Protection of Employer-Funded Paid Parental Leave After Stillbirth or Child Death
Fair Work Amendment (Baby Priya's) Bill 2025
House of Representatives
Senate
Assent
Topics
child loss employee rights employment conditions parental leave stillbirth workplace agreements
Introduced by: The Hon Amanda Rishworth MP (ALP)
Links to official parliament websites
Effects of this bill
If this bill passes, it means that:
Employers must not refuse or cancel paid parental leave if a child is stillborn or dies
This applies to leave funded by the employer for births or adoptions
Employers can still refuse leave if the employment contract expressly allows it for stillbirth or death
Employers can refuse leave if the contract provides a different specific leave for stillbirth or death
Fines apply to employers who refuse or cancel this leave
Serious contraventions carry a penalty of 600 penalty units (2026: $218,400); other breaches carry 60 penalty units (2026: $21,840)
The Debate
What different members said when this bill was debated:
Andrew Hastie LIB
“Children are a tremendous blessing, and that’s why the grief of a lost baby hits so hard; it really hits hard. I truly learned this while riding with a good friend of mine. Cycling in the mornings, he opened up to me about his experience of stillbirth. He and his wife lost a child.”