A recent petition calling for national statutory menstrual leave for people with endometriosis & adenomyosis has received approximately 22,000 signatures within its first week of being open.

Australians suffering from these conditions currently use up their annual or sick leave to take time away from work when in incurable pain.

Endometriosis is a chronic condition often left undiagnosed, that causes tissue to grow outside of the uterus. The condition affects one in seven Australian girls and women, causing symptoms including abdominal pain, heavy periods, and anxiety or depression related to the pain.

Petition organiser and founder of The Ovary Office, Zoe Kapolos spoke to Farrago about her complex endometriosis journey, which led to her working in women’s health and creating Petition EN9679.

Through her work, Kapolos has treated many patients who stress about acquiring medical certificates for leave related to reproductive health. Specifically, some fixate on providing evidence for their employers, not getting the right support at work, or even getting told they take too much time off.

“I had people coming to me and it just seemed like so many just didn’t have answers that they were hoping for,” Kopolos said.

However, Kapolos also shared some of the critical feedback she’s received about the petition, regarding its exclusivity to people who are either in the process of or have been diagnosed with endometriosis and adenomyosis.

“I’ve received feedback in relation to expanding [the petition] to more reproductive conditions, but also making it more accessible—because the hard thing about endometriosis and adenomyosis is that it’s so hard to diagnose,” Kapolos said.

The petition will be taking signatures over a four-week period up until April 29. As Kapolos went to the Australian government, they are obliged to provide her with a formal letter on their action in response to the petition, as well as the reasoning behind their decision.

“We’ve had some positive outcomes in regard to women’s health clinics being established all across Victoria and everything like that, but there is a big gap in reproductive pain and happening to work,” Kapolos stated.

Australian Unions are currently fighting for the Albanese Government to introduce ten days of paid reproductive health leave for all workers. On March 6, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) submitted a proposal into the National Employment Standards, requesting entitlement to reproductive health leave.

This proposal would allow all workers, regardless of gender, to gain access to up to ten days of paid leave to manage any reproductive health issue including, endometriosis pain, IVF and fertility treatment, miscarriage, vasectomy recovery, and prostate cancer screening.

ACTU Assistant Secretary, Liam O’Brien stated, “Early intervention saves lives. Right now, Australians are delaying screenings, pushing through pain, and working while unwell because they can’t afford to run down their leave balance”.

The ACTU’s proposal is extremely similar to the pre-existing Queensland law, which prescribes up to ten days of annual reproductive health leave for public sector employees.

Other governments around the world have already adopted similar initiatives. Japan was the first to introduce a menstrual leave policy in 1947. Spain, Indonesia, South Korea and Zambia followed suit.

Most recently, Nairobi introduced a policy in December 2025, that enables its county government employees to two days off of work every month to deal with menstruation pain, with no medical proof required.

“A lot of labour policies were written many years ago by men… Women’s rights are not anti-productivity—they are an input that creates productivity. It’s actually an investment in your workforce,” Governor of Nairobi County, Johnson Sakaja told The Associated Press.

The UK Government will be debating a petition similar to Petition EN9679 on April 13 (GMT), on introducing statutory menstrual leave for people with endometriosis and adenomyosis. This petition received approximately 110,000 signatures across a six-month period. However, the UK Government stated back in August 2025, that it has no intentions on introducing such leave and referred citizens to its employment rights reforms.

Farrago reached out to Minister for Women, Katy Gallagher MP, and Assistant Minister for Women, Rebecca White MP but received no response.

Image source: Atieno Muyuyi/Associated Press