Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To those who perpetrate family and domestic violence: it is the government's view that providing a universal national entitlement to this benefit would not be in line with community expectations. However, this Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Bill 2022 will have a very significant impact. Over one million employees already have access to paid family and domestic violence leave through collective bargaining between workers and employers, and we know the impact that this entitlement can have. But by embedding this entitlement into the national employment standards, this legislation will take this figure from just over one million employees to 11 million employees. This legislation will not end domestic violence. This is a much, much bigger task and there is so much more to do but it is a very important step that will save lives, because no worker should ever have to choose between their safety and their income. No worker should ever have to choose between income and medical treatment. Every worker in Australia has the right to be safe at work and safe at home.

I want to thank the survivors and their advocates. I want to thank experts and frontline workers who have advocated for so long for this reform. I see that Samantha Parker is up there with her comrades and colleagues from the ASU in the gallery. I want to acknowledge the Australian Services Union, which represents frontline workers who help women fleeing domestic violence every day. Samantha Parker and her colleagues were there at the beginning, advocating and arguing for this reform, and they have been joined by many others. I want to acknowledge all those stakeholders, those willing people who put their shoulders to it and built the case for this bill year after year, decade after decade.

Preventing family violence is everyone's business. It is long overdue for the Australian government to show leadership in this way, and I am so proud to support this bill.

Dorinda Cox (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Bill 2022. I want to acknowledge every Australian woman who has ever left a violent relationship and add my voice to this important issue that affects so many, too many in fact, as we heard by women even in this chamber yesterday—and thank you to Senator Green in particular for sharing her story, which is similar to mine and to many other women other women and children who are exposed to violence in their homes and in their communities.

This bill makes some changes that seem very simple. It increases family and domestic violence leave from five days unpaid to 10 days paid, regardless if you are full-time, part-time of a casual worker, and extends the definition of family and domestic violence. But make no mistake, these changes will have an enormous impact on those who need it. Many people who are victim survivors of family and domestic violence may not be able to afford to take five days of unpaid leave. They might be in a relationship, be single parents, or suffering from an abusive ex, family member or current partner, and, in First Nations communities, this also extends to our kinship groups. We do not consider ourselves in isolation but as members of a wider kinship group or community, where violence can be experienced and the impact of that is far reaching.

The truth is there are many ways family and domestic violence can take place and no instances are the same. For First Nations women, we know that the statistics are vastly different. We are 35 times more likely to experience domestic violence, and the cost of that is actually $2.2 billion per year. Before entering this parliament, I worked in the women's sector and, indeed, after that, I have heard from numerous forums and first-hand from women across the country who have told me about the barriers to escaping violence and the immediate impact on their participation in the workforce. They include accessing crisis services, accommodation, legal services and health and medical services.

The indirect psychological impacts incurred by women and children of that violence include pain, fear and suffering. Replacing damaged household items and school equipment, changing schools and the settlement of a partner's bad debt not only take time but carry a cost. The cost is not counted. We should also extend that to the cost of loss of opportunity, loss of employment and promotion opportunities, and the loss of quality of life due to being in or leaving a violent relationship.

I'm a member of the Senate inquiry into missing and murdered First Nations women and children, and we've heard just this week that particularly First Nations women are up to 12 times more likely to be murdered, which means they're disproportionally overrepresented compared to other Australian women. Violence against First Nations women is significantly underreported and underpoliced, carrying a range of issues for participating in those legal processes, which also makes the evidentiary requirements for proof of violence occurring as one of the biggest barriers to accessing their leave entitlements.

Whilst this bill will save lives by providing a circuit breaker in the system for women's safety, we know that, on top of all the other challenges in reducing gender based violence, there are still racial biases that must be dismantled and culturally appropriate measures to be taken before First Nations women will actually not be at a higher risk but also to make workplaces safe places to disclose. The Greens have moved several amendments to this bill, the first to broaden the definition of 'family and domestic violence' for further clarity and to ensure that victims-survivors get the support that they actually need. The second allows for up to four days of unpaid leave to be taken on top of the 10 days of paid leave. This acknowledges that 10 days might actually not be enough, and indeed it is best practice that the minimum standard be 14 days, which my colleague Senator Waters has outlined. Finally, there's an amendment to insert a provision into the Fair Work Act that makes experiencing or having experienced family and domestic violence a protected attribute, which will help prevent potential workplace discrimination against an employee who discloses their situation.

