FOI 4172 Document Set.pdf

Confidentiality and safety in the workplace
Treasury adopts a
experience of
family and domestic violence and takes all reasonable steps to treat information confidentially.
If someone discloses information about experiencing family and/or domestic violence individuals are
required to maintain privacy and not disclose this information without obtaining the persons consent,
unless there are genuine concerns of a serious threat to life, health or safety, or suspected unlawful activity
or serious misconduct.
Once Treasury becomes aware an employee is at heightened risk, they must, in consultation with the
affected employee (and where they choose their representatives) identify suitable safety controls in the
workplace, so far as reasonably practicable.
Alleged Perpetrators of Family and Domestic Violence
The APS Code of Conduct applies to all Treasury employees. Where an employee is alleged to have
perpetrated family and/or domestic violence in or from the workplace, they may be investigated for a
potential breach of the Code of Conduct. All matters will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis with a focus
on the safety of the employee experiencing family and domestic violence.
Support
Employees experiencing family and domestic violence may require a range of supports in the workplace.
Managers should discuss available supports with the employee or an approved contact to determine those
stance.
Supporting employees experiencing family and/or domestic violence should be led by the individuals desire
to engage in further support and/or involve legal authorities.
s 22
if there is imminent risk of domestic
and family violence in the workplace.
Available support
Leave
Access to paid family and domestic violence leave in accordance with the
-2027 and leave guidelines.
Access to other leave types (i.e., personal, carers or annual leave), as
appropriate.
Treasury policy/procedure Family and Domestic Violence
Page 5
OFFICIAL

FOI 4172
Document 2
Family and Domestic Violence Leave: Approach to Implementation
Entitlement to paid leave
From 1 February 2023, Treasury employees will have an annual entitlement to paid family and
domestic violence leave.
The new entitlement follows the passage of the Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic
Violence Leave) Act 2022 which amends the Fair Work Act 2009 to replace the current entitlement in
the National Employment Standards to five days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave in a
12-month period with an entitlement to ten days of paid leave for all employees.
In practice, Treasury already provides paid leave to employees affected by family and domestic
violence as part of a range of support options available under Treasury’s Family and Domestic
Violence Policy and Family and Domestic Violence Guidelines. Further, the entitlement to ten days
paid leave has been available to Treasury employees in an interim way since the release of the Public
Sector Interim Workplace Arrangements 2022 on 6 October 2022.
Accessing paid leave
The commencement of the new entitlement requires Treasury to implement more formal
arrangements for employees to access the leave. Access to the leave must reflect both:
- Treasury’s support to employees, including the need for discretion and the requirement for
family and domestic violence leave to not be expressed on employee pay slips, and
- the need for Treasury to promote the proper use and management of public resources and
establish and maintain appropriate systems of risk oversight and management, and
appropriate systems of internal control.1
Treasury proposes to implement paid leave for family and domestic violence in a way that provides
employees with two different pathways for accessing leave. The different pathways are intended to
treat the sensitivity of the circumstances by giving the employee options for who they might like to
deal with. The two pathways are described below.
Pathway 1 – employee speaks with their manager
Many employees will feel comfortable speaking with their manager about their need for leave. In
these circumstances, managers at the EL2 classification and above can approve up to five days of
paid miscellaneous leave (including more than one period of paid miscellaneous leave, totalling
more than five days).2 A manager can give verbal or written approval for the leave. The manager
would then speak with the Wellbeing team in People and Organisational Strategy Branch to arrange
for the leave to be appropriately recorded (in the manner described below).

Pathway 2 – employee speaks with the Wellbeing team
In some circumstances, employees may feel more comfortable speaking with the Wellbeing team
about their need for leave, for example because they have an existing relationship with a member of
the Wellbeing team. The Director of the Wellbeing team can give verbal or written approval for the
leave.

1 See section 3 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.
2 The reference in this document to managers approving five days miscellaneous leave reflects Treasury’s HR
delegations, under which EL2s can approve up to five days of paid miscellaneous leave in a single block.

Where the Director of the Wellbeing team approves leave, the team would speak with the
employee’s manager to notify the manager that the employee will be on leave for the period
approved. This notification is necessary for the manager to manage the operational needs of their
team. The Wellbeing team will not disclose that the leave is because the employee is affected by
family and domestic violence.
Under both pathways, the discussion should provide sufficient information for the manager or the
Wellbeing team to be satisfied that family and domestic violence leave is the appropriate leave type
in the circumstances. In many cases, it’s acknowledged that leave will need to be approved
retrospectively.
Recording paid leave
During the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee Inquiry into the Fair Work
Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Act 2022, several stakeholders noted the
potential for a pay slip to compromise an employee’s safety if it recorded information about the
employee’s paid family and domestic leave entitlement. For example, a pay slip that recorded a
decrease in an employee’s paid family and domestic leave balance could act as a red flag for
perpetrators who may be monitoring an employee’s pay slips and bank account. The Bill was
amended to enable regulations to be made preventing an employer from recording paid family and
domestic violence leave on an employee’s pay slip.
For discretion and to avoid the situations identified by the Committee Inquiry, Treasury is not
proposing to create a leave type labelled as ‘Family and Domestic Violence Leave’ or similar. Instead,
family and domestic violence leave will be implemented through the existing ‘Miscellaneous Leave –
Other’.
Pathway 1 – employee speaks with their manager
Where a manager approves leave, the manager would then speak with the Wellbeing team so that
the team can arrange with the Payroll team for the leave to be recorded in the Aurion system as
‘Miscellaneous Leave – Other’. At the same time, the Wellbeing team can offer further advice and
support to the employee’s manager.
Pathway 2 – employee speaks with the Wellbeing team
Similarly, where the Wellbeing team approves leave, the team will arrange with the Payroll team for
the leave to be recorded in the Aurion system as ‘Miscellaneous Leave – Other’.
Under both pathways, the Aurion system will not contain any formal “balance” of family and
domestic violence leave available. Rather, appropriate use by employees will be supported by
managers and the Wellbeing team. Use of the leave will appear on the employee’s pay slip as
“Other Leave”. There will be no reduction in pay.
Next steps
The Employment Relations team is engaging with Treasury’s Workplace Relations Committee and
employee networks to seek feedback and endorsement of the proposed approach to implementing
the new entitlement to paid family and domestic violence leave. Once settled, the approach will be
reflected in amendments to the Leave Guidelines (if necessary) and the Family and Domestic
Violence Policy and Family and Domestic Violence Guidelines.