Babies born alive after termination would get care
A bill from an MP who is not a minister would set a federal duty of care. That is a legal duty to look after someone. It would cover babies born alive after a pregnancy is ended. It would bring big fines for health workers who break it. It would also bring new rules for reporting these births.
Official name: Human Rights (Children Born Alive Protection) Bill 2026
- A child born alive would count as a person under federal law.
- Health workers would owe a baby born alive after a termination the same duty of care as any other baby.
- Breaking that duty would be a crime. The fine could be up to 2,000 fine units. A fine unit is a set dollar amount.
- Health workers would have to report each such birth within 5 working days. They must not name the mother.
- Mothers could not be charged under the bill.
Who it affects
- Doctors, nurses and midwives: They could be charged with a crime if they break the duty of care. The board that signs them up to work could also act against them.
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers: The bill counts them as health workers. They would have the same duties.
- Women who have a termination: They could not be charged under the bill. Reports would not name them.
- The federal department that runs the law: It would get reports of these births so numbers can be kept.
Babies born alive after terminations
A termination is when a pregnancy is ended on purpose, using medicine or a medical procedure.
Sometimes a baby is born showing signs of life. This happens mostly in later terminations. The bill's notes say state figures show cases where babies were born alive this way and then died.
The notes say these babies are most often given palliative care and left to die. Palliative care means care to keep someone comfortable at the end of life. The notes say true national figures are hard to get, because states record things in different ways.
Llew O'Brien, a member of the House of Representatives, brought this bill. That is the lower house of Parliament. He says denying these babies care breaks Australia's duties under two United Nations agreements between countries. They are the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
A baby born alive counts
Part 2 of the bill says that, for federal law, a child born alive is a person. The bill says this is to clear up any doubt.
Born alive includes being born because of a termination.
The same duty of care
Part 3 is the heart of the bill. It says a health worker owes a baby born alive after a termination the same duty of care as any other newborn.
Care means whatever is right in the situation. The bill gives two examples. One is emergency treatment to save a life. The other is palliative care. When deciding what care is right, the fact that the birth came from a termination must be ignored.
These rules would apply even if the standards for health workers say something different. They would also apply even if state guides for hospital care say something different.
Health workers are signed up by boards, such as the medical board for doctors. Say a health worker breaks this duty. Their board would have to treat it the same as breaking the duty to any other baby.
Say a baby is born alive at 23 weeks after a termination. The staff would have to decide on care the same way they would for a baby born early at 23 weeks for any other reason.
A new crime for workers
It would be a crime for a health worker to break their duty to give care to a child born alive. The top fine would be 2,000 fine units. A fine unit is a set dollar amount used in federal law to work out fines.
A note in the bill says this crime applies to any live birth. It does not matter whether or not it followed a termination.
Births reported for statistics
Say a baby is born alive after a termination. The health worker who did the termination, or who was at the birth, must report it. The report goes to the federal department within 5 working days.
It must be in writing. It must give the date and place of birth, and how many weeks pregnant the mother was. It must also describe the care given and say whether the baby lived. It must not name the baby or the mother.
Failing to report would be a crime. The top fine would be 100 fine units.
Mothers cannot be charged
The bill says the mother cannot be charged under these crimes. That includes for helping or urging someone to commit one.
The notes say a choice to end a pregnancy can be very hard and painful. They say the bill does not aim to add to that.
How state laws fit
The bill would apply across Australia, including its territories overseas. Governments would have to follow it too.
It would not cancel state or territory laws that can work alongside it. The bill relies on the federal power to carry out agreements Australia has signed with other countries. It also relies on the federal power over companies. So it also covers care given by or for companies.
Waiting in the House
A government minister did not bring this bill. Mr O'Brien brought it into the House of Representatives on 17 August 2026. On the same day, he formally asked the House to vote on its main idea.
The House still has to debate it and vote. If it passes, it would go to the Senate, Parliament's second house. It would start the day after the Governor-General signs it into law. The Governor-General stands in for the King.
Its journey through Parliament
| 17 Aug 2026 | House of Representatives: Introduced and read a first time |
| 17 Aug 2026 | House of Representatives: Second reading moved |