Download and share our Paid Maternity Leave leaflet.

Australia and the United States are the only two OECD countries that do not offer paid maternity leave.

Without a government-funded scheme, paid maternity leave in Australia has been left to individual employers with wildly varying results.

Currently two thirds of Australian working women have no paid maternity leave.

Most women who get paid maternity leave are already on higher pay in white collar jobs in the public sector or in large companies.

Only 8 per cent of women in the low-paid retail and hospitality industry receive some form of paid maternity leave.

In addition, eligibility criteria often exclude employees with less than 12 months service (24% of women of child bearing age) and the significant number of women working as casual employees.  

Without a statutory paid maternity leave scheme, low paid women workers will continue to receive no financial support to take leave to have a baby.

The Productivity Commission’s Inquiry into Paid Maternity, Paternity and Parental Leave must recommend as a matter of urgency that the government take action on behalf of Australian families, and mothers in particular, and implement a paid maternity scheme.

You can help campaign to finally deliver paid maternity leave to Australian women and be part of a momentous historical achievement.