Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to 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.

Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Fair Work Amendment (Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Bill 2018. What a long time coming this bill has been. The sector has been pleading for such a long time for more support for women and children seeking to escape family and domestic violence. Finally the Fair Work Commission looked into this and, earlier this year, issued a remarkable finding that, in my view, flew in the face of the evidence and said that, no, women shouldn't be entitled to be paid while they get themselves and their children safe from violence and possible death. No, they shouldn't be allowed to be paid. They can have some time off work but they can't actually get paid for it. So I think that was a wrong decision by the commission.

Whilst I am supportive of the fact that the government has at least taken this small step, I think it's a huge missed opportunity to actually protect women and children from what is now an epidemic of violence against them in their homes. We know the statistics. One in three Australian women will experience violence by a partner or a former partner at some time in their life and more than one woman a week now is being killed. The very least a government could do would be to say that, yes, you should be entitled to be paid while you take the time to make the logistical arrangements—to seek the legal advice, to ring up the removalist truck, to change your kids' schools. The very least you should be able to do is to be paid while you take the time to keep yourself and your family alive. But no, that's too much of an impost on business for this government. We can't keep women safe. We can't actually pay them while they escape violence and try to start a new life and keep themselves and their family alive. It's a huge missed opportunity.

I am grateful the Labor Party have come on board with this notion of 10 days paid leave and I look forward to us working together in the new parliament, where it looks like this government will be on the opposition benches, where I believe they belong and deserve to be. I look forward to getting this done and to actually giving women and children 10 days of paid leave. What this government fails to understand is many ordinary Australians are on the breadline. They cannot afford to go without pay for a week, certainly not when they've got additional expenses to get themselves safe like getting to legal advice appointments, like emergency accommodation and shelter, like a removal truck, new school fees, new uniforms. Many people can't afford those additional expenses and certainly can't afford them if they've had to go without pay for a week. I think, whilst the government is trying to do something that makes it look like they understand women, it's pretty clear they don't and it's pretty clear what is actually needed is 10 days of paid leave. I look forward to being able to achieve that once this government is on the opposition benches and we can work with a fresh government.

On that point, I want to mention some of the statistics. The ACTU has said that it costs, on average, $18,000 and takes 141 hours for a woman to escape a violent relationship. So, again, how on earth is any ordinary person meant to be able to afford that when they've just had a week of pay docked? There was another statistic that was quoted in the inquiry into this bill that says one in four Australian households have less than $1,000 in cash savings, and I can certainly believe that. People don't just have money lying around and certainly not women who are in controlling relationships where often they lack financial security and independence precisely because they're in a relationship about power and control.

I want to put on record that I think it's incredibly damning that the Prime Minister has tweeted about sport and launched a war on strawberries and a war on sharks but has said absolutely nothing about family and domestic violence—the single biggest issue that women in this country are facing. It's an indictment on this government, and it really signifies their view of women. It's no surprise, really, that we've heard nothing from the Prime Minister on this most pressing issue because, in fact, he's said nothing at all about the issues women face generally. The Women's Economic Security Statement that was released by the minister a couple of weeks ago was equally laughable in the lowness of its ambitions. Unfortunately, it's par for the course for this government. So, whilst we will be supporting this bill today because it is a microstep forward, it falls so far short of what everybody knows is needed, and that is to actually pay women while they take leave so that they can get themselves and their family safe.

That is obviously the morally right thing to do, but even the economics of it support that approach. In the inquiry into this bill, we heard from many, many businesses that said: 'We understand it will actually cost us more if we have to lose staff, retrain new staff and deal with the upheaval and the loss of skills and the loss of knowledge. We understand it is an investment in our people, and we are happy to pay two weeks of leave in order to keep our staff cohesion and to keep that knowledge to keep our business ticking over.' As the former speaker, Senator Cameron, said, many businesses are now voluntarily providing this. What a shame we don't see the government leading on this and saying, 'We think this is a great idea to keep women safe, and we want to mandate it.' Naturally, they can't lead on this issue or any other issue for that matter.

