Losing her cousin was an incredibly difficult time for Birri Gubba woman Lara Watson.
Despite how close their bond was, under Australian legislation Lara's cousin wouldn't be considered an "immediate" family member when it comes to leave entitlements.
However, in her workplace at the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) Ms Watson was able to access special bereavement leave so that she could conduct Sorry Business.
She says it was a relief.
"Not having the worry or the concern that I’m going to lose my job because I'm going to take ... my bereavement leave that is not necessarily for a parent or a child," she told NITV.
I ended up coming back to work earlier than intended
"This is for my cousin. But I have this bond with him and I need to show my respect, and I need to be able to participate in the smoking ceremony, and I need to be able to reconnect one last time before he moves on."
At previous workplaces she wasn't able to access similar kinds of cultural leave, something she says took a toll.
"When we’re not able to contribute culturally there’s a real hole in the heart and you feel an emptiness, and that never really goes away. There’s a guilt."
But being able to properly take the time to grieve her cousin in a culturally appropriate way helped her get back to work sooner.
"The difference is very impactful and meaningful, and I ended up coming back to work earlier than intended because I actually felt like I was given ... the time to grieve, but also uphold my cultural responsibility," she said.
Unions push for change
Ms Watson is the Indigenous officer at the ACTU, which is now calling for all First Nations workers to have access to cultural leave and to have their kinship structures acknowledged in legislation.
Such a move would require changes to the National Employment Standards (NES) which outline all the minimum entitlements that every worker in the country receives, including amending the definition of 'immediate family' to recognise kinship structures and relationships.
It wants an additional clause added to the definition to include "a person with whom there is a connection, relationship, or obligation arising under Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander kinship customs traditions, or cultures of communities, groups, or families to which the first person belongs."
For Lara Watson, it's a vital change.
"We have a different term of family in comparison to western society," she said.
"We have aunties, and uncles, and grandparents that have responsibilities in raising children, we have cultural responsibilities that are for the whole community, so everybody plays their part.
"It is a family unit in the western sense, so acknowledging kinship acknowledges that family structure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have."
The ACTU also argues that First Nations people need certain leave entitlements, such as time for NAIDOC and cultural events.
Importantly, unions want specific leave for Sorry Business.
"This is critically important for community and ceremony and the way that we conduct our protocols when we lose someone that's very near and dear to us," Ms Watson said.
"It gives cultural safety in a workplace when these issues are actually considered."
While many workplaces already offer these leave entitlements, Ms Watson says making them available to all Indigenous workers in the country will help businesses retain employees and encourage understanding of First Nations customs among the wider population.
"There's an understanding there between their work and their cultural responsibilities, but its also beneficial more broadly," she said.
"We are the oldest living culture in the world - this should be something of national pride and I think including these clauses strikes up conversation with the broader workforce."
In response to questions put to Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth, a government spokesperson said a review into the NES is "ongoing".
"Unions and business groups will of course come to us with a range of ideas," she said in a statement.
"Our workplace relations agenda is focused on delivering on our election commitments.
"We have introduced significant reform to make working life better for Australians, including Same Job Same Pay laws, Right to Disconnect, and legislating penalty rates."
