Domestic Violence Workplace Safety Plan SWMS

Domestic and family violence (DFV) is a recognised work health and safety issue under the WHS Act 2011 (and equivalent Comcare jurisdiction), with perpetrators often using the workplace as a point of contact, surveillance, or attack on the affected worker. PCBUs have a primary duty of care under s.19 to eliminate or minimise psychosocial and physical risks so far as is reasonably practicable, including risks arising from DFV that follow a worker into the workplace. This SWMS provides a structured framework for safe disclosure pathways, individual workplace safety planning, flexible work arrangements aligned with the Fair Work Act 2009 paid family and domestic violence leave entitlements, confidential record-handling, and referral to specialist services. It applies to HR practitioners, managers, contact officers, and frontline supervisors who may receive a disclosure or observe warning signs. Use of this document discharges consultation duties under WHS Reg 2025 and aligns with Safe Work Australia's Model Code of Practice: Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work.

Hazards identified

7 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.

1. 1Elimination — Remove the affected worker's name, photo, direct dial and roster from public websites, intranet directories and reception sign-in sheets to eliminate perpetrator information pathways.
2. 2Elimination — Cancel all non-essential public-facing duties or site visits where the perpetrator could predict location, eliminating the foreseeable contact opportunity entirely.
3. 3Substitution — Substitute the worker's usual workstation, login, phone extension and work email alias with new identifiers disconnected from any record the perpetrator may hold.
4. 4Substitution — Substitute on-site attendance with secure remote work or relocation to an alternative site for the duration of acute risk, per Fair Work Act flexible working provisions.
5. 5Engineering — Install duress alarms, swipe-card-only entry, CCTV coverage of carpark and reception, and photo-flagging at security desk to physically intercept perpetrator approach.
6. 6Engineering — Configure IT systems to block specified inbound numbers and email domains, divert mail through a screening officer, and lock HR records behind role-based access controls.
7. 7Administrative — Train all managers and nominated contact officers in trauma-informed disclosure response using the CHAT (Connect, Hear, Ask, Together-plan) framework and document a written individual safety plan.
8. 8Administrative — Apply paid family and domestic violence leave under the National Employment Standards, maintain a documented confidentiality protocol, and conduct fortnightly safety plan reviews while risk is active.
9. 9PPE — Issue personal duress devices (e.g. mobile panic apps linked to security control room) and provide escort-to-vehicle service for the affected worker at shift commencement and finish.
10. 10PPE — Provide funded access to Employee Assistance Program counselling, specialist DFV services (1800RESPECT), and legal referral, with reasonable paid time to attend appointments.

Applicable Codes of Practice

Worked example

At a regional local council depot, a customer service team leader notices that an administration officer, 'Worker A', has been arriving visibly distressed, taking calls in the carpark and asking to swap her front-counter shift. The team leader requests a confidential meeting in a private room and opens the Domestic Violence Workplace Safety Plan SWMS at the pre-start of the discussion, walking through the disclosure response script on page two. Using the CHAT framework documented in the SWMS, she listens without probing, validates the disclosure, and together they complete the individual safety plan template — identifying the perpetrator's vehicle registration, agreeing to remove Worker A's direct dial from the council website, relocating her workstation away from the public counter, and activating a security desk photo-flag. The SWMS confidentiality protocol is followed: only the team leader, the WHS manager and the security contractor are informed, on a strict need-to-know basis. Paid family and domestic violence leave is approved for two counselling appointments that week. During the following shift, Worker A signals via the agreed code word that the perpetrator has phoned reception; the team leader follows the escalation flowchart in the SWMS, contacts police on the documented non-emergency line, and escorts Worker A to her vehicle at shift end. The safety plan is reviewed fortnightly and adjusted as the protection order progresses through the Magistrates Court.

Related legislation

• WHS Act 2011 (model)
• WHS Regulation 2025
• Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work CoP

Frequently asked questions