. 

This bill introduces a new minimum employment condition for public sector and local government employees of 15 paid days of family and domestic violence leave each year. The bill also amends the objects of the Fair Work Act to include promoting and facilitating gender equity to ensure this is considered by the South Australian Employment Tribunal when determining future industrial entitlements. 

Family and domestic violence leave can be used for any purpose relating to the worker experiencing family and domestic violence, including but not limited to attending medical appointments or court proceedings, receiving legal advice and relocating residences. This is an important change, as one in four women has experienced intimate partner violence since the age of 15, and one in four women has experienced emotional abuse by a current or former partner since the age of 15. 

Further, on average, a woman is killed by an intimate partner in Australia every 10 days. These statistics are horrific and shameful, and my thoughts are with those who have suffered or currently suffer from domestic or family violence. I particularly think of the children exposed to such violence, who will experience long-lasting effects in their development, health and wellbeing and are also at risk of experiencing homelessness with their mum. 

People can seek help through 1800RESPECT, and men who need help can call MensLine. I do note that, while four in five family and domestic violence offenders are men, there is also violence against men and against members of our LGBTIQ+ community. Violence against women and children costs our national economy $26 billion each year, with victim survivors bearing approximately 50 per cent of that cost. 

Violence against women affects all aspects of their lives. It can have a negative impact on their capacity to attend work, with 48 per cent of women who had experienced violence saying that it reduced their attendance at work. Therefore, the leave introduced by this bill is an important safeguard to make sure that people attempting to escape family and domestic violence situations do not have to choose between their safety and independence on one hand and their economic security on the other. 

Addressing domestic and family violence is one step towards closing the gender pay gap, as women who experience violence are more likely to fall behind in their career, into low-paid and casual work or out of the workforce entirely. A worker should not suffer financial disadvantage for choosing to access these entitlements. That is why, unlike other leave entitlements, family and domestic violence leave is calculated including any penalty rates or overtime payments a worker receives. That is also why this leave is available to all employees—full time, part time or casual. 

The bill also includes robust confidentiality requirements so that employees can have confidence their personal information will be treated appropriately. Employers cannot copy or retain evidence provided by the employee to support their leave claim. Employers are also prohibited from requesting information from an employee about the nature and extent of the domestic violence they are experiencing. 

This bill makes it a criminal offence for an employer to disclose information obtained through these processes without the consent of the employee to whom the information relates. Enshrining this leave will send a clear message to our community and to workers and their families that their government and the biggest employers in the state—the public sector and local government—do not and will not tolerate domestic violence. 

I am proud to be part of a Labor government that is staunchly committed to making a real difference to the lives of women in South Australia. We will relentlessly speak up and act to prevent and end domestic violence. Domestic, family and sexual violence has no place in our community. 

We have already restored the $800,000 of funding over four years to the Women's Domestic Violence Court Assistance Service that was cut by the former government. This important service helps women with intervention order applications, variations and revocations, ending tenancies, and liaising with police to report breaches of intervention orders and other domestic violence issues. 

Our government has also reinstated the $1.2 million of funding to Catherine House that was cruelly cut by the former government. Catherine House is an incredible service offering a safe and secure place for women experiencing homelessness, often as a result of domestic violence. 

We are committed to enacting a range of legislative change, preventative actions and policies, and options for recovery that help women stay safe. I thank the Australian Services Union, their organisers and workplace representatives for their hard work every single day fighting for the rights of workers, particularly our most vulnerable in our community. I commend this bill to the house.