The Domestic Violence – Victims’ Protection Act adds legal protections in the workplace for people affected by domestic violence.

The Act gives employees affected by domestic violence the rights to:

• get paid domestic violence leave
• ask for short-term flexible working
• not be treated badly at work because they might be affected by domestic violence.
• These rights do not apply to people who carry out domestic violence. In other words, people who are violent or abusive to someone they’re in a family or domestic relationship with.

Who can get paid leave

Employees can take paid domestic violence leave if they have worked for their employer for at least 6 months or meet one of the following conditions. These are:

• the employment has continued for 6 months
• during those 6 months they have worked for at least an average of 10 hours a week.

During this time, the employee must have worked either: – 1 hour each week – 40 hours each month. These are the same conditions for getting sick leave and bereavement leave. Employees can take domestic violence leave when they need it, as with sick leave and bereavement leave. They get the right to at least 10 days of new domestic violence leave each year if they still meet the conditions above – the ‘hours worked’ test

Proof of domestic violence

If an employee takes domestic violence leave or asks for short-term flexible working arrangements, their employer can ask for proof.

This proof should show the employee is affected by domestic violence. The law does not state what kind of proof an employer can accept. If the employer asks for proof, the employer and employee should both act in good faith. That means being open, honest and quick to respond.

Employers can accept any type of proof that an employee is affected by domestic violence.

Proof for domestic violence leave If the employer asks for proof but does not get it, they do not need to pay the employee until they get proof, unless the employee has a ‘reasonable excuse’.

An example of a ‘reasonable excuse’ could be that the employee had to move home quickly and has not had time to get proof.

Proof for short-term flexible working If the employer wants proof, they must ask for it within 3 working days of getting the request for short-term flexible working arrangements. As they must reply in writing within 10 days, this gives enough time for both the:

• employee to get proof
• employer to respond.

If the employee doesn’t give proof when asked, their employer may refuse their request for short-term flexible working. The employer can say no to the request until the employee gives them proof.

Getting proof

Getting proof may not be simple, given the nature of domestic violence. Domestic violence often takes place behind closed doors, making it hard to ‘prove’. Ringing police or applying for a protection order are usually very big steps for someone affected by domestic violence.

Examples of proof

• Letter or email about what’s going on and how it affects the employee from either a: – support organisation – for example, a domestic violence support service or Oranga Tamariki. – support person.
• Report from a doctor or nurse.
• Report from a school.
• A declaration – a letter of evidence witnessed by an authorised person like a justice of the peace under the Oaths and Declarations Act 1957.
• Any court or police documents about the domestic violence.

Domestic Violence Victims Protection Fact Sheet.pdf

On 1 July 2019, the Family Violence Act 2018 came into force. This replaced the Domestic Violence Act 1995. The remaining provisions of the Family Violence (Amendments) Act 2018 also came into effect on 1 July 2019. These amend a number of other Acts. 

The purpose of the Family Violence Act, 2018 is to "stop and prevent family violence" by:

• recognising that family violence, in all its forms, is unacceptable; and stopping and preventing perpetrators from inflicting family violence; and keeping victims, including children, safe from family violence." 

Definitions are provided of family violence, abuse and psychological abuse:

• Family violence includes physical abuse, sexual abuse and psychological abuse, and dowry-related violence.
• Psychological abuse can include: threats, intimidation, harassment, damage to property, ill-treatment of pets/animals, financial or economic abuse, and hindering or removing access to necessary aids, devices, medication, or other support.
• Violence can include a pattern of behaviour that may be coercive or controlling or causes the person, or may cause the person, cumulative harm.
• A single act may amount to abuse, and a number of acts that form part of a pattern of behaviour (even if all or any of those acts, when viewed in isolation, may appear to be minor or trivial) may amount to abuse.
• Causing or allowing a child to see or hear the physical, sexual, or psychological abuse of a family member (or putting a child at risk of this) is considered psychological abuse of the child. (However, the person subjected to the abuse is not considered to have caused or allowed the child to see or hear the abuse.)

Definitions are also provided of "family relationship" (general, sharing household, and close personal relationship) 

A person may be considered to have a close personal relationship with another person if they are the recipient of care-carer relationship 

The types of abuse the violent person must not do will expand to include:

• ill-treating a house pet or other animal that’s important to someone or their family
• harassing behaviour such as loitering near where someone lives or works
• disrupting the care of someone who needs it because of their age, disability, or health condition.

The definition of family violence will also expand to include:

• coercion or controlling behaviour
• dowry-related abuse
• one act or several acts that form a pattern of behaviour, even if they seem to be minor or trivial.

If the protected person wants to have contact with the respondent, they must say it’s OK (give consent) in writing. They can give written consent by email, letter, text or other digital message. However, if the court included special conditions restricting contact (such as supervised contact for a child or other non-contact conditions), they must be followed.

The protected person can change their mind and stop contact with the respondent. They can withdraw consent at any time in any way (so they don’t need to do it in writing, they can just tell them).

A breach of a Property Order will be treated as a breach of a Protection Order. This means breaching a Property Order is an offence and the offender can be arrested.  

The Family Violence (Amendments) Act 2018 makes changes to a number of Acts to improve responses to family violence in criminal and civil law. These mended the Bail Act 2000, Crimes Act 1961, and the Evidence Act 2006 to:

• provide that the safety of victims, including children, is the priority when courts make decisions on bail. For example, before deciding on a perpetrator’s bail, the court is to first consider the effect of the decision on the victim
• create the new offence of strangulation or suffocation
• make it an offence to force someone into marriage or a civil union in New Zealand or overseas
• make it a specific offence to assault a family member
• enable video evidence

The Ministry of Justice has produced videos providing information about strangulation or suffocation, forced marriage, and assault on a family member.

