Speech to Parliament by Libby Coker MP on 6th September 2022:
I'm proud to be part of a government that is providing the leadership and the investment to help end family, domestic and sexual violence. Paid family and domestic violence leave is part of that commitment, and it's long overdue. It will also save lives. I've been a passionate advocate for this much-needed legislation for many years. I was proud to be Mayor of the Surf Coast Shire in my region of Victoria when, in 2010, the council voted to introduce paid family and domestic violence leave for its staff. The agreement was hailed as the world's first and most progressive workplace agreement on family violence. While that was world-leading then, it is now well and truly time that this entitlement applied to all employees in Australia, regardless of their type of employment.
Under this bill, more than 11 million Australian workers, including casuals, will have access to 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave. This change will give workers, who are overwhelmingly women, the means to escape violent situations without risking their job or their financial security. It is a horrific statistic that, in Australia, one woman dies at the hands of their former or current partner every 10 days. Recent research from Flinders University shows that, from the age of 15, around one in four women has experienced at least one incident of violence by an intimate partner. That sad statistic compares to about one in 13 men experiencing similar violence. In Australia, police receive a call relating to family and domestic violence every two minutes, on average.
There is clear evidence that the prevalence of family and domestic violence has increased with COVID-19. For instance, a Queensland study showed that 67 per cent of family and domestic violence services reported new clients seeking help for the first time during the COVID crisis. In my home state of Victoria, sentencing data shows there were 375,000 applications for family violence intervention orders between 2011 and 2020. In the Barwon South West region of the state, which includes my electorate of Corangamite, 25,700 family violence intervention order applications were made over that same period. Sadly, children living in rural and regional Victoria are more than twice as likely to be a respondent to a family violence intervention order.
Last March I visited Geelong's Sexual Assault and Family Violence Centre, where I was told there had been a 100 per cent increase in people seeking help, driven in part by the pandemic and lockdowns. The Barwon Community Legal Service—based in Geelong and servicing my electorate—last year said that the number of clients experiencing family violence had risen enormously, with more than 60 per cent of clients reporting family violence. It's also telling that women across the nation experiencing family and domestic violence earn, on average, 35 per cent less than those who don't experience violence. It is an indictment of our society that Indigenous women are 35 times more likely than non-Indigenous women to be hospitalised due to family and domestic violence.
This is a serious and systemic problem that must be better addressed. There is no single solution. However, this bill is an important part of that solution. All workers have a right to be safe at work and safe at home, and no worker should ever have to choose between their safety and their income. It's wrong that millions of workers still face that impossible choice. Casual workers are not spared from family and domestic violence. In fact, women who are experiencing family and domestic violence are more likely to be employed in casual or part-time work. We cannot leave them behind. We don't want a system where some workers get paid family violence leave and others don't. It has to apply to everyone. Casual workers are already dealing with the consequences of being in insecure work, unable to access other paid leave. Excluding casuals from this legislation would leave 2.6 million people without this protection and give employers an incentive to prefer casuals over permanent staff.
Unions have fought hard for paid family and domestic violence leave through the Fair Work Commission. Many employers, such as those in the Surf Coast Shire, have already done the right thing and established this entitlement. The government has consulted with business, both through their peak bodies and directly, and has received wide support. Businesses support this. Consultation has also occurred with unions, the states and territories and organisations working to support those impacted by this violence. Evidence heard by the Fair Work Commission found that the use of paid family and domestic violence leave schemes is very low. But the important thing is that it is there for people when they need it.
The Albanese government is committed to removing barriers for people escaping family and domestic violence in their homes. The government aims to release the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-32 this year, which would further this important work. The Albanese government has already committed to a range of other new initiatives that will address violence against women and children. These include new investments for an additional 500 community frontline workers; consent and respectful relationships education in schools—start early; safe and affordable housing for women fleeing violence; and a new domestic, family and sexual violence commission.
Prior to the election, Labor committed to seven new community domestic family and sexual violence community sector workers in my region, the Geelong region, including within my electorate of Corangamite. Similar commitments were made elsewhere in the nation. The additional workers will help up to 560 women experiencing violence who might otherwise be turned away. Leaving a violent relationship is the hardest and most dangerous thing that many people will ever do. We know that having a community sector worker there to help makes all the difference. Frontline domestic violence organisations tell us how much more they could do with an extra pair of hands. A single domestic violence case worker helps 80 to 100 women in the course of a year. Nine years of neglect and disinterest from the former federal government has left many frontline services surviving off the smell of an oily rag. Women in crisis should not be left to fend for themselves.
Survivors of domestic and family violence are brave and resilient. They deserve every chance to rebuild their lives and strive for a safer and better future for them and their families. That stark statistic of one woman dying every 10 days at the hands of a current or former partner in Australia is totally unacceptable. The national plan will set out a strategy for the next decade, with the aim of greatly reducing domestic and family violence.
The government is prioritising this important legislation to increase paid leave for family and domestic violence early in its term. That's a clear demonstration of the government's resolve to remove the barriers faced by those escaping violence. The bill seeks to amend the Fair Work Act, introducing into the National Employment Standards leave entitlements every year. I'm pleased that, in addition to introducing 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave, the bill extends the definition of family and domestic violence to include the conduct of 'a member of an employee's household'. Importantly, the bill is also ensuring that casuals will be entitled to access leave at their full rate of pay for the hours they would have worked had they not taken leave. The scheme will start next February for most employees. Small businesses will have an extra six months to adjust to the change, so the scheme is expected to be fully operational by August next year. Small businesses are defined in the Fair Work Act as those with fewer than 15 employees.
This is a change that could and should have been made years ago, but the previous government failed to act, even though this had the support of the business community. Those on the opposition benches now have another chance to do the right thing and back this important legislation.
I'm proud to be part of a government that is moving quickly to deliver on election commitments. I'm especially proud of this bill to deliver on commitments under our Secure Australian Jobs Plan and the women's safety policy. I look back to 2010, when my shire, when I was mayor, introduced this legislation locally, and it went through. I'm so proud that now, across the nation, all men and women who deserve to be able to take that leave will have the opportunity do so, hopefully. There is no task more important for this parliament than providing support for Australian workers to be safe: safe at home and safe at work.
