Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Bill 2022

The majority voted against amendments introduced by Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie (Jacqui Lambie Network), which means it failed.

Amendment text

Tasmanian Senator Tammy Tyrrell (Jacqui Lambie Network) explained the amendments:

Calling this 'emergency leave' would not require you to self-identify as having experienced domestic violence. You'd only need it to be an emergency—an unforeseen emergency at home—that would prevent you from coming to work that day.

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You should be entitled to privacy. You should be entitled to safety. No lawmaker should make you choose between them. That's us. We shouldn't be doing what we're doing. When you ask for domestic violence leave, even in asking the question, you're explaining why you need it, and it's absolutely none of your employer's business why you need safety in that moment. It's an emergency; get out of the way. When you ask for emergency leave, on the other hand, you're saying you're experiencing an emergency, one that prevents you from attending your work for a period of time. Your boss might ask for evidence, but all you need is evidence you're experiencing an emergency. That would be an improvement, but it wouldn't take long for businesses to realise that anybody who's requesting emergency leave is requesting what used to be called domestic violence leave. It's a rose by any other name.

So the second bit of what I'm proposing is to combine domestic violence leave with compassionate leave. That's the leave you take when there has been a death in the family. Combining the two would mean you'd be eligible so long as there's a family emergency. The grounds for eligibility would be the same: if you're eligible for what's currently called 'compassionate leave', you're eligible for emergency leave. If you're eligible for what's proposed to be called 'paid domestic violence leave', you're eligible for emergency leave. There's no change there. This is a change that makes a good thing available to more people. It does not cost a dollar more to implement. It does not restrict access to a single person. It expands access and makes it easier to access. It is a good thing.