In fact, all of these amendments have been called for by stakeholders, and I want to acknowledge the work of Senator Waters, as our portfolio holder, through the inquiry into this bill. We need to listen to the experts in this area about what's needed to end family and domestic violence. In my concluding remarks I want to say that paid family and domestic violence leave will help victims-survivors to leave potentially violent and abusive situations, but we also need to address the causal factors of this. We need to address the intergenerational trauma that people are carrying with them as survivors of family and domestic violence.

As a mother of two daughters these are important issues that require specific targeted resources to help heal and prevent violence experienced by women but also the impact on their children. Girls need an opportunity to thrive in the future. We need to address the underlying factors that lead to this abuse. We need to educate people about what respectful relationships look like. We need to address poverty and access to basic necessities, such as housing, which play a pivotal role in reducing violence in our communities. It is, in fact, our job in this place to ensure that we use our political will and our capital to make those life-altering changes to preserve, value and respect the lives of women.

In First Nations communities across this country we continue to ask questions like: how many more of our women, who are mothers and grandmothers, must die before our efforts in this place are clearly just not enough? Until we show the courage and the bravery that we applaud in our victims-survivors to address the underlying causes of gender based violence very little will change. All too often, under the current scheme, people are forced to choose between their job, their income and their safety, and this is not a choice that anyone should have to make.

Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I too rise to speak on the Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Bill 2022 and I'm proud to be part of a government that introduced this bill as one of its first bills to this parliament. In the years to come it will be seen as one of the, hopefully, many great achievements of the Albanese-Labor government. Make no mistake: this bill will save lives. I want my fellow senators to think about this fact as they listen to the debate today and consider how they will vote.

Domestic violence is a shame to our nation. Family and domestic violence affects people from all walks of life, in every community, in every city and in every region across this country. The statistics are harrowing. Since the age of 15 approximately one in four women has experienced at least one incidence of violence by an intimate partner. About 2.2 million Australians have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15. Indigenous women are 35 times as likely to be hospitalised due to family and domestic violence than non-Indigenous women. Horrifically, on average, one woman is killed by her current or former partner every 10 days in Australia. For many women, the most dangerous place in Australia is their own home, a place where they should, at an absolute minimum, be able to feel safe. In the 10 years from mid-2002 to mid-2012, 488 women in Australia were killed by an intimate partner, representing 75 per cent of the total of 654 victims killed by an intimate partner. Sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic has seen an increase in the prevalence of family and domestic violence.

Getting out of domestic violence situations is hard. I empathise with anyone in that situation and truly hope that this bill provides some support to make it easier to get out. Frontline workers have told us there are two issues at the forefront of the minds of women seeking to escape from violent relationships. First, they are worried about the disruption to the lives of their children. Second, they are worried about the disruption to their income and employment. Many can't leave violent situations without risking joblessness, financial stress, homelessness and poverty, so it leaves workers with nowhere to go, having to choose between their safety and their livelihood.

For those who don't believe this is an issue for the workplace, you are very, very wrong. More than 68 per cent of people experiencing family and domestic violence are in paid work. Women experiencing family and domestic violence earn 35 per cent less than those who do not, and it disproportionately affects women, who are more likely to be casual or part time. The cost to the national economy is huge, with estimates ranging between $12.6 billion and $22 billion per year. Employers are bearing significant costs, up to $2 billion a year, in the form of reduced productivity caused by absenteeism, and recruitment and retraining costs. Paid family and domestic violence leave will assist to reduce this cost.

