Legislation has been introduced to improve the unpaid parental leave entitlements for families dealing with the trauma of stillbirths, infant deaths and premature births.
Attorney-General Christian Porter said that currently parents who experienced a stillbirth or infant death were only entitled to a guaranteed six-weeks of unpaid leave before they could be required to return to work.
“The Fair Work Amendment (Improving Unpaid Parental Leave for Parents of Stillborn Babies and Other Measures) Bill, 2020, creates a guaranteed entitlement to 12-months of unpaid leave for eligible parents – the same amount of unpaid leave parents of healthy babies can choose to take,” Mr Porter said.
“Tragically, more than 2,000 Australian families experience a stillbirth each year, while many more lose a child soon after birth from medical complications,” he said.
“This change to unpaid leave entitlements will give these parents the time and space they need to grieve the loss of their baby, without having to worry about returning to work before they’re ready to do so.”
Mr Porter said the Bill responded to a key recommendation of a 2018 Senate Committee, which examined the need for more education and support in relation to stillbirths.
“For parents of premature babies, or newborns that experience birth-related complications that result in immediate hospitalisation, the Government is also removing a barrier that prevented them from going back to work while their child is in hospital, and then restarting their unpaid parental leave when their baby comes home,” he said.
“Parents have told us that not being able to pause their leave while their child is in hospital meant that they had little or no leave left once their baby was ready to come home.”
He said the changes would give parents flexibility and ensure they got to spend quality time at home with their child when the time was right.
