FIFO FAMILY VOICES

evidence for the Select Committee on Women’s Health

FIFO families need to be part of the evidence

Only one peer-reviewed study has ever examined pregnancy in FIFO families. One.

Seventy-seven families. One region of WA. One peer-reviewed study. Data collected before 2012.

A Senate committee is examining women’s health, including pregnancy, birth and the period after birth. The committee is currently accepting submissions and will then write recommendations to government. It can only recommend what the evidence in front of it supports. That’s why we’re writing our submission for FIFO families.

Whether you were the parent flying out, the parent at home or the parent working FIFO while pregnant, this inquiry is about you.

Choose the survey that fits your experience

AT HOME PARENT

For you if you were pregnant, gave birth or parented a baby while your partner worked away on a FIFO roster.
This includes people who are currently pregnant and people sharing an experience from years ago.

AT HOME PARENT SURVEY
Share your experience here

FIFO PARENT

For you if you worked away on a FIFO roster while your partner was pregnant, gave birth or parented a baby. Your experience of being away, becoming a parent and accessing support matters too.

FIFO PARENT SURVEY
Share your experience here

PREGNANT FIFO PARENT

For you if you are currently pregnant while working FIFO, or worked a FIFO roster during a pregnancy.
There is no peer-reviewed research on what it is like to be pregnant while working a FIFO roster.

PREGNANT FIFO WORKER SURVEY
Share your experience here

What’s involved?

5 – 7 MINUTES TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY

We know you’re busy. The surveys are mostly multiple choice, optional questions and easy to complete on your phone. If you only have a spare 2 minutes, even just a few answers would be of great value for the submission.

OPTIONAL QUESTIONS & MULTIPLE CHOICE

Most questions are optional. Multiple choice options are quick to work through and have ‘other’ options, if you want to share more details. Skip any question you don’t want to answer or that does not apply.

ANONYMITY & CONFIDENTIALITY

You can choose to remain completely anonymous or have your story publicly quoted. Your choice entirely. Please do not include names of employers, worksites, hospitals or clinicians. These will be removed and de-identified before including in the submission.

one peer-reviewed study examined pregnancy in FIFO families

What the research has missed

The only study on FIFO families and pregnancy looked at 77 families in WA, at one point in pregnancy.

It did not examine birth, the months after birth, infant wellbeing, getting home from site, going back to work or what happens when a FIFO family needs care.

That is why lived experience matters here. Your story can show what the research has not yet asked.

RESEARCH SNAPSHOT

19 studies examined FIFO or rotation-work families.
1 study examined pregnancy.
0 studies examined birth, postnatal mental health or the transition to new parenthood in FIFO families.

SOURCES
Asare, B.Y.-A., Powell, D., Robinson, S., & Kwasnicka, D. (2023/2025). Rotation work in the resources sector: a systematic review of the impact on workers’ families. Psychology & Health, 40(1), 17–46.

Cooke, D.C., Kendall, G., Li, J., & Dockery, M. (2019). Association between pregnant women’s experience of stress and partners’ fly-in-fly-out work. Women and Birth, 32(4), e450–e458.

One FIFO study examined pregnancy. None examined birth, postnatal mental health or new parenthood.

evidence for the Select Committee on Women’s Health

Why your experience matters

One person’s experience can show a gap. Enough people naming the same gap can change what is recognised.

Research has examined FIFO partners and children but pregnancy and perinatal health has been almost completely missed.

The appointment that did not fit around a roster, the time spent parenting alone or the support that did not account for FIFO life, can all show where pregnancy and early-parenting systems are missing people.

If FIFO families do not contribute, the committee will still make recommendations. It will just make them from the evidence it already has available – which doesn’t include us.

Choose the survey that fits your experience

AT HOME PARENT

For you if you were pregnant, gave birth or parented a baby while your partner worked away on a FIFO roster.
This includes people who are currently pregnant and people sharing an experience from years ago.

AT HOME PARENT SURVEY
Share your experience here

FIFO PARENT

For you if you worked away on a FIFO roster while your partner was pregnant, gave birth or parented a baby. Your experience of being away, becoming a parent and accessing support matters too.

FIFO PARENT SURVEY
Share your experience here

PREGNANT FIFO PARENT

For you if you are currently pregnant while working FIFO, or worked a FIFO roster during a pregnancy.
There is no peer-reviewed research on what it is like to be pregnant while working a FIFO roster.

PREGNANT FIFO WORKER SURVEY
Share your experience here

privacy and consent

your story, your choice

You can choose to remain completely anonymous or have your story publicly quoted. Your choice entirely.

Please do not include names of people, employers, worksites, hospitals or clinicians.

We will remove identifying details before using responses in our submission. At the end of the survey, you decide whether we may quote you by full name, first name and region, anonymously or not at all.

Senate submissions may be published online and remain accessible for years. You will see this again before you submit your survey.

frequently asked questions

You can take part if you are 18 or over and pregnancy, birth or early parenting happened alongside FIFO work. Choose the survey that best matches your experience.

No. Most questions are optional or multiple choice. Skip anything that does not apply or that you would prefer not to answer.

Yes. The inquiry is examining women’s health, including pregnancy, birth and the period after birth. But FIFO pregnancy and early-parenting experiences do not sit with one person alone. If you are a FIFO parent whose partner was pregnant or gave birth, you can complete the FIFO Parent survey. If you were at home while your partner worked FIFO, you can complete the At-home Parent survey. If you worked FIFO while pregnant, there is a separate survey for that experience. All voices and experiences are welcome here.

Because pregnancy, birth and early parenthood have barely been studied in FIFO families. A systematic review found 19 studies on FIFO or rotation-work families. Only one examined pregnancy and it included 77 WA families at one point, 18 weeks into pregnancy. It did not examine birth, the period after birth, infant wellbeing or early parenthood. The survey cannot replace long-term research but it can make the gaps visible to the Senate committee now, sharing the experiences of people who have lived them.

Only if you choose to give permission to be quoted by name. You can choose to be quoted anonymously, by first name and region or not quoted at all. Remaining anonymous is completely your choice.

one peer-reviewed study examined pregnancy in FIFO families

Need support now?

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 000.

If completing this survey brings up difficult feelings, you can pause at any time. Support is available through the following services:

  • PANDA: 1300 726 306
  • Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467
  • Lifeline: 13 11 14
  • Red Nose Grief and Loss Support Line: 1300 308 307
  • Miracle Babies Foundation: 1300 622 243
  • Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636
  • MensLine Australia: 1300 789 978
  • 13YARN: 13 92 76
  • Kids Helpline: 1800 551 800
  • Headspace: 1800 650 890
  • 1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732