I want to flag that we had amendments to this bill to improve it—to make the leave paid, to make it 10 days and to expand the definition of who could seek to apply to use this leave. But, if we agreed to not move those amendments, this bill could pass. So I want to put that on record—that that was the government's price. We can get this done today, and we can make this important but small step forward as long as we don't try to improve it and actually do what needs to be done. I want to place on record that we very much look forward to fixing and improving this and delivering for Australian workers what they deserve and what they need, and that is paid domestic and family violence leave for 10 days. I cannot wait for the opportunity to do that, and I cannot wait to see this government, with its absolute lack of understanding and lack of care about issues confronting women, consigned to the opposition benches.

Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the Fair Work Amendment (Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Bill. I'm very proud, as a member of this government, and as a female member of this government, to rise to speak to this bill today in the same week that we also passed the Family Law Amendment (Family Violence and Cross-examination of Parties) Bill. It is a demonstration that this government is committed to addressing the scourge of family violence in this country. We have already funded over $300 million worth of services and programs to address the issue of family violence, including the $100 million Women's Safety Package in 2015.

This bill that we rise to speak on today delivers on the government's commitment to extend the decision of the Fair Work Commission in March 2018 to grant five days unpaid leave for up to 2.3 million workers on awards and for up to six million additional workers. It's very important that the parliament reflect on how we got to this important moment, so I'd like to speak about the deliberations and the decisions of the Fair Work Commission on this matter.

This bill reflects years of careful consideration of the issue of family and domestic violence leave by the Fair Work Commission, whose role under the Fair Work Act 2009 is to:

… ensure that modern awards, together with the National Employment Standards, provide a fair and relevant minimum safety net of terms and conditions …

The ACTU's claim for a new entitlement to 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave was, in fact, rejected by the commission on 3 July 2017 after it considered extensive evidence and submissions from a wide range of interested parties. Instead, the commission indicated a preliminary view that an unpaid leave entitlement should be inserted into modern awards. The commission confirmed that preliminary view on 26 March this year when it decided that an entitlement to five days unpaid family and domestic violence leave should be inserted into modern awards as a minimum entitlement. After the commission's decision on 26 March this year, the Fair Work Commission issued a draft award term for consideration by the parties. The commission invited further written submissions after that point from unions, and also from employer groups, on the draft term and then held a further hearing on 21 June. Further submissions were made following that hearing. On 6 July this year the Fair Work Commission issued the final award term. On 27 July the model term was inserted into all modern awards, and it commenced operations on 1 August this year. The government introduced the bill into parliament in the first following sitting period. Any claim that the government has been dragging its feet on this decision is false and, dare I say, scurrilous.

The commission's decision was reached after four years of consideration of evidence and was based on the input and advocacy of a range of unions and employer representative bodies. Between October 2014 and July 2018, the Fair Work Commission considered 68 written submissions from 27 separate parties and heard evidence from 26 witnesses over 11 days of hearings in its consideration of both paid and unpaid family and domestic violence leave. Submissions were made and hearings were conducted for every single step of the process. It's worth recalling some of the commission's findings. I would like to quote some of them now. The commission said:

… we are not satisfied, at this time, that it is necessary to provide ten days paid family and domestic violence leave to all employees covered by modern awards.

It also went on to say:

The ACTU has not provided a satisfactory explanation as to how it arrived at ten days and the evidence does not support a finding that ten days paid leave is necessary.

That is from the Fair Work Commission, the independent umpire established by the previous government. The commission also concluded:

… we should take a cautious approach to the introduction of family and domestic violence leave, particularly paid family and domestic violence leave.

'A cautious approach': that was the considered decision of the commission when it decided on five days unpaid leave. The government intends to legislate this to ensure that employees who do not have access to the award entitlement will still be able to access five days unpaid family and domestic violence leave. In line with the commission's model award term, the new family and domestic violence leave entitlement in the bill will be available to all employees, including part-time and casual employees. The five days leave will be available at the start of each 12-month period and will not accumulate from year to year.

The differences between the model term and the bill are very minor and only technical in nature, and they reflect the different legal contexts in which they operate. For example, the bill deals with its interaction with state laws, which is necessary because the subject matter of leave for victims of crime was, in fact, excluded from the state referrals by all referring states. These are necessary variations and they don't in any way undermine the government's commitment to extend the entitlement for award-reliant employees to all employees covered by the Fair Work Act. This is an important improvement to the minimum safety net of terms and conditions, and the parliament should pass it without delay.

