Staff members may choose to disclose the details of their situation and request support and guidance from:

If a staff member chooses to disclose their family or domestic violence situation to a colleague, the colleague can accompany and assist the staff member to report or notify a more appropriate source but must not attempt to resolve the matter.

Staff members experiencing family or domestic violence should also be made aware of the supports available from the University’s Manager, Risk, Health and Safety. A Violence Protection Plan may be developed in consultation with the Manager, Risk, Health and Safety to eliminate or minimise risks.

Staff members who disclose they are subjects in their family or domestic violence situation should be made aware of available external support agencies and programs.

Staff members experiencing family or domestic violence should be made aware of the specific domestic violence leave provisions in the Federation University Union Collective Agreement including flexible work arrangement options and other relevant leave entitlements available to them in order to address and manage their situation.

Staff members covered by the Victorian TAFE Teaching Staff Multi-Business Agreement 2009 may access the Special Leave provisions subject to the provision of appropriate documentation.

Casual staff who are experiencing family or domestic violence may be entitled to paid leave to attend to medical appointments, legal proceedings, to seek safe housing and other activities linked to dealing with family or domestic violence.  Paid leave for casual staff would be up to the equivalent paid leave that provided to continuing and fixed-term staff. 

Casual staff may request to be paid for time they have been unable to attend a rostered day of work because of the requirement to attend to family or domestic violence matters.  Supervisors should discuss requests for paid leave from casual staff with the Director, Human Resources.  Approval for the payment of family and domestic violence leave to a casual staff member will be at the discretion of the Director, Human Resources. 

Some of the leave options chosen may require the staff member to provide relevant documentary evidence which may include but are not limited to a document issued by the police or a court, a medical practitioner, a district or maternal and child health care nurse, a family violence support service, a lawyer or be required to provide a statutory declaration.

Students may choose to disclose the details of their situation and request support, guidance and assistance from

If a student chooses to disclose their family or domestic violence situation to a fellow student, the fellow student can accompany and assist the student to report or notify a more appropriate source but must not attempt to resolve the matter.

Students experiencing family violence should be made aware of available study support and flexibility options provided by the University to assist them to continue with their studies.

To access the study support and/or other flexible options, students may be required to provide relevant documentary evidence which may include but are not limited to document/s issued by police, a court, a medical practitioner, a district or maternal and child health care nurse, a family violence support service, a lawyer or be required to provide a statutory declaration.

Students should also be made aware of the supports available from the University’s Manager, Risk, Health and Safety.  A Violence Protection Plan may be developed in consultation with the Manager, Risk, Health and Safety to eliminate or minimise risks. Subjects who disclose their family or domestic violence situation should be made aware of available external support agencies and programs.

Students and Course/Program Coordinators/

Research Supervisors

Should a student be convicted of a family or domestic violence matter and where this may have an impact on their studies they are required to notify their Course or Program Coordinator/Research Supervisor within five days of the conviction occurring.

Course or Program Coordinator/Research Supervisors are required to take appropriate steps, in accordance with relevant University regulations, policies and procedures.

Schools/Directorates

Schools and Directorate staff who have received a report or a request for assistance in a family or domestic violence matter must ensure they act promptly, with sensitivity and respect for the privacy of the affected staff member or student and refer the matter to the most appropriate person with the agreement of the affected staff member or student.

Supervisors

If a supervisor has been made aware of a family or domestic violence matter they must act promptly with sensitivity and respect for the privacy of the affected staff member (either target or subject).

The supervisor is to first seek advice from Human Resources on how to best support the staff member when an issue of family violence has been raised.  Once advice has been provided, the supervisor can action the advice and implement internal or external support in consultation with the staff member.

The supervisor is expected to:

With the staff member’s permission, a supervisor can offer to make contact with the EAP on behalf of the affected staff member to arrange an initial appointment.

All Information disclosed by an affected staff member must be kept ‘strictly confidential’ with the staff member’s privacy respected except to the extent that disclosure is required or permitted by law pursuant to the University’s Information Privacy Policy.

All supervisors will be expected to participate in information or training sessions conducted by the University on dealing with family or domestic violence.

University staff who interface with students and have been made aware of a family or domestic violence matter (either target or subject) affecting a student must ensure they act promptly with sensitivity and respect for the privacy of the affected student.

The staff member is to first seek advice from the Student Health and Wellbeing work unit on how to best support the affected student.  Once advice has been provided, the staff member can action the advice implementing internal or external support in consultation with the student.

The staff member is expected to:

All Information disclosed by an affected student must be kept ‘strictly confidential’ with the student’s privacy respected except to the extent that disclosure is required or permitted by law pursuant to the University’s Information Privacy Policy or other relevant legislation.

All staff required to interface with students will be expected to participate in information or training sessions conducted by the University on dealing with family or domestic violence.