Jo Briskey (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about something that no parent ever wants to imagine: the loss of a child. When that happens, no-one should be faced with questions about their pay or their leave on top of their heartbreak. Parents deserve compassion, certainty and time to grieve, not confusion about their rights at work. That's why the Fair Work Amendment (Baby Priya's) Bill 2025, known as Baby Priya's bill, is so important. It's about making sure that, in those unimaginable moments, parents are treated with dignity and fairness and that they don't lose their paid parental leave just because they've lost their child. This bill delivers on an election commitment made by the Albanese Labor government, a commitment to build a fairer, kinder, more caring Australia, where families are supported when they need it most.

This bill is named after Baby Priya, who died when she was just six weeks old. I want to begin by acknowledging Priya's mum and dad. I want to thank them for their courage, their compassion and their determination to make sure that no other parent goes through what they did. Their advocacy has turned tragedy into reform, and today their daughter's legacy is a part of the legislation that will help protect thousands of families in the future. They have ensured that their little girl's life will continue to make a difference and that her story will forever be a part of our kinder, fairer Australia.

Parents should have the time to grieve the loss of a child. Their pain should not be compounded by the fear of losing income or being forced to return to work while still recovering, not only from the immense grief and trauma but from childbirth itself and the physical toll that that takes. They deserve clarity—clarity about their entitlements, about their financial situation and about their right to take their time to heal. Baby Priya's parents weren't afforded that dignity, and no parent should ever have to go through what they went through. We also know that they are incredibly difficult situations for both the managers and their colleagues to navigate. No-one should have to make discretionary calls on something so delicate and so devastating.

This bill provides clarity for parents, for employers and for the whole workplace. It sets out shared expectations so that these moments can be handled with dignity and compassion. This bill introduces a new principle into the Fair Work Act. Unless employers and employees have especially agreed otherwise, employer-funded paid parental leave must not be refused or cancelled because of the loss of a child that either is stillborn or dies early in infancy. That means parents can rely on their paid parental leave entitlements operating as they would have expected, regardless of the outcome of the pregnancy or birth.

The bill aligns with the clarity already provided in existing unpaid parental leave entitlements, ensuring consistency across the workplace relations framework. Importantly, it doesn't interfere with bargaining in good-faith agreements. The ability to bargain for pay and conditions above the safety net remains central to our approach to workplace relations. It leads to mutually beneficial conditions for both employers and employees, and it builds trust and dialogue in workplaces. This bill will not affect agreements that already clearly set out what happens if a child is stillborn or dies, including workplaces that offer dedicated stillbirth leave. Instead, it encourages employers and employees to continue negotiating clear, compassionate policies that respond to these heartbreaking moments.

This bill strikes a careful balance. It will not require employers to offer paid parental leave if they do not already do so, but, where paid leave is offered, it ensures that it can't be taken away because of tragedy unless both parties have clearly agreed otherwise. That's the type of fairness that this Labor government has made a cornerstone of our legislative agenda. Employers have told us they will welcome this clarity. Many workplace representatives have already reached out to express support for this reform, recognising that it helps both employees and managers deal with these circumstances sensitively and consistently. The bill also stops bad actors from undermining reform by unilaterally changing workplace policies after it commences. This is about making sure the law reflects decency and a compassion that can't be taken away by the stroke of a pen.

This bill sits within the broader suite of Labor's reforms to strengthen and modernise Australia's paid parental leave system, a system that for too long has left too many families behind. When the Albanese Labor government came to office, we made a promise to make it easier for families to balance work and care and to ensure that every child gets the best start in life. We are delivering on that promise. We're expanding the government funded Paid Parental Leave scheme to 26 weeks by 2026—the biggest expansion since the scheme began. We have made it more flexible, so that parents can share leave in a way that suits their family. And, for the first time, superannuation contributions will be paid on government funded paid parental leave, recognising that time spent caring for a baby should not come at the cost of a woman's retirement savings.