This bill is a very significant step forward in how workplaces respond to the issue of family and domestic violence. We know from ABS data that over 60 per cent of women experiencing violence from a current partner are working. The workplace can provide a place of normalcy and safety for people experiencing family and domestic violence, and in that environment colleagues can also be a vital source of emotional support. Indeed, it can be somewhat of a sanctuary. But we also know that victims of family and domestic violence will have times when they need to take leave from work to deal with the impact of the violence inflicted upon them. However, currently not all employees have the workplace right to take necessary leave from work at such a difficult time in their lives. So the government's bill that we are considering today proposes such leave for up to eight million employees under the Fair Work Act.

The government's bill provides for a new universal entitlement to five days family and domestic violence leave. It will allow people to take time off to attend to matters that would be impractical to deal with outside of work hours. The bill matches the decision of the Fair Work Commission for award-reliant employees. Legislating this universal entitlement will provide both equity and consistency between award-reliant and other national system employees and employers. There are about 810,000 small businesses with award-reliant employees and, therefore, they are affected by the Fair Work Commission's family and domestic violence leave decision. The bill does not create any additional obligations on those businesses. Larger businesses, in fact, are more likely to have an existing enterprise agreement or other registered agreement already in place and these agreements may not offer any family or domestic violence leave. So, by legislating family and domestic violence leave as part of the National Employment Standards, all businesses, regardless of their size, must provide this workplace right to employees.

Employers should expect certainty from government and from this parliament. They make decisions on the basis of what this government says it will do. In this case, we have committed to taking the right step at this time, matching the Fair Work Commission decision on unpaid leave. The commission, in determining what was right for a fair and relevant minimum safety net, decided that unpaid leave was necessary to enable employees to take time off to deal with matters while also maintaining the security of their employment. The commission rejected that paid leave was necessary. As it is required to do, the commission weighed up what was fair for working Australians and also appropriate for businesses at this time. The Fair Work Commission said that unpaid leave would confirm the significance of family and domestic violence leave as a workplace right and it would also provide an employment protection in circumstances where there is a need to access that leave. It committed to looking at the issue of family and domestic violence leave again in mid-2021, including whether further provision should be made for paid family and domestic violence leave. So the commission will be looking at this issue once more.

Up to 2.3 million award-reliant employees have had access to this new workplace right since 1 August 2018, based on the Fair Work Commission's decision. Legislating family and domestic violence leave as part of the National Employment Standards will provide this entitlement to up to six million additional employees. All national system employees will have access to this new workplace right regardless of whether they are full-time, part-time or casual employees. They will have access to this new workplace right regardless of whether they work for a small, medium or large employer. They will have access to this new workplace right regardless of whether they are employed under a modern award, an enterprise agreement or an individual agreement.

Legislating this entitlement into the Fair Work Act means that an employee who takes family and domestic violence leave will be protected from unlawful adverse action under the general protection provisions of the Fair Work Act. This means that someone can take time off work to do things that need to be done, whether it be moving house or making arrangements for their children's safety, and they can do that confident that their job is protected while they do so.

This new workplace entitlement will complement other protections that already exist under the Fair Work Act. Employees, for instance, who experience illness or injury as a result of family and domestic violence can access personal sick leave. Employees who need to care for immediate family or for household members who are ill or injured in an unexpected emergency as a result of family and domestic violence can access carer's leave. Employees experiencing family and domestic violence leave can also request flexible working arrangements, including changing their hours of work or their location of work. Combined with this new leave entitlement in this particular bill, the Fair Work Act provides significant support to employees who are dealing with the impact of family and domestic violence.

We all have a role to play in dealing with family and domestic violence. The workplace is where many of us spend a significant proportion of our time and our lives, and it is right and proper that employees in the national system have access to a consistent minimum standard of family and domestic violence leave. This new minimum condition cannot be bargained away, and it will form part of the safety net for all employees whether they work in large, small or medium businesses. Enshrining five days unpaid family and domestic violence leave into the National Employment Standards establishes the floor, not the ceiling, and it extends a guaranteed entitlement to up to six million employees under the Fair Work Act who do not currently have access to such leave.

