Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I too rise to speak on the Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Bill 2022. I am very proud to be able to speak of what is indeed a very historic bill, because this bill, very importantly, sets out 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave as a minimum employment standard. In fact, the government values this initiative so much that we introduced this in the first week of this new parliament. This bill also sends a very strong message that women's safety and gender equity are a national priority and that these issues are at the forefront of the Albanese Labor government's agenda.

Of course, the fact is that no woman should live in fear of abuse and in fear of her current or former partner. When we look at those statistics, we know one woman is killed by a current or former partner every 10 days. That figure is devastatingly high. Of course, every life lost due to family and domestic violence is a heartbreaking reminder to everyone of the reality that confronts us all. As a former frontline police officer, I have seen firsthand the horror, the tragedy and the reality of family and domestic violence. I have stood in the middle of the night in the kitchens or lounge rooms of many homes, in the middle of domestic violence situations, and I have seen the trauma and terror of those victims—those women and children—and the complexities involved and the difficulties they have in leaving.

Each and every woman has a right to be safe—to be safe at home, to be safe on the street and to be safe at work. The fact is, we cannot fail to act. That's why our government's commitment to enshrine 10 days of family and domestic violence leave in the National Employment Standards is so incredibly important. We know this entitlement will save lives.

This bill sets out the 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave as a minimum employment standard for all. The reason that it's for all is that when we look at the situation with many casual employees they typically do not have access to paid leave. The fact is, women who are experiencing or who have experienced family and domestic violence often have a more disrupted work history and are therefore more likely to be employed in casual work. That's why this bill, vitally, will cover the 2.6 million casual workers throughout the nation. This bill also captures the evolving living styles of Australian households by covering abuse in intimate relationships whether or not those partners may cohabitate. In addition, these 10 days will provided upfront, meaning that, regardless of where you are in your employment, you will be given full access to the entitlement should you need it. Safety should not depend on someone's employer or the place that they work. This bill ensures that no one is forced to choose between staying safe and getting by and being employed.

We know that access to reliable income has been proven to be one of the most significant determining factors in the decision to leave a violent relationship. Financial stress is a significant barrier to the safety of a woman experiencing family and domestic violence. Employment is an important pathway because these women cannot risk joblessness, homelessness and poverty, which we all know are some of the many barriers in terms of getting out of these violent relationships. We also know that when it comes to systems of abuse, such as coercive control, the abuser may restrict a person's economic and financial resources. A measure such as the 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave will help to break down those barriers to getting out.

The fact is also that women, when looking to leave an abusive situation, incur a huge amount of cost. They need access to those funds and there's so much they have to arrange in order for that to occur, such as seeking safe emergency housing, securing a long-term place to live for themselves and their children, being able to travel to safe locations, being able to attend medical appointments, accessing legal advice, accessing police, attending court hearings, and providing for their dependants. A lot of time is spent organising alternative child care or alternative education arrangements, and re-engaging with those very important support networks that they may not have been able to engage with before. There's a vast array of issues that women have to pursue in terms of being able to leave those relationships.

In addition, the 10 days are an important tool to enable victim-survivors to access those key services that are primarily open during business hours. Without the ability to take the appropriate leave, we can have a situation where women may be faced with the choice between accessing the support services and trying to maintain their employment. By having the certainty of the pay, we're able to lessen the disruption, particularly on the lives of dependants, on income and on that woman's employment status.

Family and domestic violence is an issue on a number of fronts—criminal, social, and economic—and it is an industrial issue in the workplace. This is for a number of reasons. Family and domestic violence is a workplace issue because it is brought into the workplace and impacts significantly a woman's ability to attend or participate at work. The economic impact of family and domestic violence in the workplace is significant, with workplace productivity substantially reduced due to absenteeism, the need for subsequent retraining and the cost of recruitment to replace departed staff. In fact, family and domestic violence is estimated to cost the economy between $12.6 billion and $22 billion per year.

Family and domestic violence is a workplace issue because financial stability and employment are absolutely crucial both to enabling a woman to actually leave the violent relationship and, importantly, enabling her to recover and rebuild. The Fair Work Commission's 2021 review into family and domestic violence leave reveals just how much family and domestic violence leave affects a woman's access to work, her prospects of career progression and the ability to maintain, or gain, financial independence. This bill means that victims-survivors are better placed to continue their employment and not have those major gaps.

