Redlands Coast Chamber of Commerce
IN a landmark moment for compassionate workplace reform, Parliament has passed the Fair Work Amendment (Baby Priya’s) Bill 2025, ensuring employer-funded paid parental leave cannot be cancelled if a child is stillborn or dies soon after birth.
Named after Baby Priya, who died at six weeks, the bill arose from her mother’s experience when her employer withdrew her paid leave following the tragedy.
Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth said the change “provides grieving parents with certainty and safeguards their financial security”, describing it as a “meaningful change driven by courage and determination”.
The amendment brings employer-funded paid parental leave into line with government-funded and unpaid parental leave provisions, guaranteeing time to grieve without fear of losing income.
Employers and employees can still negotiate alternate arrangements, but the default protection now ensures leave continues through the loss of a child.
The bill received strong cross-party support, although a few conservative MPs raised concerns about “unintended consequences”, drawing criticism from advocacy groups who accused them of politicising women’s grief.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Australian Nursing & Midwifery Federation both praised the law, calling it a “vital recognition of parental loss”.
Workplaces are now expected to update policies to reflect the new entitlement.
For affected families, it means one less burden at an unimaginably difficult time.
Globally, Australia now ranks among the most progressive nations in this area.
Few OECD countries explicitly protect paid parental leave in cases of stillbirth or infant death, although momentum is growing.
The United Kingdom, for example, recently announced plans for statutory bereavement leave after miscarriage.
Experts say the reform aligns with best practice by treating the loss of a baby as part of the parental journey, not an exception to it.
As Rishworth noted: “Parents should have the time and space to grieve. Their pain should never be compounded by uncertainty about whether they have to go back to work while recovering from immense grief and trauma.”
The laws are expected to impact thousands of families, with more than 3000 families losing a child to either stillbirth or neonatal death in 2022.
