State and Local Government employees
Victim-survivors of domestic and family violence working under public sector industrial relations laws can now access an annual entitlement of 15 days paid leave.
The Fair Work (Domestic and Family Violence Leave) Amendment Act 2023 commenced from 1 September 2023 and provides the additional entitlement for State Government and Local Government workers in South Australia.
The Amendment Act follows a pre-election commitment and fulfils the State Government’s Industrial Relations Policy, specifically creating consistency in the state system. It also expands the Objects of the Act to include ‘gender equity’.
The Act allows workers to immediately access paid leave for a range of purposes including attending medical appointments, legal proceedings, legal assistance, court appearances, counselling, relocation, the making of safety arrangements and other activities associated with the experience of family and domestic violence.
Full-time, part-time, and casual employees are entitled to the full 15 days in a 12-month period from the start of each year of their employment. The entitlement does not accumulate from year to year.
Federal Government and Private Sector employees
Workers in South Australia’s private sector are covered by the Commonwealth Fair Work Act 2009.
Under the Act, full-time, part-time, and casual employees are entitled to 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave in a 12-month period.
Employees are entitled to the full 10 days from the start of each 12-month period. The entitlement does not accumulate from year to year.
The employee may take paid family and domestic violence leave as:
- a single continuous 10-day period
- separate periods of one or more days each, or
- any separate periods to which the employee and the employer agree, including periods of less than one day.
You can find information about supporting workers experiencing family and domestic violence in the Fair Work Ombudsman Employer Guide to Family and Domestic Violence.