Our legislation extends the Fair Work Commission's recent preliminary review by introducing a right to 10 days paid leave for all eligible employees covered by the national employment standards, including rostered casuals at the employee's full rate of pay. Excluding casuals altogether would have left 2.6 million employees, or 22.8 per cent of all employees, without this protection. It provides further incentive for employers to prefer casuals over permanent jobs. We have also extended the definition of family and domestic violence to include conduct of a member of an employee's household to recognise that Australians are living a more diverse and different arrangements. This new entitlement will take effect on 1 February 2023 for businesses other than small businesses with fewer than 15 employees, and on 1 August 2023 for small businesses, in recognition that they have limited human resources and payroll capabilities. The government will also be consulting on a package of implementation support measures for small business to assist with rolling out this entitlement. This bill is good policy, and those that work closely with the victims of domestic violence are clear as to its need.

Before I finish, I would like to take a quick moment to outline how to access support services for anyone in my home state of Tasmania. If you are listening in Tasmania and need support and counselling for domestic and family violence, you can contact the Family Violence Counselling and Support Service on 1800608122. This service operates between 9 am and midnight on weekdays and between 4 pm and midnight on weekends and public holidays.

In conclusion, I will just say this: as a nation, we can and must do better. This bill is one way that we can do better, so I encourage all my Senate colleagues to support this bill.

Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is a historic day as we debate this historic bill before us. It's historic because the fight for the measures contained within this bill has been raging for a long time, from frontline workers, our union movement, gender equality advocates, civil society and women. It's historic because it will make a real difference to the lives of some of those in our community whose voices have been silenced, unheard, for far too long.

The statistics of family violence are too familiar to us all. We know that, on average, one woman every 10 days in Australia is killed by an intimate partner. Women aren't the only victims of family and domestic violence—of course not—but we know that, disproportionately, they experience family violence so much more than men. Since the age of 15, approximately one in four women will have experienced at least once instance of violence by an intimate partner. These statistics are horrific, but of course they're not just statistics. I'm sure almost all of us in this chamber would know someone who's experienced family violence or would have experienced family violence themselves. These are people we know, people we love and people we care for.

While this bill doesn't stop or solve family violence it will make a difference. It introduces 10 days of paid leave for employees to use to deal with the impacts of family and domestic violence. Critically, it's paid at the rate of pay you would actually earn, whether in full-time employment, part-time employment or casual employment. This is critically important—it's a really important part of this bill—because, to start with, women are more likely to be the victims of violence and they're also more likely to be those in casual work. We don't ever want women in Australia to be in the situation where they have to choose between a day's pay, between their livelihood, and between getting help and getting out of a dangerous situation. Fundamentally, that's what this bill is about: supporting those in our community at a critical point in their life, when this support could be at least life-changing but probably live-saving.

I'm really proud of this bill and I'm really proud to be part of a government that prioritises women's safety and equality. Of course it doesn't do everything. The National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children was released last week. This outlines a clear blueprint for the next 10 years. This plan contains an ambitious target, as it should, to end gender based violence in one generation. It also includes tangible actions, including addressing gender discrimination, implementing prevention strategies, embedding effective early intervention approaches and building the frontline sector workforce to ensure women and children can access tailored and culturally safe support no matter where they live. These are some real, tangible measures to be rolled out alongside the bill before us.

But make no mistake: just because this bill doesn't do everything it doesn't mean it won't make a tremendous difference, and it doesn't mean that it won't change lives and save lives. So I very much commend the bill to the Senate and I would hope it is something that we can all get behind and support.

Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Bill 2022. In opposition, Labor promised to provide 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave to all employees. As one of our first legislative acts in government we are doing exactly that. I'd like to thank the Deputy Chair of the Education and Employment Committee, Senator O'Sullivan, and the secretariat of the committee for their strong engagement on the inquiry into this bill. In that inquiry not a single stakeholder that made a submission or appeared at a hearing said that this was a bad idea—not a single one—because everyone recognised just how important this is.