Women need to feel safe in their communities. They need to feel safe online, they need to feel safe at home and they need to feel safe in their workplaces. This government is committed to addressing the issue of family and domestic violence. We know that around 17 per cent of women over the age of 15 have experienced violence, whether it be physical or sexual, from a current or former partner—that's nearly one in six women over the age of 15. This government is committed to resolutely addressing family and domestic violence. It is an issue that demands action on not just this front but many fronts. The bill that's before us today, to provide a minimum standard of five days unpaid leave for all employees covered by the Fair Work Act, is an important step to take now, and it's one of many actions that this government has taken on family and domestic violence.

I will reiterate again that, since we were elected in 2013, we have committed over $300 million to addressing family and domestic violence. That is more than any government has ever committed previously. In 2015 we committed $100 million through the Women's Safety Package. That provided crucial funding for programs like the 1800RESPECT line, which is a national telephone and online counselling information service, which can ensure that more women, even in remote communities, can get the support they need. We also funded local women's caseworkers to coordinate and support women who are escaping domestic violence. That includes housing, safety and budgeting services.

In 2016 we committed a further $100 million under the Third Action Plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children. That Third Action Plan sets out an ambitious agenda that, with the support of key stakeholders and the community, will substantially reduce domestic, family and sexual violence in Australia. And the work has not stopped there; work on developing the Fourth Action Plan is also well underway.

As part of this process, the Minister for Women, the Hon. Kelly O'Dwyer MP, co-chaired the COAG National Summit on Reducing Violence against Women and their Children in Adelaide at the beginning of October this year. Recent federal budgets have also underscored this government's commitment to addressing family and domestic violence. We announced a number of measures in the 2017-18 budget, including $55.7 million for community legal centres directed to frontline family law and family violence services. There was $10.7 million for the family law courts to employ additional family consultants, who prepare family reports to inform the court about risks to family safety. There was $12.7 million to establish Parent Management Hearings, a new and innovative forum to resolve family law disputes between self-represented litigants. And there was $3.4 million to expand the national pilot program for Specialist Domestic Violence Units that provide wraparound, legal and other support services to women who are experiencing or who are at risk of family and domestic violence.

Further measures announced in the 2018-19 budget include $22 million over five years to address the abuse of older Australians, which affects up to 20 per cent of elderly women; $14.2 million over four years for the Office of the e-Safety Commissioner, to help make cyberspace safe for women; $6.7 million to maintain funding for DV-alert to continue its domestic violence response training for community frontline workers; and an additional $11.5 million for the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service—the 1800RESPECT line that I referred to earlier—over the next two years. That 1800RESPECT line has proven to be a vital support service for so many women. On 27 November 2018, just this year, the government announced an additional $10.9 million for 1800RESPECT to ensure it continues to deliver a trusted and valued service to the community.

In November this year the Minister for Women also delivered the first Women's Economic Security Statement, worth over $109 million over four years, to shine a floodlight on obstacles to women building their financial security and focusing on practical measures to help change that. The measures in that statement to support women's economic independence are worth over $35.6 million over four years and include a number of measures to help Australian women experiencing family and domestic violence.

Domestic violence is an issue that this government has not ignored, and which no government can afford to ignore. It has both physically- and psychologically-damaging outcomes. Indeed, those who have suffered at the hands of domestic violence are possibly the most vulnerable in our community. This legislation is not a silver bullet, neither is the family law amendment which prevents cross-examination and nor is the inaugural Women's Economic Security Statement, but they all help and they're a demonstration of the commitment by this government. This legislation is necessary, but more so is a cultural shift: violence against women begins with respecting women.

Zed Seselja (ACT, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Treasury and Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank all senators for their contributions and for their support for this bill. I particularly want to acknowledge the genuine and bipartisan concern and support for ensuring that this important legislation is passed before the parliament rises for the festive season.

The scourge of family and domestic violence strikes at the hearts of our communities and continues to impact on far too many Australians. ABS data tells us that one in six Australian women and one in 16 men have been subjected to physical and/or sexual violence since the age of 15 by a current or previous cohabiting partner. And almost one in four women and one in six men have experienced emotional abuse from a current or former partner since the age of 15.

