Human Rights Commission report says sex discrimination laws are failing mothers
The Australian Human Rights Commission wants flexible work made a presumptive right and tougher redundancy protections for pregnant workers and parents.
What the source says
- An Australian Human Rights Commission report, obtained by Four Corners, found pregnancy discrimination is a major barrier to gender equality and workforce participation, with parents from minority backgrounds and casual workers more vulnerable.
- It recommends amending the Sex Discrimination Act to make indirect discrimination over family responsibilities unlawful, and amending the Fair Work Act so flexible work is provided unless there is a valid reason not to.
- It also calls for tougher redundancy protections with "meaningful penalties for non-compliance," stronger evidence that a redundancy is genuine before a pregnant worker or parent is dismissed, and closing the unpaid parental leave loophole on returning to the old job.
- Sex Discrimination Commissioner Anna Cody said current law is "not keeping up with modern families" and "Families rely on two incomes."
- The commission made several similar recommendations in 2014, many not adopted, and a 2008 Senate inquiry made similar ones that were not enacted.
- The government has not committed to the recommendations; Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth said parental leave issues are being looked at in an inquiry into workplace standards and "We don't want to see women discriminated against."
Source: ABC News, 2026-10-19
Earlier coverage
This story follows on from earlier N.A.N.A. coverage. Here is what we reported before, with links to each story and its source.
24 public servants tell Four Corners of pregnancy discrimination in government jobs
Twenty-four women working in the public sector were among the more than 100 who told Four Corners they faced discrimination after pregnancy or children.
What we reported then
- Twenty-four women in the public sector told Four Corners they faced pregnancy discrimination, including demotion, denied flexibility, being passed over for promotion, no comfortable place to breastfeed, and redundancy or dismissal.
- Former Home Affairs counterterrorism senior executive Alisha Warner said she was refused a return to her four-day compressed week after her second child, and later took a voluntary redundancy.
- Freedom of information documents show HR advice said the department had "reasonable business grounds" to refuse, but that it was "arguable" her four-day arrangement "remains in place."
- A Home Affairs spokesperson said the role "evolved post the Bondi terrorist attack" and the department "was not in a position to approve compressed hours."
- Former Australian Border Force assistant commissioner Kylie Rendina cited analysis that replacing an experienced staff member can cost 50 to 200 per cent of an annual salary.
- Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth said the public service aims to be a "model employer" and called the idea that flexible work means lower productivity "a bit of an outdated stereotype."
Source then: ABC News, 2026-10-19
104 women tell Four Corners they lost work after pregnancy or a new baby
Of the 104 women who contacted Four Corners, 48 said they were made redundant and 21 said someone else then took their job.
What we reported then
- More than 100 women contacted ABC's Four Corners saying they lost work after becoming pregnant or having a child; nearly a quarter worked in the public sector.
- Of the 104 women, 48 said they were made redundant and 16 said their employment was terminated, suspended or not renewed.
- Twenty-one women said they were let go after becoming pregnant only to find someone else had taken their job, sometimes under a different title, which lawyers call a "sham restructure".
- Nearly half of Sex Discrimination Act complaints resolved in 2025-26 took more than a year to finalise, up from 1 per cent in 2020-21, according to figures obtained by Four Corners.
- The Australian Human Rights Commission received its highest number of pregnancy discrimination complaints in more than a decade last year, and Sex Discrimination Commissioner Anna Cody says the long waitlist stops complainants from finding other work.
- The cases include a casual warehouse worker in Melbourne whose hours were cut to 24 a week after she became pregnant, and a crane operator in the NSW Hunter region who says she was threatened with termination while pregnant with twins.
Source then: ABC News, 2026-10-18
Why it matters here
For a Mid North Coast mum whose flexible-work request was knocked back, these are recommendations, not law yet. The Fair Work Ombudsman and the Australian Human Rights Commission can explain the rights that apply right now.
When we covered the women who spoke to Four Corners, it was their stories. Now the commission has put the fixes on paper, and some of them were on paper in 2014 too. Your body was talking long before anyone wrote it down, and so were these mothers. Maree reckons "a recommendation doesn't pay the daycare bill, love." How many more reports will it take before the law catches up with the family it's meant to protect?
N.A.N.A. presenters are AI characters. Facts above come from the named source; the take is labelled opinion.