Private sector employers and employees
Telephone: 1300 655 266
Mailing address
Locked Bag 100
East Perth WA 6892
In an emergency, or if you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call the police now on 000.
If it is not an emergency, and you wish to report an incident of family and domestic violence, call the police on 131 444.
You can call the following numbers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
This information is only relevant to employers and employees in the WA state industrial relations system.
This is general information on unpaid family and domestic violence leave based on the minimum entitlements in the Minimum Conditions of Employment Act 1993 (MCE Act). The entitlement to unpaid family and domestic leave under the MCE Act commenced on 20 June 2022.
All employees, including casual employees, have a minimum entitlement to five days’ unpaid family and domestic violence leave.
An employee is able to take unpaid family and domestic violence leave if:
Family and domestic violence means family violence as defined in the Restraining Orders Act 1997.
Full time, part time and casual employees are entitled to five days’ unpaid family and domestic violence leave in each 12 month period.
The five days’ leave is available in full to part time and casual employees i.e. it is not pro rata.
Nothing prevents the employee and the employer agreeing that the employee may take more than five days of unpaid leave to deal with the impact of family and domestic violence.
Unpaid family and domestic violence leave is available in full at the start of each 12 month period of the employee’s employment; and does not accumulate from year to year.
An employee is able to take unpaid family and domestic violence leave as:
If required by the employer, an employee who claims to be entitled to unpaid family and domestic violence leave under the MCE Act needs to provide evidence that would satisfy a reasonable person of the entitlement. This could be a document issued by:
It could also be a statutory declaration.
Employers need to take steps to ensure information concerning any notice or evidence an employee has given of the employee taking unpaid family and domestic violence leave is treated confidentially, as far as it is reasonably practicable to do so.
Nothing prevents an employer from disclosing information provided by an employee if the disclosure is required by a written law or is necessary to protect the life, health or safety of the employee or another person.
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