QBE is proud to be a founding partner of the National Work and Family Standards, and one of the first organisations in Australia to be certified as a Family Friendly Accredited Workplace since 2021.
Our purpose of enabling a more resilient future places people at its core. We are committed to a workplace culture of care where we invest in our people and provide access to a range of support pathways, enabling them to thrive at work and at home.
As a family friendly workplace, we appreciate that we’re all part of diverse family dynamics and we may take on a caring role or be cared for, at different life stages. Whether it’s supporting elderly family members, caring for a neurodivergent child, returning from parental leave or caring for someone living with a disability (just to name a few), we understand the importance of feeling supported and safe to speak up to seek help.
Launching in 2019, QBE led the way as the first general insurer in Australia and New Zealand to launch a gender-neutral parental leave policy, ‘Share the Care’. This Policy aims to make parenting, career breaks and flexible working, ‘business as usual’ for carers and working families at QBE.
Fast forward to 2024, we enhanced our Share the Care policy, by increasing paid parental leave to 18 weeks. This leave is accessible on a flexible basis up to 24 consecutive months from the date of the child’s birth or placement. In addition to increasing our offering, QBE also removed the qualifying period – meaning new employees can access paid parental leave from their very first day on the job. Employees also receive access to confidential external executive coaching help them navigate their transition back to work, following parental leave.
Our policy is inclusive of all families and recognises the unique circumstances our people face, including those who unfortunately experience pregnancy loss. All parents (including birth parents, partners and LGBTIQ+ families) who experience pregnancy loss also have access to leave to support their physical, mental and emotional recovery over a 24-month period.
Share the Care has been pivotal in changing the face and culture of caregiving for QBE employees. We’ve received an overwhelmingly positive response from our people – here’s a snapshot of some of their feedback:
“To be able to be there in those early months for my wife and daughter, more than what normally would have been the case, was such an incredible privilege. Even after taking full advantage of the Share the Care initiative, I still can’t believe how fortunate we are to have this fantastic opportunity.”
“Planning to return to work was challenging as there were so many moving pieces. What made me feel confident was the support of my manager who ensured I was across my flexible working arrangement options. It only took a couple of discussions to decide how we would approach things and this gave me the assurance that QBE would support me in my return to work. I am currently on a flexible work arrangement and this has meant I have been able to balance return to work and childcare with ease (or with as much ease as anything is with a 1-year-old!).”
“I can’t think of anything more rewarding than spending time with my kids. I’ve been fortunate to access Share the Care twice in my career at QBE. Both times I’ve taken short blocks combined with annual leave when my children were born, then, after a year, used the remaining leave flexibly (1 day a week). It’s a very generous benefit and really shows how progressive QBE is in its approach to walking the talk in being a family friendly workplace.”
Investing in and embedding family friendly practices delivers business value and helps boost QBE’s profile as a great place to work.
When employees feel valued and supported in their roles as parents and caregivers, they are likely to be more engaged, productive, and loyal. By providing a range of flexible and diverse support pathways, such as flexible work arrangements, parental leave, family wellbeing resources and Family and Domestic Violence support, we’re not only supporting our people across various life stages, but we’re also able to attract and retain top talent, boost engagement and foster trust, ultimately strengthening our inclusive culture where people feel respected and valued.
Meet Jo – General Manager and working parent
When Jo joined QBE in February 2025, she was not only navigating a new senior leadership role at a new organisation, but also a major life transition for her family — moving to a new house.
Given that Jo was a new starter, she had only accrued a limited leave balance. She initially planned to take unpaid leave, until she experienced first-hand QBE’s approach to being a flexible, family friendly workplace and the range of support measures in place for people to integrate their caring responsibilities.
QBE offers four days paid Life Leave, taken flexibly as a whole or half days. Thanks to the removal of service requirements on QBE’s Life Leave policy, Jo had access to this additional leave entitlement from her first day of employment, enabling her to retain annual leave for rest, recreation, and relaxation.
QBE employees like Jo can access Life Leave for a range of circumstances, such as attending a graduation ceremony, school event, moving to a new house, recognising fur family members, and family planning support and treatment options.
Jo also accessed Life Leave to attend the school swimming carnival and assembly for her children.
“It was great to have access to Life Leave and flexibility straight away when I started at QBE,” Jo said.
“From previous experience, I’ve had to try working remotely whilst attending school events, which is a real juggling act. QBE genuinely supports employees through life’s special moments, priorities, and stages, no matter what that looks like for each individual family.”
Jo’s experience demonstrated that flexibility and family-friendly workplace practices are embedded in the culture and role modelled from the top and is a testament to QBE’s sustained commitment to supporting its employees through various stages of their lives.
“At QBE, our people are central to our success. Embedding family friendly workplace practices is essential for the modern workplace, like ours, and critical to empowering our people to build resilience and thrive, both at home and work. As a family friendly accredited workplace, we aim to actively promote, normalise and mainstream caring in all its forms. Our approach extends far beyond a policy – it’s a sustained strategy driven by visible commitment, flexibility and access to practical support across diverse life stages. Flexibility of options and respecting individual family needs are not just the right thing to do, it makes business sense, with family friendly workplaces delivering positive outcomes for our communities, business, and our economy. The key to our approach is ensuring our people feel confident that they will be supported, knowing our response will be authentic and that their career won’t be disrupted or minimised.”
