Shackling people in custody during birth would be banned
Senator Lidia Thorpe is an independent senator, not part of any party. She wants a national ban on chaining, drugging or locking in prisoners and other held people while they give birth. It would beat any state or territory law that allows it.
Official name: Crimes Amendment (Prohibiting Shackling During Childbirth) Bill 2026
- No one held in prison, a police lock-up, a hospital or anywhere else could be held back while giving birth.
- The ban covers labour, the birth, and the time just before and just after.
- It covers handcuffs and other devices, holding someone down, calming drugs and locking someone in.
- It would beat any state or territory law that says otherwise.
- It is a private bill from Senator Lidia Thorpe. It has not been debated yet.
Who it affects
- Pregnant people in prison or held by police: You could not be cuffed, held down, drugged to calm you or locked in while you give birth.
- People held in hospital: The same ban would cover you during childbirth.
- Prison and police officers: You would have to stop holding back anyone in your care who is giving birth.
- Babies born to mothers in prison: Senator Thorpe says the ban would lower health risks to you at birth.
- State and territory governments: Any of your laws that allow holding people back during birth would stop working.
Chained while giving birth
Some people in prison or held by police are pregnant. When they go into labour, they are taken to hospital. In some cases, guards keep them in handcuffs or chains while they give birth.
Senator Lidia Thorpe says this harms the health of both parent and baby. She says it causes trauma, which is deep and lasting emotional harm. She says it does not make anyone safer. She says state and territory laws have not stopped it.
Her notes on the bill say Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are hit hardest. That is because there are far more of them in prisons than their share of the population.
The notes also say the ban is needed for Australia to keep its promises under human rights treaties. A treaty is a formal deal between countries.
Who the ban protects
The bill adds a new section 87A to the Crimes Act 1914. That is one of the main federal crime laws.
It covers anyone held in a prison, held in a hospital, or held anywhere else against their will. Prison includes a jail, a police lock-up or any other place where people are locked up.
It says such a person must not be held back at any time while giving birth. That includes labour itself. It also includes just before labour starts and just after the birth.
What counts as restraint
The bill names four kinds of restraint. Each one is a way to control how a person behaves.
The first is using force to hold a person or stop them moving. A quick, kind touch to guide someone away from harm does not count.
The second is using a device, like handcuffs, leg chains or straps. Devices used for medical care do not count.
The third is giving drugs mainly to change how a person behaves. Medicine a doctor gives for an illness or a health problem does not count. Nor does care at the end of life. So pain relief during labour would still be allowed.
The fourth is stopping a person moving freely around their space, such as locking them in a room.
Say a woman serving a short sentence goes into labour. Today, depending on the state, she might be cuffed to the hospital bed. Under this bill, the guards could stay nearby. But they could not cuff her, hold her down or lock her in.
Overriding state laws
The states and territories run most prisons. The bill says it applies no matter what any other federal, state or territory law says.
Any law that clashes with the ban would have no effect. State laws that fit with the ban would keep working.
The federal government would rely on one of its powers in the Constitution, the rule book for how Australia is run. This power lets it make laws to carry out deals with other countries.
As a backup, the ban would also apply in the territories and on federal land.
The bill does not set a fine or jail time for breaking the rule. It only covers acts after the law starts.
Waiting in the Senate
If passed, the law would start the day after it is signed into law. The Governor-General, the King's representative, signs bills into law.
Senator Thorpe brought the bill to the Senate on 18 August 2026. That day the debate on its main idea also started. It has not been debated since.
To become law, it would need to pass the Senate. Then it would need to pass the House of Representatives, the lower house of Parliament. Then it would need to be signed into law.
Bills from senators outside the big parties rarely pass without the government's support.
How they voted
| Vote | Result |
|---|---|
| Vote to end debate Senate, 15 October 2026 Labor 20 no, Greens 7 aye, Liberal 4 no, Independent 2 aye, Australia's Voice 1 aye | Noes won 24 to 10 |
Its journey through Parliament
| 18 Aug 2026 | Senate: Introduced and read a first time |
| 18 Aug 2026 | Senate: Second reading moved |
| 15 Oct 2026 | Senate: Second reading debate |