The statistics are shocking. From the age of 15, one in four women and one in 13 men experience violence by an intimate partner. On average, one woman is killed by a current or former partner every 10 days in Australia. Paid leave enables those experiencing violence to access support services before it's too late. As Samantha Parker, a frontline women's service worker and Australian Services Union organiser, told the Senate committee inquiry into this bill:

Paid domestic and violence leave allows women the opportunity to leave abusive relationships safely.

These reforms will save lives.

I want to commend the activists and survivors who have campaigned for paid family and domestic violence leave over many years. I also want to commend the community and trade union movement, which have fought tooth and nail against opposition from some in the employer lobby for this entitlement. I particularly want to acknowledge the Australian Services Union, which has been instrumental in this fight, including former ASU New South Wales secretary Sally McManus, Natalie Lang, current secretary Angus McFarland and current deputy secretary Judith Wright.

Just like weekends, the 40-hour week, the minimum wage, annual leave, sick leave, parental leave, penalty rates, superannuation, workers compensation, unfair dismissal laws and redundancy pay, none of these entitlements were gifted by employers or conservative governments. Every single one of these benefits was fought for and won by the community, trade unions and countless union members and organisers across the country. Today there is a new entitlement to add to that list: paid family and domestic violence leave.

The usual suspects and employer lobby groups like the Australian Industry Group showed up to the inquiry into the bill and complained. They complained that businesses shouldn't have to pay for their employees to get paid leave to assess potentially life-saving support. Isn't it funny that the big businesses that fund these lobby groups never want to put their own names to the reprehensible policy positions they lobby for? We will see it again this week when the Ai Group and chamber of commerce campaign against Labor's reforms to grow wages and improve job security.

The large companies, such as Qantas, that fund these groups are too ashamed to run these campaigns in their own name. But the fact is that this leave entitlement will not only provide vital support to people experiencing violence; it will also deliver productivity benefits. The Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre estimates that this reform will deliver net savings for employers through increased productivity and reduced absenteeism. This is just the first of a number of reforms that will improve the lives of Australian workers, especially women workers, and help with cost-of-living pressures and job insecurity, particularly in feminised industries.

The government has already introduced legislation to the House that will massively expand childcare subsidies for Australian families, enabling parents to get back into work sooner. Another government bill already introduced to the House will implement all the remaining legislative recommendations of the Respect@Work report. In the budget just handed down last night the Albanese government extended paid parental leave from 18 weeks to 26 weeks, another massive reform for working families.

Later this week the government will introduce a bill that makes four significant improvements to gender equity in the workplace. It includes banning pay secrecy clauses—a practice that employers use to prevent workers, particularly women workers, from learning how they've been discriminated against. It includes making gender equity an explicit objective of the Fair Work Act. It includes establishing new expert panels of the Fair Work Commission to address pay equity and undervalued work in the care sector. It also includes giving the commission greater power to order pay increases in low-paid usually highly feminised industries through equal remuneration principles.

Together these reforms represent the greatest strides towards gender equality at work in generations. The initial fight over equal pay was won in 1969 with a meat workers union's successful equal pay case at the arbitration commission. But, over 50 years later, equal pay for equal work has still not become a reality for Australian women. These reforms by the Albanese government mean gender equity at work can finally be realised. It is really disappointing that, after nine years of sending workers' wages and rights backwards, opposition by the Liberals and Nationals has already confirmed that they will be opposing many of those reforms.

I think it's time that those opposite and their mates in the employer lobby cut out the old class war nonsense and got onboard with Labor's pro-wages and pro-women agenda—an agenda that is also delivering critical support for women and men experiencing domestic and family violence.

Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank all honourable senators for their contributions to the debate on the Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Bill 2022. Many of the contributions were not easy speeches for people to give. Where there have been different views on the best way forward, those views have been put very respectfully. I also thank honourable senators on the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee for their inquiry into the provisions of this bill.

This bill is an important step towards making sure no person is denied the opportunity to live a life free of family and domestic violence simply because they cannot afford to escape. This government believes in the fundamental right of all employees in this country to feel safe in their homes and in their workplaces. The choice between their safety and their income is an impossible one that millions of workers in Australia still regularly face. This is unacceptable, and it must change.

