Domestic and Family Violence Fact Sheet

Dealing with Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) is not something anyone should have to go through. The PSA has worked hard to improve the supports available to you at work should you ever need them and has developed a new fact sheet explaining your entitlements HERE.

Your employer, the NSW Government, has affirmed its commitment to help support employees experiencing DFV to continue to participate in the workforce. They acknowledge that the workplace can make a significant difference to employees who experience DFV through different safety and support measures such as DFV leave.

Unfortunately, despite the availability of DFV leave being universal now to public servants, the types of support provided to employees can vary from workplace to workplace and across different agencies.

The PSA frequently assists members on issues arising from misinterpretation of the entitlement to inadequate support when the member returns to work. Examples of this include (but are not limited to):

• Payroll denying members the penalty and shift allowances that they were entitled to for taking DFV leave on a shift that would have included these rates, resulting in a lengthy process for the member to fight for the remuneration they were entitled to.
• Misunderstandings around the requirement to provide evidence of the employee experiencing DFV and how this should be provided.
• Failure from within the agency to properly ensure confidentiality around the member’s personal situation.
• Members having their leave patterns reviewed when they have accessed DFV leave, a situation they are unable to avoid.
• Lack of sensitivity and appropriate support when a member may need to request flexibility in the workplace as they adjust to changes in their lives as a result of the experience of DFV.

We are interested in hearing from any members who have accessed DFV leave and have experienced issues around access to this leave and lack of support provided in the workplace.

Please email with the subject heading ‘DFV Leave issue’ by and a brief summary of the issues you experienced, which will be kept confidential and may contain as little or as much information as you feel you want to share.

This confidential information will assist us in further lobbying the NSW Government to strengthen the workplace support initiatives that exist alongside DFV leave entitlements and the level of training provided to agencies to ensure they support their employees as much as possible.

Domestic and Family Violence Leave Survey Results

Thank you to all our members who responded to our recent survey on Domestic and Family Violence (DFV). From your responses we learned there are significant gaps in the way DFV leave is managed in the workplace, the way information is shared to employees and the processes in place to support people needing assistance.

The PSA will continue to advocate for improvements in the Governments response to Domestic and Family Violence, within workplaces and also by lobbying them directly.

Last night we attended the Unions NSW Trades and Labor Council Meeting on the issue of Unions Taking Action on Men’s Violence against Women, which was arranged by Unions NSW to coordinate a response from unions to the crisis.

It was acknowledged that unions have a long history in fighting for gender equality and have campaigned tirelessly to improve support for all victims of violence. The PSA has been at the forefront of these campaigns, with historic gains for women members such as the Librarians Pay Equity Case in 2002 and the Schools Pay Equity Case in 2019.

At the meeting the PSA moved a motion that Unions Taking Action on Men’s Violence Against Women be a standing item on the Unions NSW Executive agenda. The PSA will also participate in the Unions NSW working group to develop a strategy in support of our campaign and members will be kept updated.