The provision of paid maternity leave has been a key focus in Australian policy debates around work/family balance. It has been assumed that the unpaid parental leave standard on which paid maternity leave would build functions as an effective, albeit limited, minimum standard. Drawing on recent research we question the effectiveness of this standard in practice, focusing in particular on the 'return to work guarantee' that is central to providing continuity of employment for women. We examine how this guarantee is undercut by dismissal, redundancy and having no job to return to as well as being placed in an inferior job on return to work. While the expansion of rights in paid maternity leave is a necessary precondition towards to achieving equality for Australian women, urgent action to ensure full compliance with the existing minimum standard for unpaid parental leave is required
