Family Violence and Commonwealth Laws – Employment and Superannuation Law (IP 36)

This is the first of four Issues Papers released for the Family Violence and Commonwealth Laws Inquiry.

Submissions closed on 6 April.

Please contact Amanda Alford if you wish to make a late submission.

The Issues Paper Family Violence and Commonwealth Laws—Employment and Superannuation Law deals with the treatment of family violence in Commonwealth employment, occupational health and safety, and superannuation law, and asks questions about how law in these areas might be improved.

With respect to employment law, the Issues Paper considers issues relevant to the treatment of family violence at various stages of employment, from the job search process to remedies post-termination.

Specifically, it identifies a number of areas in which family violence and the needs—and ultimately the safety—of those experiencing family violence could be addressed, including in relation to:

• the content and administration of Job Services Australia job seeker classification and other pre-employment processes;
• amendment of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and instruments made under that Act, including unfair dismissal provisions, and general and other protections provisions, the National Employment Standards, enterprise agreements and awards; and
• family violence in the context of occupational health and safety laws, specifically through the provision of guidance to employers in identifying and responding to family violence as a workplace health and safety issue.

In considering the treatment of family violence in superannuation law, the Issues Paper examines a range of issues that arise where victims of family violence may have been coerced into taking action in respect of their own superannuation, or may wish to seek early access to their superannuation due to the consequences of family violence.