An emotional Malcolm Turnbull is re-wording the code of conduct in the wake of the Joyce affair to forbid relationships between ministers and their staff.
"Ministers, regardless of whether they are married or single, must not engage in sexual relations with a staff member," he told a Thursday afternoon press conference in Parliament.
"Doing so will constitute a breach of the standards and, while this new standard is very specific, ministers should be acutely aware of the context in which I am making this change and the need for them always to behave in their personal relations with others."
He also had strong words for the Nationals leader.
"I think we know that the real issue is the terrible hurt and humiliation that Barnaby, by his conduct, has visited upon his wife, Natalie, and their daughters and, indeed, his new partner," the Prime Minister told a press conference on Thursday afternoon.
"He has set off a world of woe for those women and appalled all of us."
Asked why his deputy had not been urged to resign, Mr Turnbull said Mr Joyce had to "consider his own position" as he undertook leave next week.
Senate calls for Joyce to resign
The Senate has added insult to injury for Barnaby Joyce, calling on the embattled deputy prime minister to quit.
Greens leader Richard Di Natale moved a motion calling on Mr Joyce to resign for "clearly breaching the standards required of ministers" and if he does not resign, urging the National Party to sack him.
The motion passed the Senate on Thursday with the support of Labor, the two Nick Xenophon Team senators and independent Derryn Hinch.
Labor and the Greens have zeroed in on the under-fire Nationals leader over his acceptance of a rent-free apartment offered to him by businessman Greg Maguire.
He is also being grilled over whether any rules have been broken in regard to jobs provided to his former staffer and now partner Vikki Campion.
Mr Joyce will take a week of personal leave next week and will not step up as acting prime minister while Malcolm Turnbull is visiting the United States.
The last-minute announcement comes amid intense media scrutiny and attacks from the federal opposition over his handling of an affair with a former staffer.
"The deputy prime minister will be taking leave from Monday 19 February to Sunday 25 February, and accordingly will not be able to be acting prime minister while I'm overseas," Mr Turnbull told parliament at the start of Question Time on Thursday.
With foreign minister Julie Bishop also overseas, the government's Senate leader Mathias Cormann will act as prime minister next week.
Labor leader Bill Shorten said the effort to shield Mr Joyce from further scrutiny was evidence he could no longer do his job.
Leave comes as Labor calls for sacking over 'gifted' house
The opposition is urging Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to sack his deputy over a "gift" of free accommodation, despite Mr Joyce insisting he never breached ministerial rules.
The opposition tried but failed to pass a motion calling for the sacking on Thursday morning, with shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus accusing Mr Joyce of the "clearest possible breach" of the ministerial code of conduct, which says ministers should not attempt to encourage personal gifts.
Mr Joyce concedes he was given free access to a property in Armidale by wealthy businessman and political donor Greg Maguire, who he describes as a "mate", but denies any wrongdoing.
He moved into the house with his former staffer Vikki Campion, who is now his partner and is expecting a child. The couple's affair and the breakdown of Mr Joyce's marriage was revealed in national media last week.
Mr Joyce has acknowledged the property in the "gifts" section of his pecuniary interest register, in an update he submitted after his by-election victory in New England last December. The listing does not put a value on the gift and simply reads: “Post election residual of six-month tenancy on Armidale premises".
The Nationals leader said the offer came after he was ejected from parliament by the High Court, so he was not a minister at the time. Mr Joyce also said the gift was offered, not solicited, so would not be covered by the code.
"[Mr Maguire] basically said mates don't pay for things when they're helping other mates out, and that's precisely what happened," Mr Joyce told parliament.
"Mr Maguire approached me, he made an offer," he said.
But two News Corp journalists - Sharri Markson and Rick Morton - claim Mr Maguire told them Mr Joyce was the one who initiated the conversation, contacting him to ask for a place to stay.
