Industrial Relations Victoria, over the course of four years, has facilitated the inclusion of the family violence model clause into public sector enterprise bargaining agreements. The model clause provides for confidential and meaningful support at work, and encourages affected employees to stay in employment by providing 20 days of paid leave to assist them to deal with the consequences of family violence.
Departments have committed to developing and maintaining workplaces that support victims of family violence. As of June 2020, all Departments provide the following services as part of their employee benefits program, and people and culture training sessions:
- 20 days’ paid family violence leave to encourage affected employees to stay in employment
- family violence support services and referrals to affected employees through Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) (or other similar support resources)
- family violence training and resources to equip managers and human resource staff to communicate and implement the family violence leave entitlements and supports for affected employees
A common policy has been developed by IRV to provide supplementary guidance and facilitate a consistent interpretation of Clause 48 – Family Violence Leave in the Victoria Public Service Enterprise Agreement.
The Gender Equality Act 2020 (the Act) was enacted on 25 February 2020, with the Act due to commence on 31 March 2021. The Act aims to improve workplace gender equality across the Victorian public sector, universities and local councils under the oversight the Public Sector Gender Equality Commissioner.