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Procedure: Family and domestic violence leave

Purpose

To inform staff of their entitlement and the procedures for taking family and domestic violence leave.

Definitions

Domestic violence refers to violent, threatening or other abusive behaviour by a close relative, a current or former intimate partner, or a member of a staff member’s household that seeks to coerce or control the staff member, and causes them harm or fear.

Procedure

  1. Subject to the eligibility criteria as outlined in the table below, staff may apply for family and domestic violence leave (paid and unpaid) provided in accordance with the ANU Enterprise Agreement, the ANU Policy: Staff leave and the National Employment Standards:

Qualification

Entitlement and accruals

Conditions

All staff (except casuals).

The amount of family and domestic violence leave granted will be determined by the staff member’s individual circumstances through consultation with the Chief People Officer.

The entitlement will be no less than provided under the National Employment Standards i.e. 10 days’ paid leave and 5 days’ unpaid leave in a 12-month period.

Provided via confidential application to the Chief People Officer.

Refer to clauses 2-10 below for further information.

Casual professional and casual sessional academic staff.

Paid and unpaid family and domestic violence leave in accordance with the National Employment Standards. i.e. 10 days’ paid leave and 5 days’ unpaid leave in a 12-month period.

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

Provided via confidential application to the Chief People Officer.

Requires supporting evidence of the rostered casual hours that could not be worked.

Refer to clauses 2-11 below for further information.

  1. The University recognises that some of its staff may experience situations of violence and abuse in their domestic life, which may impact their attendance or performance at work.
  2. In order to support a staff member experiencing family and domestic violence and provide a safe and supportive workplace, the University will favourably consider reasonable requests for family and domestic violence leave, variations in work arrangements including changes to hours, transfer to more suitable work where available, changes to telephone and email addresses, and other flexible working arrangements.
  3. For the purpose of this leave, a close relative includes:
  1. a staff member’s spouse or former spouse, de facto partner or former de facto partner, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling; or
  2. a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling of an employee’s current or former spouse or de facto partner, or
  3. a person related to the employee according to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander kinship rules.
  1. All staff (including casual staff) may take this leave if they need to do something to deal with the impact of family and domestic violence. This could include:
  1. making arrangements for their safety, or the safety of a close relative (including relocation);
  2. attending court hearings;
  3. accessing police services;
  4. attending counselling; and
  5. attending appointments with medical, financial or legal professionals.
  1. The full ten-day paid leave entitlement provided under the National Employment Standards will be available upon commencement, and will subsequently renew each year on the staff member’s work anniversary. The leave entitlement will not accumulate from year-to-year if it is not utilised.

Application process

  1. A staff member may make a confidential application to the Chief People Officer to access paid domestic violence leave, and/or request the replacement of any other leave that was taken as a result of experiencing domestic violence. No reasonable request will be refused.
  2. Staff who require access to family and domestic violence leave are encouraged to email Chief People Officer directly via cpo@anu.edu.au to request this leave.
  3. The Chief People Officer may ask the staff member for evidence that shows they took leave to deal with family and domestic violence.
  4. All information related to family and domestic violence leave will be kept confidential and restricted to staff providing direct support and assistance.

Information

 Printable version (PDF)
Title Family and domestic violence leave
Document Type Procedure
Document Number ANUP_000657
Version
Purpose To inform staff of their entitlement and the procedures for taking family and domestic violence leave.
Audience Staff, Staff-Academic, Staff-Academic-Research, Staff-Professional
Category Administrative
Topic/ SubTopic Staff - Leave & Absences
 
Effective Date 3 Jun 2024
Next Review Date 4 Dec 2026
 
Responsible Officer: Chief People Officer
Approved By: Chief Operating Officer
Contact Area People and Culture Division
Authority: Work Health & Safety Act 2011
Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011
Delegations 0

Information generated and received by ANU staff in the course of conducting business on behalf of ANU is a record and should be captured by an authorised recordkeeping system. To learn more about University records and recordkeeping practice at ANU, see ANU recordkeeping and Policy: Records and archives management.

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