We know that women are more likely to experience family and domestic violence. Every member of parliament who has risen to speak on this bill has spoken of the tragedy of family and domestic violence, and the great pain and anguish that it causes those who experience it, their children and their loved ones. We all know somebody who has been affected by family and domestic violence in the Australian community, and its debilitating effects ripple out into the community and compound from there. I know we share a genuine concern for eliminating the scourge of family and domestic violence and ensuring that our women and children are safe. Regrettably, we know that the Christmas season is, tragically, a time when women and their children can be particularly vulnerable to the devastating effects of family and domestic violence. The support for this bill means that the new minimum entitlement to five days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave will be extended to all employees covered by the Fair Work Act before Christmas so that employees and particularly women are protected in their greatest moment of need.

By enshrining the leave in the National Employment Standards, all national system employees will be guaranteed the minimum leave entitlement regardless of whether they are: full time, part time or casual; working for a small, medium or large employer; or covered by awards, enterprise agreements or individual arrangements. When passed, every employee who is covered by this new entitlement provided for in the bill will be guaranteed a full five days of leave the day after the new act receives royal assent, and these will reset on the anniversary of their employment. Employees who start a new job after the provisions commence will also get the full entitlement on commencement of employment with that employer, with the entitlement resetting on the anniversary of that day each year thereafter.

This bill is a significant step in how workplaces respond to the issue of family and domestic violence. We know from ABS data that over 60 per cent of women experiencing violence from a current partner are working. The workplace can provide a place of normalcy for people experiencing family and domestic violence, and colleagues can be a vital source of emotional support. But we also know that people who experience family and domestic violence will have times when they need to take leave from work to deal with the impacts of this violence. This bill ensures that all employees under the Fair Work Act, whether award-reliant or not, will have a workplace right to take necessary leave from work at such a difficult time. It will ensure any national system employee who takes family and domestic violence leave will be protected from unlawful adverse action under the general protections provisions of the Fair Work Act. This means that someone can take time off work to do things that need to be done, such as participating in court processes, attending property inspections, attending medical or counselling services, attending appointments at financial institutions or making arrangements for children's safety. They can do these things confident in the knowledge that their job is protected. It means that women are protected from prejudicial action, such as dismissal or reducing of their shifts, when they need to take leave to deal with the impact of this violence.

The bill delivers on the government's commitment to extend the Fair Work Commission to provide for unpaid family and domestic violence leave for award-reliant employees. Legislating this universal entitlement will provide equity and consistency between award-reliant and other national system employees and employers. By legislating family and domestic violence leave as part of the National Employment Standards, all businesses, regardless of size, must provide this workplace right to employees. We've committed to taking this right step at this time, matching the Fair Work Commission decision on unpaid leave.

The Fair Work Commission, in determining what was required for a fair and relevant minimum safety net, decided that unpaid leave was necessary to enable employees to take time off to deal with matters while maintaining the security of their employment. The commission rejected that paid leave was necessary. The Fair Work Commission said unpaid leave would confirm the significance of family and domestic violence leave as a workplace right and provide an employment protection in circumstances where there is a need to access such leave. The Fair Work Commission committed to looking at the issue of family and domestic violence leave again in mid-2021, including whether further provisions should be made for paid family and domestic violence leave.

Since 1 August 2018, up to 2.3 million award-reliant employees have had access to this new workplace right based on the Fair Work Commission's decision. Legislating family and domestic violence leave as part of the National Employment Standards will provide this entitlement to up to six million additional employees. This new workplace entitlement will complement other protections that already exist under the Fair Work Act. Employees may be able to access personal carer's leave to recover from illness or injury or to care for immediate family and household members who are ill or injured in an unexpected emergency. Employees experiencing family and domestic violence may be able to request flexible working arrangements, including changes to hours of work, patterns of work or location of work.

Combined with the new leave entitlement in this bill, the Fair Work Act provides significant support to employees dealing with the impact of family and domestic violence. We all have a role to play in dealing with family and domestic violence. The workplace is where many of us spend a large proportion of our time, and it is right and proper that employees in the national system have access to a consistent minimum standard of family and domestic violence leave. This new minimum condition cannot be bargained away and will form part of the safety net for all employees whether they work in a small or larger business. Family and domestic violence is unacceptable anywhere and anytime. With the passage of this new act, employees experiencing such violence have important new workplace protections.

