Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

Labor will support this Fair Work Amendment (Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Bill 2018, even though it is deficient. We want women who need it to be able to access the five days of unpaid leave. However, our commitment, if we are fortunate enough to win government, is to put 10 days paid domestic violence leave into the National Employment Standards. That's what a Labor government would do.

On average, one woman a week is killed as a result of domestic violence. This is a national tragedy. The ABS estimates that around two out of every three women who experience domestic violence are in the workforce. There can be no doubt that a comprehensive response to domestic violence involves a workplace response.

We know that in addition to the terrible personal and social cost of domestic violence there is a significant cost to business. In May 2016, KPMG estimated that the cost of violence against women and their children on production and the business sector was $1.9 billion for 2015-16. Certainly, the cost to business, in our view, is secondary to the personal cost for women suffering domestic violence, but this is an issue which we should also understand.

The Fair Work Amendment (Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Bill 2018 follows the decision of the Fair Work Commission in March this year to insert a clause into modern awards providing five days unpaid family and domestic violence leave. The provisions of the bill appear to reflect the model clause and provide that the family and domestic violence leave entitlement of five days: will apply to all employees, including casuals; will be available in full at the commencement of each 12-month period rather than accruing progressively during a year of service; will not accumulate from year to year; and will be available in full to part-time and casual employees.

While this bill is a step in the right direction, it doesn't go far enough. It should provide for paid family and domestic violence leave. It's disappointing—and to some extent I think it's incomprehensible—that the government have taken so long to move from their absolute opposition to family and domestic violence leave to their belated support for unpaid leave. We know that the minister first committed to unpaid leave at the end of March but did not introduce this bill until September.

We know that the most dangerous time for a woman is when she's leaving a violent relationship. She will often need to find new accommodation, get security, get an apprehended violence order from police, seek treatment for injuries and, perhaps, attend court appearances. If a woman needs to take time off work to do these vital things to keep herself and her family safe she should not have to worry about losing pay to do so. I think this demonstrates that the coalition—the government—just doesn't get it. These are really important times for women. A woman, and her children in many cases, should be able to receive a pay cheque and she should be able to go back to work at a time following dealing with these issues.

Last year, Labor announced that a Shorten Labor government will introduce 10 days paid domestic violence leave into the National Employment Standards. We are disappointed that the government has refused to join us in this important commitment. Labor has listened to victims, frontline workers, business, unions and organisations that deal daily with domestic violence. Their clear message is that people who have experienced domestic violence need more support in the workplace. I just wish the government would have listened to these professionals dealing with the fallout of domestic violence, dealing with the tragedy of domestic violence and dealing with the issues that families need to deal with when recovering from domestic violence attacks. The government should have listened.

Other jurisdictions have introduced paid domestic violence leave. Labor believes that Australia's federal workplace system should also provide this important workplace entitlement. For example, in July this year, New Zealand legislated paid domestic and family violence leave, guaranteeing 10 days paid leave for all workers who are experiencing violence and need to escape. Queensland and Western Australia offer 10 days paid domestic violence leave to public sector employees, while South Australia offers 15 and Victoria and the ACT offer 20. Just last week, the New South Wales Liberal government announced 10 days paid leave for their employees. If the New South Wales Liberal government can do it, Minister, why can't this Liberal government do it? More than 1,000 enterprise agreements approved under the Fair Work Act between 1 January 2016 and 30 June 2017 provide for 10 or more days paid domestic and family violence leave. Flagship companies such as Carlton & United Breweries, IKEA, NAB, Qantas, Telstra and Virgin Australia provide for paid leave. Last week, Aldi joined the list. Labor knows that many small businesses where employers and employees have close working relations also support their staff to take paid leave to deal with the consequences of domestic violence.

While we do not anticipate there would be a significant uptake of all 10 days leave, it's crucial that it is available for those women who need it. Research by the Australia Institute in 2016 estimated that domestic violence leave wage payouts would be equivalent to less than one-fiftieth of one per cent—that's 0.02 per cent—of existing payrolls. It's not an issue of cost. The study also found that the cost to employers associated with those payouts is likely to be largely or completely offset by benefits to employers associated with the provision of paid domestic leave, including reduced turnover and improved productivity. Those payouts are likely to be largely or completely offset by benefits to employers associated with the provision of paid domestic and family violence leave, including reduced turnover, absenteeism, recruitment and training, along with improved productivity. Paid domestic violence leave benefits those who take it and it benefits their employers.

Labor will support this bill. The bill does not deliver what Labor would do in government, but, for those employees who need that five days unpaid leave, we think that they should be able to access it. But, again, Labor in government will fix this. We will meet the emerging standard of business, some overseas countries and public services around the country. This is such an important issue. Having at least the knowledge that for 10 days after experiencing domestic violence you can undertake the necessary steps to protect yourself, protect your family, and do that with an income still coming in, I think, is the demonstration of a good society, a good business. It's the demonstration that a government understands what is a growing problem in our society and is taking steps to deal with it.

All the rhetoric, all the slogans from the coalition government on this would lead you to believe you should accept this, the 10 days paid provision, with no problems but, unfortunately, that is not the case. And I suppose it demonstrates, again, how much chaos this government is in that it can't even concentrate on the basics to protect Australian women and children, predominantly, from domestic violence. So we reluctantly support the bill that's before us. We don't understand why it's taken so long to come here. We do believe it is insufficient to deal with the key issues that are faced by predominantly women facing domestic violence, but I think the sooner we get this through, the better. It's another reason why, in the future, the public needs to understand that a Labor government will fix this to a standard that is becoming accepted in business and in other countries around the world.