More than 100 women told Four Corners they lost their jobs due to pregnancy — ABC News Australia
More than 100 women told the Four Corners program that they lost their jobs in Australia after becoming pregnant or giving birth. Nearly a quarter of them worked in the public sector, ABC News Australia reports.
Participants in the investigation described various employer practices, including reducing working hours, criticizing work performance after being informed of a pregnancy, and so-called sham restructurings. Twenty-one women said that after being dismissed, they found out that their jobs had been filled by other people, sometimes under different job titles.
Real estate agency employee's lawsuit
Abby McAuley worked as a property leasing manager at Ray White Brunswick in Melbourne. She claims that after two days away from work due to morning sickness, she returned and was unable to log in to her computer, and that a manager later informed her that her employment was being terminated.
According to McAuley, she had previously received no warnings regarding her work. She approached the Fair Work Commission, but mediation was unsuccessful, so she is now suing Ray White Brunswick in the Federal Court. Her lawyer, Laura Blandthorn, said there had been direct discrimination because of pregnancy and noted that the explanations for the dismissal had changed, from an office restructuring to concerns about work performance.
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Ray White Brunswick director Jamil Alloush said McAuley was dismissed for reasons that had been discussed with her at the time her employment ended. According to him, the decision was related to her workplace conduct, which had been reported by other employees and which he claimed to have observed himself. He declined to comment on the case in detail, citing the court proceedings.
Complaints and a lengthy wait
Another employee, identified in the report only as Challis, said she lost her regular shifts at a warehouse in Melbourne after becoming pregnant, where she worked through the staffing company OzStaff for NewCold. Her lawyers approached the Australian Human Rights Commission. NewCold said it takes allegations of discrimination seriously but would not comment on the case due to ongoing proceedings; OzStaff also declined to comment.
According to data obtained by Four Corners, nearly half of complaints under the Sex Discrimination Act that were finally concluded in 2025–2026 took more than a year to resolve. In 2020–2021, 1% of such complaints took this long. Sex Discrimination Commissioner Anna Cody acknowledged that the lengthy wait makes it harder for complainants to find new work and move on.
