Women are facing widespread discrimination in the workplace over breastfeeding, a law firm says.
In Australia, it is illegal to discriminate against a person either directly or indirectly on the grounds of breastfeeding as outlined in the federal Sex Discrimination Act 1984.
But law firm Slater and Gordon said discrimination still occurred.
The firm is now encouraging mothers to find out more about their legal rights, citing an Australian Human Rights Commission survey that found 20 per cent of mothers who experienced discrimination upon returning to work did so because of breastfeeding.
Vicky Antzoulatos, a lawyer with Slater and Gordon, said if a person was legally allowed to be in a particular place, they also had the right to breastfeed there and that was protected by federal law.
"It includes places like the workplace, churches pubs and clubs, public transport and Parliament also,” she said.
Ms Antzoulatos said that although breastfeeding wasn't explicitly banned in Parliament, infants were banned, making breastfeeding an impossible task.
"No stranger can enter a chamber, not even infants who are being nursed by their mother,” she said.
But there were some exemptions with the Federal Senate, the ACT Legislative Assembly and the NSW Legislative Council allowing infants in.
While in the other Parliaments around Australia, the admission of babies for the purposes of nursing was at the discretion of the speaker.
Beyond Parliament, Vicky Antzoulatos said that an employer's obligation to facilitate breastfeeding remained unclear and many women were cautious about complaining about the issue.
Slater and Gordon said employers could face penalties or be ordered to pay compensation if they breached the relevant legislation.
