Qld public servants get 10 days’ leave for reproductive health
By Fraser Barton
Queensland public servants will have 10 days reproductive health leave each year in an Australian-first initiative.
Queensland Premier Steven Miles has announced the entitlements for government workers providing days off for fertility treatments, chronic reproductive health conditions such as endometriosis and preventative screening for breast and prostate cancers.
Workers will also be granted leave for reproductive health treatments such as hysterectomies and vasectomies.
The scheme is set to be in place by the end of September.
The move has been welcomed by unions as a huge win for workers.
“Most of us have experienced, or will experience at some stage in our working lives, issues related to our reproductive health,” Queensland Unions general secretary Jacqueline King said.
“Having access to leave and flexibility in work arrangements can make all the difference to help manage sometimes extremely personal issues in a work environment”.
Miles also announced changes to superannuation payments for government workers.
Public service workers who take unpaid maternity or paternity leave will have their super contributions paid for by the government for the duration of the 52-weeks parental leave from July.
Superannuation is currently only paid to workers on paid parental leave.
Data from 2020-2021 found that the average superannuation balance gap between men and women in Queensland was 19.8 per cent, with only 13.9 per cent of Queensland women relying on their superannuation as their main source of retirement income.
“I don’t think it’s good enough that the primary caregiver, predominantly women, are disadvantaged at retirement,” the premier said.
“That’s why my government will begin to pay superannuation to those in the public sector on all parental leave, paid and unpaid, to ensure the ongoing economic security of new parents, especially women.”