Family and domestic violence leave
Paid family and domestic violence leave for some employees
From 1 February 2023, employees of non-small business employers (employers with 15 or more employees on 1 February 2023) can access 10 days of paid family domestic violence leave. This includes part-time and casual employees.
The information on this page has now been updated to reflect this new leave entitlement.
Employees employed by small business employers (employers with less than 15 employees on 1 February 2023) can access paid leave from 1 August 2023. Until then, they can continue to take unpaid family and domestic violence leave. Learn more at Unpaid family and domestic violence leave.
All employees are entitled to family and domestic violence leave each year. This includes full-time, part-time and casual employees.
The entitlement to paid or unpaid family and domestic violence leave comes from the National Employment Standards (NES). It’s a minimum leave entitlement, like annual leave or sick and carer’s leave.
Employees can take paid leave to deal with family and domestic violence from different dates depending on the size of their employer. The leave is available from:
- 1 February 2023, for employees of non-small business employers
- 1 August 2023, for employees of small business employers.
Employees of small business employers can continue to take unpaid family and domestic violence leave until 1 August 2023.
On this page:
- Support services
- Family and domestic violence
- Paid family and domestic violence leave
- Unpaid family and domestic violence leave
- Tools and resources
- Related information
Support services
1800RESPECT is the national domestic, family and sexual violence counselling, information and support service. If you or someone you know is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, domestic, family or sexual violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au.
Family and domestic violence
Family and domestic violence means violent, threatening or other abusive behaviour by certain individuals known to an employee that both:
- seeks to coerce or control the employee
- causes them harm or fear.
To access paid family and domestic violence leave, the individual could be:
- an employee’s close relative
- a member of an employee's household, or
- a current or former intimate partner of an employee.
To access unpaid family and domestic violence leave, the individual needs to be a close relative.
A close relative is:
- an employee’s:
- spouse or former spouse
- de facto partner or former de facto partner
- child
- parent
- grandparent
- grandchild
- sibling
- an employee's current or former spouse or de facto partner's child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling, or
- a person related to the employee according to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander kinship rules.
1800RESPECT is the national domestic, family and sexual violence counselling, information and support service. If you or someone you know is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, domestic, family or sexual violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. This service can also provide confidential information about what it means to be experiencing domestic, family or sexual violence.
Paid family and domestic violence leave
From 1 February 2023, all employees of non-small business employers can take 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave each year. This includes part-time and casual employees.
Employees must be experiencing family and domestic violence to be eligible to take paid family and domestic violence leave.
The entitlement to paid family and domestic violence leave comes from the NES. It’s a minimum leave entitlement, like paid annual leave or paid sick and carer’s leave.
Learn more at:
- Paid family and domestic violence leave
- Taking paid family and domestic violence leave
- Notice and evidence for family and domestic violence leave
Unpaid family and domestic violence leave
All employees of small business employers are entitled to 5 days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave each year. This includes part-time and casual employees.
The entitlement to unpaid family and domestic violence leave comes from the NES. It’s a minimum unpaid leave entitlement, like unpaid carer’s leave.
From 1 August 2023, employees of small business employers can take 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave. Until then, they can continue to access unpaid family and domestic violence leave.
Find out more at:
- Unpaid family and domestic violence leave
- Taking unpaid family and domestic violence leave
- Notice and evidence for unpaid family and domestic violence leave
Tools and resources
- Employer guide to family and domestic violence
- Family and domestic violence fact sheet
- Difficult conversations in the workplace - employee course
- Difficult conversations in the workplace - manager course
