Australian government to trial ‘living donor paid-leave’ scheme

Australian government to trial ‘living donor paid-leave’ scheme

Submitted by Dinesh Chandra Gaur on Sun, 04/07/2013 - 06:39 Health TNM Australia

In an attempt to ensure that the waiting list for life-saving organs are reduced, the Australian government is set to trial a new scheme in which workers who want to donate kidneys will be offered paid leave for up to six weeks.

With the scheme, which will be reviewed in 2015, evidently implying that a six-week salary on the minimum wage will be paid to workers keen on donating their kidneys, a $606-per-week payment will be made to the workers, so that the burden of medical costs can be reduced.

Revealing that the Federal Government will put up $1.3 million during the period of the two-year trial, Health Minister Tanya Plibersek said that the decision to trial the scheme of paid leave to workers who donate kidneys is an outcome of the efforts of medical and organ donation groups that have long been arguing that the government needs to implement a ‘living donor paid-leave’ scheme to reduce the waiting list for life-saving organs.

Noting that living donors will be paid six weeks on minimum wage, Plibersek said that the amount - which will total up to nearly $3600 – will help the donors in bearing the financial costs involved before and after the major surgery.

Expressing the hope that employers will adopt leave policies for living organ donors, Plibersek said in a statement on Sunday: "Living donors make an incredibly generous gift, and the Gillard government believes this act of kindness should be recognised and supported.”

http://topnews.net.nz/content/227139-australian-government-trial-living-donor-paid-leave-scheme