We know these reforms will help strengthen the connection between parents, particularly women, and the workforce. As the former CEO of the Parenthood, I saw firsthand how much difference connection makes. I worked alongside parents from all walks of life—shift workers, teachers, nurses, small business owners—all trying to balance the joy and chaos of raising children with the need to earn a living and stay connected to the workplace. I saw how vital it is to have a government that doesn't just talk about valuing care work but actually does something about it. Paid Parental Leave is a core foundation of our workplace relations system. It's an investment in our families, our workforce and our future. As a mum, I know in my bones how crucial that time is—those early weeks and months when you're finding your feet, learning how to keep a tiny human alive and discovering the kind of parent you want to be. It's exhausting, it's beautiful, and it's life changing.

For families who lose a child, that time becomes something even more precious—a time to grieve, to recover and to honour the life that was so short but so loved. That's why this bill matters so deeply. Australia is one of the safest countries in the world to give birth in, but tragically stillbirths and infant deaths still happen. On an average day in Australia, six babies are stillborn, and two die within their first year of life. In 2022 alone, that meant 3,000 families lost a child. Behind every one of those numbers is a story, a family, a life, a name and a home left quiet. Behind every one of those stories is a grief that last a lifetime.

This bill addresses a small but significant gap that sadly some of those parents have fallen through. It ensures that, when tragedy strikes, the law doesn't turn away; it has your back. It ensures that compassion is built into our workplace relations system. This bill provides certainty for everyone, as I said—for workers and employers. Managers should never be placed in a position of having to make ad hoc decisions about something as sensitive as the death of a child. This reform that means there's a clear rule, applied fairly and consistent. It also prevents employers from varying terms or policies after the bill comes into force to avoid these obligations. It's about consistency, compassion and confidence—principles that should define every Australian web base.

The bill brings employer funded paid parental leave into alignment with the clarity already found in our unpaid parental leave and the government's Paid Parental Leave scheme. It uses existing definitions under the Fair Work Act, such as 'child' and 'stillborn child', to ensure the law operates consistently and clearly. It also extends coverage to adoption and surrogacy arrangements, ensuring that all families, however they are formed, are treated equally, because the grief and pain of losing a child does not discriminate, and it does not diminish because of how you become a parent. To support compliance, penalties for breaches mirror those that already apply for unpaid parental leave.

In short, this bill doesn't create a new bureaucracy; it strengthens the fairness where it was missing. This reform embodies Labor values: it's practical, passionate and grounded in fairness. It recognises that workplaces are not just a productivity; they're about people—people who love, who lose, who grieve and who deserved to be treated with dignity and every stage of life. It also reflects the power of advocacy from Priya's parents, from community and advocacy groups and from the union movement, which, for decades, has fought for Paid Parental Leave and compassionate workplace standards.

Unions have been at the forefront of this struggle for generations, campaigning for parental leave, for carers' rights, for fair pay and for the right to grieve without fear of losing your job. This bill stands firmly in that tradition and is a continuation of the Labor movement's long fight to make work fairer, kinder and more human. In communities across Australia we know that parents who lose a child face unimaginable grief. The world seems to stop, but the bills don't. Bodies are still recovering from childbirth even as hearts are breaking and the last thing families should have to worry about is whether their leave entitlements will be honoured. As a mum, I can't even begin to imagine their pain. As a representative, I can do my part to make sure the law doesn't add to it, and that's exactly what this bill seeks to ensure. It ensures that employer funded paid parental leave cannot be cancelled or refused because of tragedy. It ensures that parents can take time to grieve, heal and recover without uncertainty, without confusion and without fear.

To Priya's mum and dad: thank you again for your courage. You have turned heartbreak into hope and you have helped build a fairer system for thousands of families. And to Baby Priya: your name will now forever be part of our nation's laws—a legacy of love and compassion that will outlast us all. This is what Labor governments do. We fix what's unfair, we stand for working people and we deliver reforms that make life fairer and futures more secure. I commend the bill.

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