Breastfeeding

In the ACT it is against the law for someone to discriminate against you because of a characteristic that you have, or that someone thinks you have, in an area of public life such as employment, education, accommodation and the provision of goods and services.

It is against the law for someone to discriminate against you because you are breastfeeding, including breastfeeding in places where you are receiving goods, services or facilities such as shops, offices, restaurants, schools, sports venues, licensed clubs, educational institutions, your place of employment, and accommodation.

Examples of breastfeeding discrimination

A security guard asked a woman to leave a shopping centre because she was breastfeeding her child.

A woman who had recently given birth asked her employer to allow her to partner to bring her young child to the workplace twice a day so she could continue to breastfeed. The employer refused as they thought it would be too disruptive and have an impact on productivity and suggested she express breastmilk so the child could be fed at home by her partner.

A woman attending a body corporate meeting was asked to leave the meeting by the strata manager when she explained she had brought her young baby as she would need to breastfeed because of the time the meeting had been scheduled.

Are there any exceptions?

Exceptions might arise where there is a health and safety issue such as seeking to breastfeed a child in an unsafe place.