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End shackling during childbirth

Childbirth is sacred. But right now, across the country, people in custody can still be shackled while giving birth.


Childbirth is one of the hardest things a person can experience. Shackling people during childbirth is medically dangerous, traumatising, degrading and unnecessary.

I have introduced a Bill to Parliament to outlaw this abusive practice and create better standards for how people in custody are treated.

Click the button below to read more about why we need to end shackling during birth.

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The open letter:

Dear Attorney-General Michelle Rowland,

Anyone who has ever given birth knows that it is one of the most intense and important experiences a person can have. It is also a time where a person is extremely vulnerable and faces serious medical risks.

But people in custody across the country are still shackled during childbirth. They are cuffed to a hospital bed, or have their legs shackled. No one should ever give birth in shackles.

People in labour need to be able to move and change position – being unable to move compromises the health of both parent and child, and can cause complications during delivery, including haemorrhage and a drop in foetal heart rate. This can lead to death.

When an emergency procedure is needed, such as an emergency caesarean, a delay of even a few minutes caused by shackling or unshackling can result in permanent brain damage for the baby.

Alongside these medical risks, shackling people during childbirth is distressing, traumatising and degrading.

This doesn’t need to happen. There has been no evidence of people who were not restrained attempting to escape during childbirth.

And while policies and guidelines across the country limit the practice and in many cases stipulate that it should be a last resort, it still regularly happens.

Attorney-General, your government can end this practice by supporting Senator Lidia Thorpe’s bill. The Crimes Amendment (Prohibiting Shackling During Childbirth) Bill 2026 will ban shackling during childbirth.

Your government has both the ability and the obligation to end this cruel practice. The High Court has confirmed that external affairs power under the Constitution allows the Commonwealth to implement human rights obligations in areas that would otherwise primarily be matters for the states and territories. The Commonwealth has used this power in the past to legislate on matters that are otherwise regulated by the states, including human rights and discrimination.

It is time for your government to end shackling during childbirth. People should receive the best care when giving birth, and children deserve the opportunity to be born in medically safe environments.

Supporting Senator Thorpe’s bill to ban shackling during childbirth is your opportunity to show that you care about the safety of parents and children in this country and take action to protect them from harm and abuse at the hands of the state.

We, undersigned, urge you to support this important Bill to end shackling during childbirth.

 

Add your voice

No one should be shackled during childbirth. Everyone in this country should have their basic human rights respected.

Albanese has the power to act. Now we will see whether he has the decency and guts.

Sign the open letter calling on the Albanese Government to stop shackling during childbirth.

 

Make a submission to the inquiry about this Bill.

The Senate is holding an inquiry into this Bill, and your voice can help make the case for change.

Anyone can make a submission. You can share your experiences, concerns or reasons for supporting the Bill, and this will inform the report that will be delivered to the Albanese government.

This inquiry is an opportunity for truth-telling. Your story is valuable in ensuring the truth is heard.

It is also possible to make a confidential or anonymous submission.

 

MAKE A SUBMISSION

 

GET ASSISTANCE MAKING A SUBMISSION 

 

Submissions close: 14 September

 

People in labour need to be able to move and change position. Restraints can interfere with medical care and delay emergency procedures, which is dangerous for both parent and baby.

If an emergency caesarean is required, even a short delay caused by restraints or removing them can have serious consequences for the parent and baby, including death.

 

Yes. Even where states and territories have regulations around shackling during childbirth, exemptions mean it still happens. People with lived experience of being pregnant in custody report that it happens regularly.

People giving birth need to be able to move, change position and receive medical care without shackles getting in the way. Existing policies have not been enough. We need a clear, consistent prohibition in Commonwealth law so no one giving birth is ever shackled. 

 

No. There is no evidence of people who were not restrained attempting to escape during childbirth, or of becoming pregnant in order to avoid prison sentences. 

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