A blueprint of how not to handle pregnancy, parental leave, and breastfeeding at work
On 17 February 2026, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia handed down judgment in Duarte v United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs [2026] FedCFamC2G 175, a Fair Work case that should sit on every HR leader's reading list.
The worker, employed as a waiter at the Melbourne Consulate of the United Arab Emirates from 2 July 2018 until her employment was terminated on 1 November 2021, took her former employer to court over how it handled her pregnancy, parental leave, breastfeeding needs, and eventual dismissal. While the proceedings were initially brought against the Consulate-General, the court granted leave to substitute the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the proper respondent, on the basis that the Ministry was her actual employer and that foreign state immunity did not apply to employment contracts made or performed in Australia.
Her account, set out in the statement of claim, traces a familiar HR timeline that went badly wrong. After falling pregnant in April 2020, she told the Consul General, Dr Al Mulla, in early May 2020. In early November 2020, she asked to take 14 weeks of paid maternity leave. A later request to start parental leave in late December 2020 was refused, and she was directed to begin earlier, on 1 December 2020. A further request on 1 March 2021 for an additional 20 weeks of unpaid parental leave was also refused.
When she...
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