Madonna Jarrett (Brisbane, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Continuing on from last night, the Fair Work Amendment (Baby Priya's) Bill 2025 introduces a new principle into the Fair Work Act that employer funded paid parental leave must not be cancelled because a child is stillborn or a newborn dies. It will ensure that parents who suffer the heartbreak of a stillbirth or neonatal death, as Priya's parents did, can still access employer funded paid parental leave. Labor is doing what is right. We're looking after parents at a time that is so difficult for them.

The government has acted to safeguard these entitlements in the bill, and this bill will provide clarity for employers as well as grieving parents about their entitlements. This clarity will also benefit workplaces by helping retain and attract staff. Employees do not have to provide paid parental leave; however, the legal position is unclear in workplaces where paid parental leave is provided but there are no explicit entitlements addressing what will happen if a child is stillborn or dies. This isn't fair on employers, but, importantly, it is not fair on grieving parents. The bill will preserve employer funded paid parental leave entitlements in circumstances where it is not obvious on the face of the agreement what entitlements parents will receive if their child is stillborn or dies. The bill provides that an employer must not, because of a stillbirth or death, refuse to allow an employee to take employer paid parental leave to which they would have been entitled, or cancel any part of that leave.

This legislation, though, will not override the freedom of employers and employees to agree on their own paid parental leave policies, allowing bargaining above the safety net provided by the law. The bill also prevents an employer from seeking to avoid the new prohibition against refusal or cancellation of employer paid parental leave by unilaterally varying an employee's terms and conditions after the bill's commencement, such as by amending a workplace policy. In addition, the government does not intend to interfere with the specific entitlements that employees have negotiated which deal with stillbirth or death of a child, and this bill will not stop employers and employees bargaining in good faith. The ability to bargain over entitlements above and beyond the national employment standards, such as for employer funded paid parental leave, is central to our approach to workplace relations.

This bill has received support from across the board. We've had a number of fellow parliamentarians talk about this and share their experiences. I'd like to share a couple of quotes with you. The chairperson of Red Nose Australia, Nick Xerakias, said:

You cannot make parents feel better after a stillbirth or neonatal loss … But you can absolutely make it worse, and cancelling paid maternity leave is one of the ways that happens.

The ASU secretary for New South Wales and ACT, Angus McFarland, said:

Parents deserve compassion and support during a time of unimaginable grief. No parent mourning the loss of a child should be forced back to work early or face financial strain.

I urge those opposite to support the passing of this bill, because it is the right thing to do.

The Albanese Labor government has always expanded and improved our paid parental leave system, and I highlighted earlier in my speech yesterday the long list of achievements that continue to benefit parents and their children today, but the work has continued to deliver with this bill. In addition, from 1 July this year we saw the Albanese Labor government reforms to paid parental leave rolling out, giving around 180 families a year more flexibility and support at one of the most important times of our lives. We also increased the amount of paid parental leave available to families, increasing to 24 weeks, giving parents an extra two weeks to spend with their newest family number. The amount of paid parental leave parents can take off at the same time will also increase from two weeks to four weeks. As a mum, I would absolutely appreciate that. Thanks to the government reforms, paid parental leave will continue to expand to 26 weeks by 1 July next year, and this means parents are able to spend more time with their family and more time caring for their newborn.

With the changes to super, the government is also taking huge steps to close the gender gap in retirement income. We know that women are disproportionally impacted in retirement, and they retire with less super in their bank accounts. Parents are already benefiting from the superannuation now also being paid on government paid parental leave. The 12 per cent contribution, based on the increase in the superannuation guarantee that started from 1 July, is now being paid. Parents will also benefit from an increase in the weekly payment rate of paid parental leave, and this equates to around $775 over the 24-week entitlement.

Under the Albanese Labor government we are ensuring we continue to back parents and families, not just in my electorate but across the community, and, importantly, with this bill we are doing this in a way that is a more caring, empathetic and compassionate way of looking after people and our communities.

See this speech in context