Family Violence Act 2018

Some key provisions and changes under the Family Violence Act 2018 are highlighted below, with links to the relevant sections for further information.

Part 1 of the Act sets out its purpose, principles to guide the achievement of that purpose, definitions, and other preliminary provisions.

The new Act gives decision-makers in the family violence system more guidance about the nature and impact of family violence.

The purpose of the Act is to "stop and prevent family violence by:

• recognising that family violence, in all its forms, is unacceptable; and stopping and preventing perpetrators from inflicting family violence; and keeping victims, including children, safe from family violence." (section 3)

Section 3(2) states that any court or person who exercises a power under the Act must be guided by this purpose.

Fifteen principles are set out to guide the achievement of the purpose of the Act (section 4). Selected principles include:

1. decision-makers should, whenever appropriate, recognise that family violence is often behaviour that appears to be minor or trivial when viewed in isolation, but forms part of a pattern of behaviour that causes cumulative harm:
2. decision-makers should, whenever appropriate, recognise that family violence often is or includes coercive or controlling behaviour:
3. perpetrators of family violence should face effective responses to, and sanctions for, family violence:
4. perpetrators of family violence should have access to, and in some cases be required to engage with, services to help them stop and prevent their family violence:
5. victims of family violence should have access to services to help secure their safety from family violence:
6. arrangements that support the ongoing safety and well-being of a victim of family violence should whenever practicable be sustained (for example, employment, education, housing, or community involvement):
7. responses to family violence should be culturally appropriate and, in particular, responses involving Māori should reflect tikanga Māori (Māori customary values and practices):
8. decision-makers should consider the views of victims of family violence, and respect those views unless a good reason exists in the particular circumstances for not doing so (for example, because doing so would or may compromise victims’ safety):

Definitions are provided of family violence, abuse and psychological abuse (sections 9-11).

Family violence includes physical abuse, sexual abuse and psychological abuse, and dowry-related violence.

Psychological abuse can include: threats, intimidation, harassment, damage to property, ill-treatment of pets/animals, financial or economic abuse, and hindering or removing access to necessary aids, devices, medication, or other support.

Violence can include a pattern of behaviour that may be coercive or controlling or causes the person, or may cause the person, cumulative harm.

A single act may amount to abuse, and a number of acts that form part of a pattern of behaviour (even if all or any of those acts, when viewed in isolation, may appear to be minor or trivial) may amount to abuse.

Causing or allowing a child to see or hear the physical, sexual, or psychological abuse of a family member (or putting a child at risk of this) is considered psychological abuse of the child. (However, the person subjected to the abuse is not considered to have caused or allowed the child to see or hear the abuse.)

Definitions are also provided of "family relationship" (general, sharing household, and close personal relationship) (sections 12-14).

A person may be considered to have a close personal relationship with another person if they are the recipient of care-carer relationship (section 14(2)).

Part 2 of the Act is about information sharing.

See our separate NZFVC News story on changes to information sharing.

Part 3 is about Police safety orders (PSOs).

Changes include that PSOs can be issued for up to 10 days (previously five). Also, Police can provide a written direction to a person bound by a PSO that they must attend a risk and needs assessment.

Part 4 is about protection orders.

New provisions allow a representative or an organisation approved by the Ministry of Justice to apply for a protection order on behalf of an applicant. This can be applications made on behalf of a child, a person lacking capacity, or a person prevented from applying personally due to fear of harm or other sufficient cause (section 74).

A new provision enables the court to direct that a Protection order applies to any child of the applicant, whether or not that child ordinarily or periodically resides with the applicant (sections 86-87).

As previously, a protected person may suspend the standard no-contact condition in a protection order by giving consent to contact with the respondent (sections 91-93). However a new provision notes that consent to contact must be in writing or in a digital communication (for example, in a text message, email, letter, or standard form). The cancelling of consent to contact may take any form (for example, words spoken face to face, or by telephone) (section 94).

New guidance is provided for courts determining whether to discharge a protection order, including a temporary protection order (section 110).

Part 5 is about property orders.

Applicants with (or applying for) a protection order can apply for an occupation order, tenancy order or furniture order. Previously, to make an order, the court had to be satisfied it was necessary for the protection of the applicant, or in the best interests of a child. Under the new, broader test, the court must be satisfied the order is reasonably necessary:

• to meet the accommodation needs of the applicant, a child, or both, or
• to enable the applicant to continue existing childcare, education, training, or employment arrangements for themselves, a child, or both; or
• is in the best interests of a child.

The court must also have regard to the reasonable accommodation needs of any other people who may be affected by the order.

Part 6 is about procedure.

Part 7 is about programmes and prescribed services.

New provisions enable the court to direct people who commit family violence to attend a wider range of services.

Part 8 is about overseas protection orders.

Part 9 is about public registers.

Part 10 contains other provisions.

We know therapy, education and jail does not stop the violence – so what will it take to end family violence?

The answer is simple and demanding. We must create social limits and sanctions that communicate zero tolerance. Friends and family must hold the abuser solely accountable for their behaviour and be prepared to step away from them if they refuse to change.

Ending family violence requires each of us to take personal risks in setting limits with friends and neighbours. Once we create a community and an environment that has no tolerance for family violence, then the ‘therapy’, ‘education’ and jail will have a meaning for the abuser.

We must stop expecting women and children to flee their homes in hopes of living safely. We must stop asking ‘why doesn’t she leave?” and start asking “why is he allowed to terrorise her?”