Green Party MP Jan Logie's domestic violence bill passes, making New Zealand the first country in the world to create a new universal entitlement for domestic violence victims to take 10 days of leave in order to reclaim their life.

Domestic violence victims can now take a new type of leave to help support them out of violent situations.

Green MP Jan Logie's Domestic Violence - Victims' Protection Bill passed its third reading on Wednesday night, without National Party support.

The law requires employers to give victims of domestic violence up to 10 days leave from work, separate from annual leave and sick leave entitlements, making New Zealand the first country in the world to offer this type of leave as a universal entitlement.

It also allows workers who are victims of domestic violence to request flexible working arrangements and prohibits being a victim of domestic violence as a grounds for discrimination under the Human Rights Act.

Labour, NZ First, and the Greens supported the bill, with it passing 63 votes to 57 (National and ACT were opposed).

National supported the bill at first reading while still in Government early last year, but it dropped its support at second reading.

STUFF the National Party did not support the bill, and justice spokesperson Mark Mitchell says it would have a detrimental effect on business, and would not stop domestic violence.

The party's justice spokesman, Mark Mitchell, has said the provisions of the bill would be too onerous for small- and medium-sized employers.

Mitchell proposed two amendments last month, which were rejected by the Government parties, ensuring National would vote against the bill at third reading.

One of the proposed amendments would have rolled the domestic violence leave back into annual and sick leave, while the other proposed a nationwide education campaign to make sure employers knew their obligations.

Mitchell and other National Party members said they agreed with the intent, or the spirit, of the bill, but they insisted it would not reduce domestic violence, and in the process could lead to businesses not employing women they believed may be more likely to experience domestic violence.

National MPs also said if the Government was serious about the law change, it would be footing the bill.

Logie said employers were already paying the price of domestic violence.

"We have a huge amount of evidence now from years of research that tells us about the impact of that domestic violence in workplaces where victims are stalked in their workplaces, where they are sabotaged from attending work or performing in their jobs by their abusers, and that they are also often harassed in the workplace," Logie said.

"That is happening right now, and we know from the evidence that employers generally—most of them don't know how to deal with it."

STACY SQUIRES/STUFF Jan Logie of the Green Party.

Research showed rather than representing additional costs to business, workplace protection led to increased productivity and lower turnover.

The bill gave employers the framework to be able to do the right thing, she said.

"I'm beyond delighted to see this law finally become a reality. This is a win for victims, a win for employers, and a win for society. This law is a world first and it will make a significant difference for people trying to escape domestic violence."

Organisations like Countdown, the Public Service Association, the Children's Commissioner, the Salvation Army, and Rural Women NZ all submitted in support of the bill. In total, 167 submissions were received by the select committee, and 161 were in support of the bill.

New Zealand has one of the world's highest rates of domestic violence, with police attending about 120,000 family violence-related callouts a year.

The New Zealand Crime and safety survey found three quarters (76 per cent) of all incidents were not reported to police.

Meanwhile, 23 adults and nine children die each year from domestic violence in New Zealand.

Logie said this offered victims "a pathway to safety".

"And it lets them know that as a country we've all got their back. This isn't just about government; it's about every single one of us doing what we can to support them to be safe."

KYMBERLEE FERNANDES/STUFF Labour MP Louisa Wall spoke passionately in support of the bill, highlighting the impact domestic violence has on children.

IMPACTS ON CHILDREN

Minister for Children Tracey Martin said family violence was a "curse" on the country.

Martin and Labour MP Louise Wall highlighted the impacts of domestic violence on children.

Children present during family violence incidents also suffered, they said during an emotional debate.

These children were more likely to die by suicide, and more likely to leave school without qualifications.

Martin said the bill would give women the opportunity to get their children, and get out of dangerous, harmful situations.

"Too many of our babies are growing up thinking violence is normal," Wall said.

"The only way to stop it is to name it, and to shame it, and to stop it, which this bill is attempting to do."

COST TO BUSINESS

Domestic violence charity Shine said the bill would benefit all employers, including small businesses, through increased productivity and better employee retention.

Shine communications manager Holly Carrington said domestic violence was already costing businesses – "not just financially but more importantly the human toll".

"Without support from their employer, work is not a safe place for victims of domestic violence, and these staff get judged and blamed for resulting performance issues and often end up leaving their job," she said.

"Businesses without a domestic violence programme are not playing their part to stop domestic violence, and there's also a cost in lost productivity and additional staff recruitment."

Research by Dr Jim Stanford at the Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute found the cost to employers was negligible. It found a small portion of men and women in Australia took this type of leave when available - the utilisation rate of domestic violence paid leave in Australia where available was 0.022 per cent to 0.31 per cent.

In order to attempt to address the stigma potentially attached to taking this type of leave, the Human Rights Act had been changed to make it illegal to discriminate against victims of domestic violence, in the employment context.

The new law will come into force on April 1, 2019.