On 26 March 2025, Greens Senator Larissa Waters introduced the Fair Work Amendment (Paid Reproductive Health Leave and Flexible Work Arrangements) Bill 2025 (Bill).
The Bill proposes significant amendments to the National Employment Standards (NES) in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act). It would also amend the gender equality indicators which are relevant for employers who are required to report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA).
Although the Bill’s progress through parliament has been stalled by the Federal Election being called days after it was introduced, here is a summary of what we know so far.
What would the Bill change?
The Bill would amend the NES in two significant ways:
All employees would be entitled to 12 days of paid reproductive health leave per year; and
An employee experiencing symptoms relating to menopause or perimenopause would become a circumstance where that employee can request flexible working arrangements under s.65 of the FW Act.
The Bill would also amend the Workplace Gender Equality (Matters in relation to Gender Equality Indicators) Instrument 2023 (Cth) to add two new matters to gender equality indicator 4. Employers with 100 or more employees are required to report on the gender equality indicators to WGEA each year.
Gender equality indicator 4 is the availability and utility of employment terms, conditions and practices relating to flexible working arrangements for employees and working arrangements supporting employees with family or caring responsibilities.
The new matters which the Bill would add to gender equality indicator 4 relate to the existence of, and information about, policies and strategies to support employees who are experiencing symptoms relating to menopause or perimenopause, and measures to support employees experiencing such symptoms.
How would the proposed new leave entitlement work?
Under the proposed amendments, all employees (regardless of whether they are full-time, part-time or casual) would have an entitlement to 12 days of paid reproductive health leave each year. As with the NES entitlement to paid family and domestic violence leave, it is available in full for part-time and casual employees.
The leave would be available in full at the start of each 12 months of employment, but would not accrue from year to year.
The Bill proposes that paid reproductive leave would be available for a broad range of reasons, including the following:
Where the employee is not fit for work because of a reproductive health condition, including endometriosis, dysmenorrhea, adenomyosis, polycystic ovary syndrome or menopause;
To receive fertility treatment, including in vitro fertilisation;
To attend preventative screening associated with reproductive health, including breast and prostate screening; and
To receive treatment associated with reproductive health including hysterectomy, vasectomy and termination of a pregnancy.
Before taking reproductive leave, an employee would be required to give notice and also provide evidence that would satisfy a reasonable person that the leave was taken for one of the prescribed reasons when seeking to access the entitlement.
Where to from here?
While some employers already provide reproductive leave to employees via enterprise agreements, there is nothing in the federal system that requires all employers to do so. If the Bill becomes law, it would represent a significant change in the NES, which is supposed to be the minimum safety net of employment entitlements.
The potential for reproductive leave to become a NES entitlement has been on the agenda since the Senate Community Affairs References Committee issued its report in the Inquiry into Issues Related to Menopause and Perimenopause in September 2024. One of the 25 recommendations the Committee made was that the Australian Government conduct research on the impact and effectiveness of sexual and reproductive health leave where it has been implemented nationally and overseas, and also consider introducing paid gender-inclusive reproductive leave into the NES. This recommendation was noted by the Government in its response of February 2025. The Government response also noted that information about international examples may be of limited relevance because of different workplace relations contexts, and did not commit either way regarding introducing the new entitlement or not.
Following this Senate Committee report, the concept of reproductive leave received further public attention, including through publication of a union-commissioned report by Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre which found that giving workers the equivalent of one day of reproductive leave per year would mitigate the current impact reproductive health conditions have on the Australian economy. The report estimated that the cost to the economy of not implementing a leave policy is about $21.3 billion in lost productivity, while the annual net cost of providing 12 days of paid reproductive leave would be around $1.7 billion.1
Despite public discussion on the topic, the positions of the Australian Labor Party and Coalition on issues around reproductive leave are less clear. Undoubtedly the Bill will be the subject of further scrutiny once a new parliament is formed after the election. There will be many issues that need to be worked through, including employers’ capacity to fund yet another paid leave entitlement. We will continue to monitor developments in this area once the Bill is further considered by Parliament.
1Alan Duncan, Abebe Hailemariam, Silvia Salaraz, Panagiotis Sotirakopoulos, “The costs and benefits of implementing a universal health leave entitlement in Australia” (Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre, April 2025)
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