Family and domestic violence is also a workplace issue because of the role the workplace has in shaping society's response to gendered violence. If businesses have an obligation to provide the 10 days paid leave, what comes with that obligation is enabling and supporting policies. These policies start conversations in the workplace that help to change behaviour. Conversations make employees more cognisant of the issue and make our community more cognisant of the issue and also more cognisant of the telltale signs that somebody might actually need help. I also want to assure the business community that we're introducing this legislation with consideration of the system changes that businesses will have to administer. Most businesses will have around six months to implement the new entitlements, and small businesses will be afforded a further six months. The phasing-in ensures that the entitlements are understood by everyone in the workplace, and that's vitally important. I do want to thank and acknowledge the businesses and employers who are already providing the support and who have worked hard to support their employees who are experiencing family and domestic violence.

This bill to amend the Fair Work Act in terms of the 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave is another really clear commitment by our government. It sends a very strong message that this is a national priority. Proper industrial relations laws like this bill help to reduce the overall gender pay gap and increase women's economic security and their safety. We know that this bill must work in conjunction with other reforms to bring about real structural change. We have a mandate to ensure that supports are in place for those who need help to flee those situations and to bring about long-term transformation. That's why we're making a record $3 billion investment to end violence against women and children. In order to reduce violence against women and children, we need to have more national conversations around respect. We also need to make sure that those conversations are started early with young people, so our government is investing $77 million in consent and respectful relationships education for school students. We know that early intervention and primary prevention will help to change some entrenched attitudes and behaviours. All of this then leads to breaking the cycle of violence. It's so important that we engage with young people.

The Albanese Labor government will also deliver $1.3 billion to implement the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children. This plan will deliver a strong and evidence based approach to meet the needs of anyone who is experiencing gender based violence. This implementation of the plan will be overseen by our new Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Commissioner, who will be working with the states and territories in terms of coordinating their responses. Very importantly, the commissioner's role is really to amplify the voices of victims-survivors. Having the commission and the commissioner in place again shows the commitment that this government has in terms of its proactive actions to end violence against women and children and shows how vitally important that is.

We know, of course, that housing is a major issue for women fleeing domestic violence, so, in addition to the measures I have outlined, our government will make a major investment of $1.6 billion to build more social housing properties for women and children fleeing family and domestic violence. Very importantly, the government will invest $100 million towards crisis and transitional accommodation. Both of these aspects are vitally important. Accessing emergency accommodation—having somewhere to go—is so important, but the long-term arrangements in terms of the housing situation are also important.

We know that the pandemic and the rising cost of living means that the fight to end violence against women has never been more important. That's why we're also investing $157 million to fund 500 additional community sector workers to support women in crisis. This is a commitment we made prior to the election and we will be delivering, and are delivering, on that commitment. And I would like to acknowledge and thank all of those community sector workers who do an outstanding job dealing with the complexities and challenges of those women who are fleeing domestic violence. That's why we are committing to 500 more, because we know these services are needed right across the country in so many areas. A large proportion of that commitment is in rural and regional areas, where it is often a lot more difficult to access those services. What it will mean is more case managers, more financial counsellors and more children-support workers nationwide. We're making sure that full suite of support is there for both women and children.

We know that family and domestic violence continues to present a huge challenge right across the nation. It means, sadly, that home often becomes one of the most dangerous places for women. These issues—women's safety, women's economic security and gender equity—concern us all, as individuals, as communities and as governments. We need to keep building on the work that we're doing, and this bill really does that by enshrining those 10 days of paid and family domestic violence leave. It is a response to a decade of action, where we've heard from so many people: the victims-survivors, the frontline workers—particularly the union movement, who've been advocating for so long—the various other community advocates and, of course, many, many of my parliamentary colleagues who have been fighting hard for this issue. The member for Newcastle, in her contribution, referred to the rally that we had in July on the front lawns of parliament, where we made it clear we would introduce this legislation and really acknowledged the people who had fought so hard for this.

Labor listens and Labor acts. That's why we're delivering on this. I'm very pleased to be supporting this bill, from a number of perspectives—of course as the Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence but also as a former frontline police officer, having spent many years attending literally hundreds of domestic violence situations and hearing firsthand from many women about what was needed for them in terms of being able to flee those relationships. So it's been an area that I've always had a strong interest in. I commend this bill, as a very proud member of the Albanese Labor government, because we are a government that is committed to ending violence against women and children. We were very proud that this bill was introduced in the first week of this new government. It shows that this is a national priority, and we will build upon that work. I commend the bill to the House.

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