This bill will provide employees with 10 days of paid leave each year to deal with the impacts of family and domestic violence. Family and domestic violence doesn't discriminate based on whether you're a permanent or a casual worker; in fact, those experiencing family and domestic violence are more likely to be in casual work. This paid leave will therefore be available to full-time, part-time and casual employees. The 10 days leave will be provided upfront, allowing immediate access to the full entitlement from the commencement of employment so that those experiencing family and domestic violence can deal immediately with its effects without compromising their income security.

Rather than being paid at the base rate of pay, leave will be paid at the rate the employee would have received had they not taken leave. The principle behind this is simple—getting out shouldn't mean losing pay. Normally, leave entitlements are calculated at the base rate of pay, but applying the principle 'getting out shouldn't mean losing pay' requires a different approach. To provide certainty to both employers and employees about the pay they should receive, casual employees will be paid for rostered shifts, including where a shift has been offered and accepted. Casuals who are not rostered on will still be entitled to leave without pay when they need to be unavailable for work to deal with the impacts of family and domestic violence. This means they will always be protected from losing their jobs when they need to take leave. When they are rostered on, the paid leave entitlement will be there.

The bill also reflects the changing nature of Australian society, where more people have diverse living situations. The bill amends the definition of 'family and domestic violence' to ensure violent or abusive behaviour in intimate relationships, regardless of whether partners are cohabiting, will be covered to allow employees to take paid leave to seek necessary assistance.

The government will move two amendments in the Senate, making technical changes to the Fair Work Act to enable the making of regulations that specifically prevent the listing of 'family and domestic violence leave' on a employee's payslip, and making technical updates to the Fair Work Commission's new dispute resolution mechanism in relation to existing enterprise agreements. The government listened to stakeholder concerns around payslips, including concerns raised by small business, payroll providers and the National Women's Alliances. We recognise that, for those in situations of coercive control or where a perpetrator has access to their partner's financial records, the appearance of 'family and domestic violence leave' on a payslip could put the employee taking leave at risk. The other amendment responds to the Fair Work Commission's submission to the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee's inquiry into the bill. This amendment is needed to ensure the provisions operate as intended.

Support for small business is essential. The intention of this bill is to make clear that family and domestic violence must be addressed in the workplace, not just left to the social and community or criminal justice sectors. As such, it is important to recognise that employers are partners in this process. This is particularly true for small businesses, which have a uniquely close relationship with their employees but which don't have the human resources expertise and resources available to larger businesses. The entitlement has a phased commencement to assist business to implement this entitlement. Most businesses would have around six months from the date of introduction, and small businesses will have an additional six months to prepare.

The small business assistance package announced in the budget provides $3.4 million over four years to deliver a range of holistic supports to help small businesses implement paid family and domestic violence leave, including: updating and increasing resources for workplace relations advice and education tools delivered by the Fair Work Ombudsman; funding to support peak bodies to develop tailored workplace relations guidance and support; and, in addition, specialist family and domestic violence information support and training through the existing 1800RESPECT and DV-alert program will also be available to small businesses so that they can assist victim-survivors to access support services. Together, these measures will ensure that small businesses can access the right advice at the right time to provide the best support to their employees who are experiencing family and domestic violence.

Passing this bill is an important step, but the government recognises that we need to make sure this leave entitlement is working for both employers and workers who are experiencing family and domestic violence. An important part of this will be looking at how this leave entitlement is supporting workers who are experiencing family and domestic violence, and whether the supporting guidance the government will provide to businesses is adequate. The government is therefore committed to implementing the recommendation of the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee to undertake an independent review of the provisions of this bill 18 months after its commencement. This important review has been expressly funded through the budget's small business assistance package. The review will assess the effectiveness and scope of the bill, along with assessing the adequacy of the support and guidance available to businesses to assist with implementation of the bill.

