Supporting military mums at work
Air Force leads the way by being the first military organisation in the world to achieve Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace (BFW) accreditation, which it has held since 2014 by the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA).
Twelve years on, ABA has confirmed that accreditation again for the next two years and has awarded Air Force with a Best Practice accreditation for demonstrating commitment and support to our breastfeeding employees.
Air Force acknowledges there are clear capability benefits associated with providing breastfeeding facilities and support to sustain the health, work and family needs of aviators returning from maternity leave.
Air Force is aware that female aviators are more willing to return to work after a period of maternity leave if their workplaces are supportive of continued breastfeeding.
Offering this support, as well as a comprehensive list of identified facilities that offer private, clean, dedicated rooms for breastfeeding or expressing breast milk, also improves retention of female aviators and their productivity.
It also enhances Air Force’s public reputation as an employer of choice for breastfeeding personnel and demonstrates support for female aviators balancing work and parenting.
Through the BFW accreditation, the ABA endorses Air Force’s best practice policies, procedures and guidelines.
The Directorate of Organisational Behaviour and Culture has recently updated and released two guides to support breastfeeding parents, as well as a separate guide to assist commanders and supervisors to negotiate breastfeeding support plans and lactation that support the female aviator and the organisation.
Copies of the guides and Defence breastfeeding facilities are available on the ForceNet Maternity & Extended Leave Support (MELS) group page and on the 28SQN MELS SharePoint site.
Additional information or queries about the Air Force breastfeeding policy, accreditation or facilities should be directed to the MELS Program Manager, SQNLDR Alyce Vernon at raaf.mels@defence.gov.au.