Unpaid family and domestic violence leave
All employees of small businesses employers (less than 15 employees) can access 5 days unpaid family and domestic violence leave each year. This includes part-time and casual employees.
On this page:
- Support services
- Family and domestic violence
- Who can take unpaid family and domestic violence leave
- When the leave is available
- How the leave accrues
- Registered and enterprise agreements
- Workplace policies
- 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 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.
Who can take 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.
A small business employer is one with less than 15 employees on 1 February 2023.
Employees must be experiencing family and domestic violence to be eligible to take unpaid family and domestic violence leave.
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.
The entitlement applies to employees covered by an award or agreement.
From 1 August 2023, employees of small business employers can access 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave. Learn more about the paid leave at Paid family and domestic violence leave. Unpaid family and domestic violence leave is no longer available from this date.
When the leave is available
Eligible employees can access the full 5 days of unpaid leave from the day they start work.
How the leave accrues
An employee’s unpaid leave entitlement is available immediately and resets on the employee’s work anniversary. It doesn’t accumulate from year to year.
Example: Accessing unpaid leave for employee at a small business
Felix is a part-time employee who works at a small business florist. He started work on 21 June 2022.
As Felix’s employer had less than 15 employees on 1 February 2023, Felix is entitled to 5 days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave. In March 2023, Felix uses one day of unpaid family and domestic violence leave to attend a court hearing. This reduces his unpaid family and domestic violence leave balance to 4 days.
Felix’s work anniversary is 21 June 2023. His entitlement to unpaid family and domestic violence leave renews to 5 days on this date.
From 1 August 2023, Felix can access 10 days of paid family and domestic leave from his employer. This is because employees of small businesses are entitled to this paid leave from this date.
Registered and enterprise agreements
Employers and employees should check any agreement that applies to them, to see if it provides any additional entitlements or conditions for dealing with family and domestic violence.
Eligible employees get 5 days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave even if their agreement provides less. This is because the NES always applies as the minimum entitlement, even if an award or agreement provides less.
Types of agreements include:
- registered agreements
- enterprise awards, or
- state reference public sector awards.
If you’re covered by an agreement, go to the Fair Work Commission – Find an agreement database to search for yours.
Workplace policies
Some businesses may provide paid or unpaid family and domestic violence leave entitlements in their employment contracts or workplace policies. The amount of leave and pay entitlements will depend on the contract or policy.
If an employment contract or workplace policy provides less than the minimum entitlement in the NES, the NES entitlement still applies.
Example: Workplace policies about family and domestic violence leave
Alex is entitled to 5 days of unpaid leave each year under the NES.
Alex’s employer also has a family and domestic violence leave policy that provides employees with an entitlement to 2 days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave each year.
Alex’s entitlement under the NES is more than their employer’s policy. That means that Alex is entitled to 5 days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave each year.