The government has already committed to a detailed, timely and extensive review of the provisions. Therefore we do not support the opposition's amendment for an independent review, which is both unnecessary and poorly designed, noting that it does not refer to assessing the impact of the amendment on victim-survivors; only puts six months of operation for small business in scope; and imposes a three-month reporting deadline, which is insufficient to undertake qualitative and quantitative research while applying a sensitive trauma informed methodology.

There are several issues that have been raised during debate on this bill and in the Senate inquiry that are important to address. There have been some concerns that the bill may also provide leave to perpetrators of family and domestic violence. Others have called for the leave to be expanded so that perpetrators who are seeking professional help can then access this leave. To be entirely clear: an employee will only be able to take this leave if they are experiencing family and domestic violence. An employee cannot take paid family and domestic violence leave provided by the bill for violence that they themselves perpetrate. The government is aware that some jurisdictions and organisations offer leave for perpetrators in certain circumstances. That may assist some perpetrators who are seeking to change their abusive behaviour but it is not the purpose of this bill, which is intended to aid those experiencing family and domestic violence to seek help and leave. The entitlement does not provide a benefit to those who perpetrate family and domestic violence, and it is the government's view that providing a universal national entitlement to this benefit would not be in line with community expectations.

I note suggestions from the opposition and the Australian Greens to ensure that information, resources and supports are available for small business and victims-survivors for commencement of this entitlement. The government has been consulting on a small business assistance package. This will ensure that clear and comprehensive guidance is available to employers to help them to understand their obligations and to refer their employees to appropriate supports.

Honourable senators have proposed other amendments including further expanding the definition of 'family and domestic violence', providing additional unpaid leave on top of paid leave, combining family and domestic violence leave with compassionate leave to create a new form of emergency leave, expanding the definition of 'discrimination' under the Fair Work Act, expanding the examples in a legislative note under 106B(1), providing discretion for additional leave in advance by agreement and clarifying the reporting obligations for employees with respect to paid family and domestic violence leave.

The government does not support these amendments. Some are unnecessary. Others would expand the scope of the legislation. It is important to get the balance right. The legislation in front of us is world leading. We are taking a step that hasn't been taken by any other government around the world, but we don't want to take the scope further than we have. Everything we've done so far has been based on that very simple test of making sure that workers are not choosing between safety and their pay. An independent review of the provisions of this bill will occur in 2024 which will look at the effectiveness and scope of the bill along with assessing the adequacy of support and guidance available to business.

Paid family and domestic violence leave joins the range of tools available to address violence against women and children. This government acknowledges the resistance and resilience of victims-survivors of family and domestic violence and is committed to providing the national leadership and investment needed to address family and domestic violence. This is demonstrated through the government's October 2022-23 budget which invested a total of $1.7 billion over six years for women's safety because ending violence against women and children is a national priority. This investment will support the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032 which will guide efforts and actions over the next decade towards the vision of ending gender based violence in one generation.

This bill, by itself, will not solve the problem of family and domestic violence. There is much more work to be done. But it does mean that no employee in Australia will ever be forced to reckon with a choice between earning a wage and protecting the safety of themselves and their family.

I thank all senators who have spoken in this debate for their support of this historic legislation, and I commend the bill to the Senate.

Andrew McLachlan (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Honourable senators, two second reading amendments have been circulated. The first is from Senator Cash, who has already moved it, and then there is one from Senator Waters, who will move it subsequently.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the second reading amendment moved by Senator Cash be agreed to.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We will now move to the second reading amendment as signalled by Senator Waters. I invite you to move that, Senator Waters.

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

I move:

At the end of the motion, add ", but the Senate:

(a) notes that:

(i) the availability of paid family and domestic violence leave will allow more victim-survivors to access frontline services for advice and support, and

(ii) specialist frontline services will assist employers to implement the paid family and domestic violence leave scheme by providing advice and training, and options for referring affected workers; and

(b) acknowledges that frontline family and domestic violence services are already stretched beyond capacity and will require additional funding to meet existing and increased demand and ensure victim-survivors receive the support they need".

Question negatived.

Original question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.