Addressing violence against women remains a priority of this government. This bill is just one aspect of the comprehensive action we are taking. Since 2015, the government has invested over $300 million to improve women's safety. In the 2018-19 budget we announced $54.4 million in new funding for online safety initiatives and critical domestic violence services to ensure women are safe at home, online and at work. This included funding for a DV alert, a program to build capacity in frontline workers for whom family violence is not a core function of their role. It also included funding for 1800RESPECT, the flagship national domestic and family violence and sexual assault counselling, information and support service. 1800RESPECT has proven to be a vital support service for many. I am pleased that, in addition to this budget funding, on 27 November 2018 the government announced that 1800RESPECT will receive $10.9 million in additional funding to meet ongoing demand.

The government previously committed $100 million to fund the Third Action Plan, a further step in a 12-year national plan to achieve a significant and sustained reduction in violence against women and their children. One project under the Third Action Plan that I would like to draw attention to is the development of a one-stop shop of online resources. Employers have told us that they want to be able to help their employees experiencing family and domestic violence but they are not sure how to do so. They want to be able to offer practical support and assistance to their employees in such terrible circumstances. They also understand that, by helping their employees, they are providing a safe and productive workplace for all their workers. The one-stop shop will provide holistic, best practice guidance for employers and employees to help support victims of family and domestic violence. I welcome the positive response to the latest ads as part of the award-winning Stop it at the Start campaign, where, in partnership with states and territories, we have committed $30 million to target influences of young people, such as parents, friends, teachers and coaches, to bring about generational changes in attitudes of violence against women.

I know that Minister O'Dwyer was pleased to co-host the COAG National Summit on Reducing Violence Against Women and their Children on 2 and 3 October 2018 in Adelaide. The government looks forward to continuing to work with states and territories and the Australian community as we develop the fourth action plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children. The government is also proud to be contributing half a million dollars towards the Australian Human Rights Commission's inquiry into sexual harassment in the workplace, led by Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins.

The government understands that we can help women to build their financial security through practical measures. This is why Minister O'Dwyer delivered the first ever Women's Economic Security Statement, focused on three pillars—specifically, workforce participation, earning potential, and economic independence. We know that economic independence is a critical issue for women experiencing family and domestic violence, and, as part of this pillar, the government is providing funding of $35.6 million over four years. The new measures include extending funding for specialist domestic violence units and health justice partnerships to help women get on top of their finances through training and support.

We are also expanding Good Shepherd Microfinance's No Interest Loan Scheme. This will help women experiencing family and domestic violence access finance when they most need it without high interest holding back their financial recovery into the future. The loans will be able to assist with relocation, essential household items, rental bonds or, where appropriate, debt consolidation.

The government's also extending the ability to access early release of superannuation to victims of family and domestic violence. While superannuation should ideally be preserved until retirement, there are certain immediate and extreme circumstances where the benefits today outweigh the benefits of maintaining those savings until retirement. The government has consulted with stakeholders and considers that family and domestic violence is one of these special circumstances. Extending early access to superannuation, in addition to other support, can provide an important last-resort lifeline needed to begin the recovery process in a safe environment. We're also funding legal assistance to ensure that victims of family violence are appropriately protected from direct cross-examination by their perpetrators in family law matters.

These important measures support women's financial security to help them escape violent relationships. I'm proud of this government's record on women's economic security. Under this government, there are more women in work than ever before, with over 5.9 million women in work. Women's workforce participation is at record highs under our government. We are on track to meet the G20 commitments to reduce the gap in women's workforce participation by 25 per cent to 9.1 percentage points by 2025. In October 2018, the participation gap was standing at 9.5 percentage points. Women must be safe in their homes, online, in their community and at work, and this bill will assist to make that a reality. Under this government, we are also making good progress on closing the gender pay gap. It was 17.2 per cent when we took office in 2013 and is now at a record low of 14.5 per cent.

In closing, the bill before the Senate now is an important part of the comprehensive support provided by this government to working women experiencing family and domestic violence. Family and domestic violence is unacceptable anywhere, anytime. This bill is the right step now to provide important workplace entitlements and protections to employees experiencing such violence. I urge all senators to support extending this important safety net entitlement to all workers under the Fair Work Act.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.