The need for a trauma-informed approach to domestic violence leave

“More likely, it means employees do not feel safe enough to disclose what they are experiencing.”

The issue is far-reaching – embedded in systems, policy and perception that doesn’t meet victims where they need it to – but there have been some improvements.

The introduction of 10 days of DFV leave under the National Employment Standards, Kalpaxis said, was significant.

“Importantly, the entitlement now applies to full-time, part-time and casual employees, and it is available immediately rather than accruing over time,” she said.

“It’s a start, but we have a long way to go.”

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Many employers, she continued, are falling short by only looking into their obligations only "once an employee discloses violence or requests leave”.

“That approach fails people at the exact moment they need support most,” Kalpaxis said.

Similarly, many workplaces are treating the leave as a compliance exercise rather than a workplace safety issue. Kalpaxis witnessed many such cases in which either managers have no DFV training, employees do not know their entitlements, confidentiality processes are unclear or even unsafe, payslip and record-keeping practices risk exposing an employee, or performance issues are managed without consideration of potential violence.

In this vein, “good leadership is proactive, visible, and informed”.

For Kalpaxis, this means regularly communicating the support’s existence, training managers and HR on how to respond “calmly, confidentially and without judgement”, creating clear and safe pathways for disclosure, and ensuring employees understand that leave is confidential.

A consistent gap, Kalpaxis found, was flexibility concerning recovery and long-term support.

She said: “Managers also need to understand that support extends beyond the 10 days of leave. Leaving a violent relationship can involve court appearances, relocation, childcare changes, financial instability and ongoing safety planning.”

For many victim-survivors, it is only the beginning.

As such, Kalpaxis urged employers and HR to have stronger conversations about flexible work arrangements for safety and stability, emergency financial assistance, trauma-informed workplace responses, access to counselling and employee assistance program (EAP), safety planning within workplaces, and protections against workplace discrimination.

“Sometimes the most supportive thing an employer can do is offer flexibility, consistency and psychological safety,” she said.

As such, the workplace is often “one of the only consistent, visible touchpoints a person experiencing abuse still has access to”.

“Employment can mean financial independence, housing access, routine, social connection and a pathway to leaving safely,” Kalpaxis said.

“Leadership needs to understand that this is not simply an HR issue.

“It is a people, safety and leadership issue.”