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This means all eligible BOQ employees will be able to access up to 16 weeks of PPL regardless of whether they are a primary or secondary carer.  

In other words, more employees will have access to more PPL – a change that hands families more control and provides better opportunities for women to participate equally in the workplace. 

It’s a change that follows other employers agreeing to gender-neutral PPL entitlements following FSU negotiations in recent years, including AustralianSuper, IAG, Insignia, Bupa and HBF. 

How did we achieve this? 

Our union originally called for this change during negotiations for our last enterprise agreement at BOQ in 2022. 

While management didn’t agree to it then, we continued to raise this at every opportunity (including at each Joint Consultative Group meeting between BOQ FSU Representatives and management) because we knew this is something members both want and need.  

Without members’ persistence, this PPL policy change would not have happened. And while it’s disappointing that management pushed back for so long, we certainly welcome the fact that they’ve finally seen sense. 

Want to improve your PPL entitlement? 

This win demonstrates it is possible to convince management of fairer policies and entitlements if we’re prepared to stay the course and present a united front as workers. 

Providing equal access to PPL for both primary and secondary carers is something every employer should offer – it’s good for families, and it’s good for keeping women in the workforce and for improving gender equality. 

If there are changes you’d like to see happen at your workplace, reach out to your FSU Representative or your organiser. If you’re not sure who to contact, give our Member Rights Centre a call today on 1300 366 378 or email [email protected].  

Congratulations once again to all FSU members at BOQ who fought long and hard for this! We should be proud of what we’ve achieved by standing together and not backing down.