Flinders University has been engaged by the Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations to conduct an Independent Statutory Review of the Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Act 2022 (Cth) and to deliver a report to Government.

The Independent Review team is composed of:

• Dr Marinella Marmo - Professor in Law and Criminology, College of Business, Government and Law, Flinders University
• Dr Kate Seymour - Senior Lecturer, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work
• Dr Nada Ibrahim – Research Fellow in Centre for Social Impact, College of Business, Government and Law
• Dr Andreas Cebulla - Associate Professor in The Future of Work, College of Business, Government and Law
• Dr Hossein Esmaeili - Associate Professor, College of Business, Government and Law
• Dr Jenny Richards - Lecturer, College of Business, Government and Law
• Dr Elvio Sinopoli, Independent Review Project Manager, College of Business, Government and Law

Background

The Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Act 2022 (Cth) changed the minimum entitlement of 5 days’ unpaid family and domestic violence leave to a new entitlement of 10 days’ paid leave under the National Employment Standards (NES). It came into force on 1 February 2023 for businesses with 15 or more employees and, since 1 August 2023, has also applied to enterprises with fewer than 15 employees. 

Review Terms of Reference

In accordance with the requirements of the Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Act 2022, the Review will consider the operation and impact of the amendments, including on small businesses, sole traders and people experiencing family and domestic violence.

The Independent Reviewer must be informed by qualitative and quantitative research and report to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations with findings and recommendations relevant to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and the workplace relations framework within 3-months of Review commencement.

What you can do

We are inviting stakeholders, including employer representatives, small businesses, employee representatives, unions, government and other relevant individuals and organisations, including family and domestic violence specialists and the legal assistance sector to contribute to this Review by sharing their experiences and observations as to:

• how the reforms have been implemented
• how the reforms have impacted employers and employees experiencing family and domestic violence
• any challenges in implementing or accessing paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave.

If you wish to participate in this Independent Review, you can do so in one or more of the following ways. All contributions must be received by Friday 7 June 2024.

You may participate in one or more of the following ways:

• roundtable consultation with stakeholder groups including employer representatives, employee representatives, frontline and women's advocacy organisations, academic specialists and other individuals and organisations;
• online questionnaire on the terms of reference provided to the Reviewer;
• written submission for stakeholders to provide comments on specific points.

For more information, scroll down.

The Independent Review team is looking forward to your participation.

If you have any questions concerning the Independent Review, please contact the Independent Review Project Manager Dr Elvio Sinopoli at elvio.sinopoli@flinders.edu.au.

Participation in each session is limited to 10 individuals. Given the limited time frame and scope of the Review, organisations should be represented by one individual wherever possible. Additional roundtable meetings may be arranged depending on demand.

Contributions to the roundtable consultations will be deidentified and referred to only by category in the Final Report, that is, as employer/industry representation, employee representation, some other organisation, or individual contributor.

Roundtable consultations

Consultations will take place online on MS Teams on the dates and times shown below. To register for any of these consultations, click on the appropriate date; you will then be referred to the relevant Eventbrite webpage for registration:

Register to attend a Roundtable Consultation

Participation in each session is limited to 10 individuals. Given the limited time frame and scope of the Review, organisations should be represented by one individual wherever possible. Additional roundtable meetings may be arranged depending on demand.

Contributions to the roundtable consultations will be deidentified and referred to only by category in the Final Report, that is, as employer/industry representation, employee representation, some other organisation, or individual contributor.

Online questionnaire

The online questionnaire asks questions about your experience and assessment of the Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Act 2022 (Cth).

Responses to the online questionnaire will inform the Independent Review but will be deidentified and represented in aggregate form in the Final Report.

The online questionnaire is open from 16 May 2024 and closes on 7 June 2024. Results from the online questionnaire will be summarised in the Independent Review’s Final Report. You may choose to be identified in the Final Report or remain anonymous. If you choose to stay anonymous, data will be kept secure, and your name will not be shared with third parties.

From the 16 May, the online questionnaire can be accessed. 

Written submission

You may contribute by emailing your submission directly to FDVLeaveReview@flinders.edu.au by 7 June 2024.

Submissions can be made as a Word document, a PDF, or in plain text format. An acknowledgement will be sent to the email address you provide confirming receipt of your submission.

Please note that written submissions will be published for public access. You may explicitly request to have your name or your organisation’s name redacted prior to publication. In this case, the submission will be marked as ‘Name withheld’.

You are advised not to include any confidential information in your submission. However, if you wish to do so, you may ask that all or part of your submission remain confidential. In this case, please note this clearly on the front of the submission and include a reason for requesting confidentiality. A confidential submission, or parts thereof, will not appear on the website or be quoted in the report. Submissions that are in breach of the law (e.g., that include defamatory content) may not be published.

Written submissions to the Independent Review will be published on this webpage as well as the website of the Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations upon completion of this Independent Review alongside the Review’s Final Report.

If the submission is by an organisation, the organisation will be published as the author of the submission, not an individual. Please let us know prior to publication if that is not correct.

Requirements for submission

Written submissions must:

• provide views on evidence on the above terms of reference;
• be received by the Review team before the due date; and
• include the name, postal or email address, and contact number of the person or organisation making the submission

In preparing your submission, please ensure that you specifically address the key areas of concern as identified above, that is:

• how the reforms have been implemented
• how the reforms have impacted employers and employees or on those who they represent
• any challenges in implementing or accessing Family and Domestic Violence Leave

Before submitting, please ensure you have:

• commented on some or all of the terms of reference;
• provided a summary of the submission at the front and numbered the pages (for long submissions);
• included an email address and contact details;
•  ensured that personal details are excluded from the body of the submission; and
• if you want to make a confidential submission, clearly indicated this on the front of the submission and any specific sections (if appropriate)