Alicia Payne (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I have risen to speak in this chamber about the need for more action on family and domestic violence in Australia. So I am very proud to speak today as a member of an Albanese Labor government that is committed to providing the leadership and the investment needed to help end family, domestic and sexual violence. Paid family and domestic violence leave is a big part of that commitment and is a long overdue change that will help to save countless lives.

All Australians have the right to be safe at work and at home. No-one should ever have to choose between their safety and their income. Unfortunately, this is a choice that many Australians are forced to make every day. In 2022, it is unacceptable that millions of Australian workers have to face this impossible choice. Family and domestic violence comes in many forms; it is not just physical abuse. Verbal, emotional, financial, sexual and psychological abuse are all types of domestic and family violence, as are threats, manipulation and controlling behaviour. I have been very pleased to see our Attorney General, Mark Dreyfus, working with state and territory counterparts on a national approach to coercive control.

Family and domestic violence affects people from all walks of life in every community across Australia. It is a fact that family and domestic violence disproportionately affects women, women who are also more likely to be casual or part-time workers. Increased awareness of family and domestic violence in recent years has helped to confront this issue, but the appalling facts set out by the Fair Work Commission in its recent review show that we still have a very long way to go. The review found that, from age 15, about one in four women has experienced at least one instance of violence by an intimate partner; First Nations women are 35 times as likely to be hospitalised due to family and domestic violence than non-Indigenous women; police receive a call on average every two minutes in Australia relating to family and domestic violence; and, on average, one woman is killed by her current or former partner every 10 days in Australia—mothers, sisters, aunties, cousins, friends and co-workers. For far too many women, the most dangerous place in Australia is their own home.

This is a national disgrace and it has to change, and that's why this bill is so important. It will save lives. Shockingly, over the past decade, 488 women in Australia were killed by an intimate partner, and it's getting worse. Family and domestic violence has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. A Queensland study showed that 67 per cent of family and domestic violence workers reported new clients seeking help for the first time during the pandemic.

I recently met with Homelessness Australia, who told me that domestic and family violence is the leading cause for homelessness for women and children in Australia. The Nowhere to go report found that more than 9,000 women each year become homeless after fleeing violence at home. More than 39 per cent of all people seeking homelessness services cite family and domestic violence as a reason for seeking assistance. The Nowhere to go report also found that every year an estimated 7,690 women return to perpetrators because they can't find anywhere affordable to live. The report titled The choice: violence or poverty revealed that around 45,000 women want to leave violence, but can't because they can't afford to leave. We must do better than this.

For too long, family and domestic violence was considered a private matter, something that just affected the home lives of victims and happened outside of the workplace. But we know that it touches all facets of life, including work, affecting the productivity of not just victims but also those around them. Labor knows family and domestic violence is not just a criminal justice or social issue but also an economic and workplace issue, and workplaces can play key roles as sources of critical support for people experiencing violence.

More than 68 per cent of people experiencing family and domestic violence are in paid work, but many can't leave without risking joblessness, financial stress, homelessness and poverty. The choice is often between their own safety and their livelihood. Leaving violent relationships costs time and money. Women who experience family and domestic earn 35 per cent less than those who do not. Paid leave provides the financial support and economic security so urgently needed to help those fleeing dangerous situations to do so safely and to rebuild their lives.

Employers play an increasingly important role, and already bear significant costs of family and domestic violence, It cost employers through reduced productivity, absenteeism, recruitment and retraining costs. It costs employers about $2 billion per year and costs the national economy between $12.6 billion and $22 billion each year. This is another reason the Labor government has introduced this legislation. The connection with work and the payment of wages is so important to keep some stability in a woman's life as they seek domestic violence, and as they seek to start a new life.

The Fair Work Commission's review of family and domestic violence leave recognised that family and domestic violence erodes women's access to work, career progression and financial independence. Paid family and domestic violence leave will negate some of these negative impacts, help to reduce the gender pay gap, support gender equality and increase women's economic security. 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. This will give workers—overwhelmingly women—the means to escape violent situations without risking their jobs or their financial security and that of their families.

More than 11 million Australian workers, including casuals, will be able to access this leave. This is important, because women who are experiencing family and domestic violence are more likely to be employed in casual work. Leave is particularly necessary for casual employees who are already dealing with the consequences of being in insecure work and unable to access other paid leave. There are currently 2.6 million casual employees in Australia, almost 23 per cent of all employees. To leave casuals without this protection would provide further incentive for employees to prefer casuals over permanent jobs.

The other key difference in our proposal from the commission's preliminary review is that payment relief will be at the employee's full rate of pay as opposed to the base rate minimum that applies under the National Employment Standards for other paid leave entitlements. This departure is also critical to meet our policy objective of minimising to the greatest extent possible the damage and disruption to a person's life and economic security caused by family and domestic violence.

We have also extended the definition of family and domestic violence to include the conduct of 'a member of an employee's household' to recognise that Australians are living in more diverse and different arrangements. We understand that small business, the engine room of the Australian economy, needs support to implement this. The new entitlement will take effect on 1 February 2023 for larger businesses and will be phased in starting 1 August 2023 for small businesses in recognition that they have limited human resource and payroll capabilities.

This is just the start for this Labor government's work to act on family and domestic violence. We will release a national plan to end violence against women and children later this year to set out a strategy for the next decade. We will invest in an additional 500 community frontline workers, put consent and respectful relationships education in schools, build safe and affordable housing for women fleeing domestic violence and create a new domestic, family and sexual violence commission. This change could and should have been made years ago, but the previous government failed to act. I urge the Liberal and National parties to support this legislation because it will make a difference and it will save lives.

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