A PSA member working for Communities and Justice has outlined the difficulties she had expressing in the workplace.

Following her return to work after parental leave, the employee experienced persistent difficulties expressing breast milk due to the lack of an appropriate, private lactation space.

Staff often reacted negatively when she needed time to express milk, with eye‑rolling, dismissive comments and visible frustration. On multiple occasions, staff, contractors and other personnel walked in on her while she was expressing. Adding to this, she was required to store expressed breast milk in a communal fridge, resulting in a colleague unknowingly consuming it.

In 2025, after several incidents of interrupted privacy, she formally requested a designated lactation room. Rather than this being centrally addressed, she was advised that she should locate suitable rooms herself. Although some temporary spaces were discussed and trialled, none resolved the underlying issue.

Later that year her breast pump was found knocked from a kitchenette bench and placed on a non‑sterile surface. When she expressed distress, a staff member repeatedly shouted at her, despite her visible upset, and made a remark suggesting the breast pump should not be visible.

While she later attempted to resolve the matter directly and reported the incident to management, the broader pattern of behaviour continued.

Between July and December 2025, people repeatedly entered spaces while she was expressing milk, including staff and cleaners. On 12 December 2025, a male contractor opened the kitchenette door while she was actively expressing milk, questioned her request for privacy, and attempted to remain in the room.

Only after sustained escalation was a lactation room finally arranged. While management worked with her to equip the room appropriately, she felt that she should not have had to fight so hard for a basic workplace requirement. Even after the room was established, staff hostility continued. She was subjected to derogatory remarks about furniture being moved, assertions that the room was not private, and comments suggesting she was receiving special treatment.

Subsequent complaints by staff about her expressing milk escalated workplace tension further. She was denied access to correspondence about her conduct, became aware she was being timed while expressing milk, and felt increasingly targeted. Meetings intended to resolve matters instead left her feeling spoken over, unsupported, and deeply distressed. As a result of the ongoing stress, her mental wellbeing deteriorated, and she reported a noticeable impact on her milk supply. She remains deeply affected by how the situation was handled and hopes that future women will not be required to endure similar experiences.

PSA CPSU NSW Women’s Industrial Officer Simone Scalmer said employees have the right to express at work in a private, safe area.

“The Crown Employees Award says you are entitled to up to two paid lactation breaks of up to 30 minutes each per day or per shift for full-time employees or part-time employees working over four hours per day,” she said. “Part-time employees working four hours or less on a workday are entitled to one paid lactation break of up to 30 minutes.

“These breaks are not to be bundled in with any other rest or meal breaks members are entitled to, and apply to employees for breastfeeding, expressing milk or storing it.”