Canberra Liberals Leader and Shadow Treasurer Elizabeth Lee is today calling on the ACT Labor-Greens Government to offer five days of paid leave for public sector employees who experience a miscarriage or stillbirth.

Ms Lee, who will put forward a motion in the Legislative Assembly said approximately one in four pregnancies result in miscarriage.

“Losing a child is not an illness, it is a loss that should be appropriately recognised,” Ms Lee said.

“As the second largest employer in Canberra, the ACT Government should be leading the way in supporting our public servants.

“The grief and devastation that is felt by parents following the loss of a child is immense, and we can’t expect anyone to use their annual leave to deal with this grief.

“The introduction of miscarriage leave is an important and measured step toward showing public servants that the government and their employer has their back.

“The ACT Legislative Assembly has largely agreed on the importance of these issues in the past, and I hope in this instance we can reach tripartisan agreement that paid miscarriage leave should be available to all ACT public servants,” Ms Lee concluded.

In June 2021, the New South Wales Government became the first Australian jurisdiction to offer miscarriage leave to public sector employees.

The Federal Government has since amended the Fair Work Act to offer two days of paid bereavement leave to all employees covered by the Act.