Fair Work Amendment (Baby Priya's) Bill 2025

Ms JARRETT (Brisbane) (19:23): I, too, rise in support of this bill. As we've heard tonight, this bill is named after Baby Priya, who tragically died when she was just six weeks old. But this bill is about care, compassion, empathy and human decency.

Baby Priya's bill will give financial certainty to parents after the loss of a child. Priya's mother received condolences and gifts from colleagues while grappling with the grief of losing her daughter. I can't imagine how you could even have the brain space to be able to do that.

Priya's mother notified her employer of 11 years—we're not talking somebody who just walked in the door yesterday, albeit that should make absolutely no difference—who then cancelled her preapproved three months of leave. At a time of heartbreak and grief, parents shouldn't be unexpectedly told it's time to go back to work or to be put in a position to make some form of employment decision.

I really think Priya's mother and father should be proud of their important advocacy that has led to this important bill. And I think all Australians and those in my electorate can agree that this reform is just simply the right thing to do. Priya's parents advocated for these laws and met with the Prime Minister and Minister Rishworth after the introduction of the bill.

As Priya's mother told the Prime Minister, the law is in her name, and now Priya will live on forever. In 2022 more than 3,000 families lost a child to stillbirth or within the first 28 days after birth. After Priya's death, her parents have advocated to ensure that no other parent would ever have to face what they did.

This bill honours Priya and her family. Priya and her parents have made a meaningful difference to the future of working parents in Australia, creating a legacy that will last forever and honour their little girl. Over the decades, Australia's parental leave policies have seen significant developments, and all for the better.

These advancements reflect changes in societal norms and family structures. The campaign for parental leave in Australia initially focused on maternity leave during the 1970s, a time when women's participation in the workforce was growing but support for working mums was minimal. The unions played a crucial role in advocating for paid maternity leave, arguing that women should not have to choose between motherhood and their careers.

My sons are now in their mid-20s, and I do still recall those dinner table conversations of whether it made economic sense for me to go back to work or not or for my husband to stay home and look after our kids. These decisions are still being made today, but we have had early wins in relation to leave. They were modest, but they were often negotiated workplace by workplace and setting precedents for future policies.

As societal expectations involved, so did the demands from mothers and parents. By the 1990s, there was a growing recognition of the need for policies that also supported fathers and non-birthing parents. This led to the introduction of more inclusive family leave policies, recognising the diverse needs of modern Australian families.

Unions across the country led the push for more inclusivity and won the right to parental leave for both parents, acknowledging their shared responsibility in child-rearing and promoting gender equality in the home and in the workplace. The significant breakthrough in paid parental leave came with the introduction of the Paid Parental Leave Act in 2010. This legislation provided for up to 18 weeks of government funded paid parental leave at the national minimum wage—a substantial support for working families.

This policy really was a game changer, ensuring, or at least giving, all eligible parents time off work to care for their newborns without being unduly compromised in their financial stability. It gave them the ability to make those decisions. In more recent years, we've seen further enhancements.

These include the introduction of flexible leave options, allowing parents to split their leave into blocks and to return to work on a part-time basis; the extension of leave benefits to include adoptive parents and same-sex couples; and the recognition of important superannuation payments during leave periods. Priya's bill will build on this. This bill is especially close to my heart.

We've heard tonight of personal stories of fellow parliamentarians and how difficult their time in the workforce was. A very good friend of mine tragically lost their daughter within days after giving birth. And, in my early years, quite some time ago, I was a radiographer.

I had to work with many families who were coming to terms with the fact that their baby wasn't going to survive. These are really, really distressing times, and there are so many thoughts and so many emotions going on in our own minds. It's just impossible to make really, really important decisions.

Australia is one of the safest places in the world for a baby to be born, but we do know still that stillbirths and child loss do happen, and no parent should ever have to go through what Priya's mum and dad experienced. That's what this bill will change. Debate interrupted.