News

Jan 18, 2023

Starts in Feb 2023: New paid family and domestic violence leave in Australia

All employees in the Fair Work system (including part-time and casual employees) will be entitled to 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave in a 12-month period. This new entitlement will replace the existing entitlement to 5 days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave under the National Employment Standards (NES).

When does it start?

  • 1 February 2023, for employees of non-small business employers (employers with 15 or more employees on 1 February 2023)
  • 1 August 2023, for employees of small business employers (employers with less than 15 employees on 1 February 2023).

Who does it apply to and what are they entitled to?

The new paid family and domestic violence leave applies to all employees in the Fair Work system (including part-time and casual employees) and they are entitled to 10 days of paid leave each 12 month period.

When it comes into effect, it will replace the previous entitlement of 5 days unpaid family and domestic violence leave.

The leave does not accumulate from year to year and the leave entitlement renews every year on each employee's work anniversary.

What is an employee paid when taking family and domestic violence leave?

Full-time and part-time employees are paid family and domestic violence leave at their full pay rate for the hours they would have worked if they weren't on leave.

Casual employees will be paid at their full pay rate for the hours they were rostered to work in the period they took leave.

An employee's full pay rate is their base rate plus any:

  • incentive-based payments and bonuses
  • loadings
  • monetary allowances
  • overtime or penalty rates
  • any other separately identifiable amounts

What do I show on an employee's pay slip?

From 1 February 2023, there are rules about information that must not be included on an employee’s pay slip relating to paid family and domestic violence leave. This is to reduce the risk to an employee’s safety when accessing paid family and domestic violence leave.

Employers need to keep a record of leave balances and any leave taken by employees. However, pay slips must not mention family and domestic violence leave, including any leave taken and leave balances.

Find out more

To find out more, see the detailed information on the Fair Work website.