Maternity Allowance Act 1912

A typed copy of the Maternity Allowance Act 1912 with the British coat of arms on the front page and the handwritten words ‘10th October 1912’. The final page has been signed by the ‘clerk assistant’ and by the Governor General. It is bound with a blue ribbon and a red wax seal.
A typed copy of the Maternity Allowance Act 1912 with the British coat of arms on the front page and the handwritten words ‘10th October 1912’. The final page has been signed by the ‘clerk assistant’ and by the Governor General. It is bound with a blue ribbon and a red wax seal.
A typed copy of the Maternity Allowance Act 1912 with the British coat of arms on the front page and the handwritten words ‘10th October 1912’. The final page has been signed by the ‘clerk assistant’ and by the Governor General. It is bound with a blue ribbon and a red wax seal.
A typed copy of the Maternity Allowance Act 1912 with the British coat of arms on the front page and the handwritten words ‘10th October 1912’. The final page has been signed by the ‘clerk assistant’ and by the Governor General. It is bound with a blue ribbon and a red wax seal.
A typed copy of the Maternity Allowance Act 1912 with the British coat of arms on the front page and the handwritten words ‘10th October 1912’. The final page has been signed by the ‘clerk assistant’ and by the Governor General. It is bound with a blue ribbon and a red wax seal.

About this record

The Maternity Allowance Act 1912 provided a payment of five pounds to new mothers—the equivalent of two weeks wages.

Mothers of Indigenous Australian, Asian, Pacific Islander or Papuan (including modern day Papua New Guinea) heritage were not eligible for this payment.

A maternity allowance was an election commitment of the Fisher Government, designed to lower infant mortality rates and to increase the white population of Australia. The allowance was intended to cover medical costs.

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