Baby Priya’s Law: A New Protection for Grieving Parents
Every now and then, a change in the law comes from a story so human that it cuts through all the legal noise. Baby Priya’s Law is one of those changes.
In June 2024, baby Priya was born prematurely at just under 25 weeks. She spent the next 42 days in neonatal intensive care before tragically passing away. Her mother had already arranged to take paid parental leave through her employer and, after losing Priya, contacted her workplace to let them know what happened. Instead of being given the time and space to grieve, she received a text message cancelling her pre-approved paid parental leave and replacing it with one month of personal leave.
Within days of losing her daughter, she was negotiating a return to work.
Priya’s father was treated differently. His employment arrangements allowed him to keep his paid parental leave, meaning that the two parents grieving the same child were left with very different workplace protections. Their experience exposed a gap in Australian workplace law that, until then, had received very little attention.
A gap in the law
Sadly, the issue itself is not new. Stillbirth has long been described as a hidden tragedy in Australia. Despite the significant impact that stillbirth and infant death can have on families, workplace protections have not always reflected the reality of what grieving parents experience.
Priya’s parents decided that what happened to them should not happen to another family. They launched a petition calling for employers to be prevented from cancelling maternity or parental leave following stillbirth or infant death. More than 32,000 people supported the campaign, attracting the attention of the Federal Government.
In October 2025, the Fair Work Amendment (Baby Priya’s) Bill 2025 was introduced into Parliament. The Bill passed through both Houses and received Royal Assent on 6 November 2025. The new protections commenced the following day, making Baby Priya’s Law part of Australian workplace law.
What is Baby Priya’s Law?
The idea behind the reform was simple. Baby Priya’s Law inserted s 333X into the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). Under this new provision, employer-funded paid parental leave generally cannot be refused or cancelled because an employee’s child is stillborn or dies.
Baby Priya’s Law does not require employers to provide their own paid parental leave scheme. Some employers offer paid parental leave as an additional workplace benefit, while others do not. Instead, the law protects that leave where it already exists. For grieving parents, this closes a harsh gap in the system.
Changes to paid parental leave
Baby Priya’s Law comes at a time when Australia’s approach to parental leave is changing. Separate from any paid leave offered by an employer, eligible parents may receive Parental Leave Pay through the Australian Government. This scheme has gradually expanded in recent years.
From 1 July 2026, eligible families with a child born or adopted from this date can receive up to 130 days of Parental Leave Pay. Based on a five-day working week, that is 26 weeks – two weeks more than the previous entitlement. Where a claimant has a partner, 20 days are reserved for their partner to use, giving both parents an opportunity to take time away from work and care for their child.
Another significant change is the introduction of superannuation on government-funded parental leave. For those receiving Parental Leave Pay for a child born or adopted from 1 July 2025, the Australian Taxation Office pays a 12% superannuation contribution. These contributions began being paid from July 2026.
The importance of Baby Priya’s Law
What makes Baby Priya’s Law so significant is that it recognises something basic: the need for parental leave does not disappear when a baby dies.
Although a parent may no longer be taking leave to care for their newborn in the way they had expected, that does not mean they are ready to return to work. They may still be recovering physically from childbirth while also dealing with grief. Having paid leave withdrawn at this time can make an already devastating situation even harder.
Of course, Baby Priya’s Law does not fix every gap in the Australian parental leave system. However, it does provide certainty for parents who are entitled to it.
Behind what is now a provision of the Fair Work Act is a much more personal story. Two parents experienced an unimaginable loss, discovered a gap in the law and decided no other family should go through the same pain.
Baby Priya’s legacy will now live on through Australian workplace law and continue to protect families for years to come.