Fair Work Act 2009

The employee may take paid family and domestic violence leave if:

the employee is experiencing family and domestic violence; and

the employee needs to do something to deal with the impact of the family and domestic violence; and

it is impractical for the employee to do that thing outside the employee’s work hours.

Examples of actions, by an employee who is experiencing family and domestic violence, that could be covered by paragraph (b) include arranging for the safety of the employee or a close relative (including relocation), attending court hearings, accessing police services, attending counselling and attending appointments with medical, financial or legal professionals.

The notice and evidence requirements of section 107 must be complied with.

Family and domestic violence is violent, threatening or other abusive behaviour by a close relative of a person, a member of a person’s household, or a current or former intimate partner of a person, that:

seeks to coerce or control the person; and

causes the person harm or to be fearful.

A close relative of a person is another person who:

is a member of the first person’s immediate family; or

is related to the first person according to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander kinship rules.

Immediate family is defined in section 12.