In short:
Jen Dainer abandoned her Army Reserve application when she reached a question about her period.
Asking about medical history is not necessarily discriminatory, but if an employer does not hire someone based on the information it can potentially be unlawful.
What’s next?
A Department of Defence spokesperson said the content of the questionnaire was being revised.
After more than a decade in commercial photography, Jen Dainer felt it was time to “give back” and apply for the Army Reserve.
The 45-year-old spent years documenting defence contractors and industrial clients in action and hoped to lend her skills as a part-time photographer.
But the medical questionnaire, required as part of the screening process, left her in a state of disbelief.
“You get to the point where one of the questions is, ‘when was the date of your last period?’,” Ms Dainer said.
“I was just shocked to see that question in 2024 on any kind of recruitment application.
“Asking someone the date of their last period is like asking a man what his sperm count is — how is it relevant to my job?”
The 14-page medical questionnaire is used to screen candidates for medical issues and to ensure they are able to undertake military service.
Questions relating to menstrual health have been included since 2001.
But for Ms Dainer, the question was so off-putting, she abandoned her application.
“I just didn’t have a good enough reason to continue because I just couldn’t understand why the information was relevant,” she said.
‘Problematic’ question
Maurice Blackburn employment lawyer Penny Parker said it was difficult to understand the relevance of a question about menstruation dates in a pre-employment context.
“It seems like a pretty problematic question to me,” Ms Parker said.
“Whilst the act of asking someone about their medical history isn’t necessarily discriminatory, if an employer makes the decision not to hire someone based on that information, that is potentially unlawful.
“It doesn’t seem to me to go to whether or not someone can perform the inherent requirements of a particular role.
“Whether or not someone is menstruating, or what the last day of their period was, seems to me to be more about whether or not they have the capacity to be pregnant, as opposed to whether or not they have a medical condition.
“Under the Sex Discrimination Act it is unlawful not to employ someone because they have the potential to get pregnant.”
Dr Sonia Davison, endocrinologist at the Jean Hailes Medical Centre, said requesting dates of a woman’s last menstrual cycle was an outdated process.
“I suspect [the question] was historical and was really just trying to fish out if there was someone who was pregnant and didn’t quite realise it.”
She said while it was important the army knew whether a potential recruit for a combat role was pregnant, the relevance was “questionable” for other jobs.
“We need to target our questionnaires to the job because, for example, a photographer might have very different health needs and requirements … compared with someone who’s on the front line and in a combat role.”
Many women don’t have a period due to contraceptive measures raising further concerns about the question’s relevance, she said.
Dr Davison said the question could also be used to discern if a recruit was menopausal.
She said a younger woman undergoing menopause had a “higher risk of having low bone density, cardiovascular disease, and increased mortality” — an important health consideration for a recruit.
University of Sydney Professor Elizabeth Hill, a leading researcher on gender equality and inclusion at work, said Australia had been a leader in workplace reproduction policy.
“The Victorian Women’s Trust piloted a menstrual leave policy in 2016, and that offered a template for innovation,” she said.
This year, the Queensland government introduced 10 days of paid reproductive leave, that also supported IVF and preventative cancer support.
“There are innovative policy settings to support women’s reproductive capacities, not only in menstruation, but also much broadly and including men’s reproductive capacities as well,” she said.
Defence commits to reviewing questionnaire
A spokesperson for the Department of Defence said the survey was used to help inform health professionals of a candidate’s medical status.
The ABC understands the question about periods is asked so medical professionals can assess whether a candidate might be pregnant, despite a separate question specifically relating to pregnancy.
Jan Wiltshire, Director General of Defence Force Recruiting and a Commodore of the Royal Australian Navy, recognised the medical questionnaire “may be outdated” and confirmed it was under review.
She said there were currently about 180 questions and she expected they would be reduced to approximately 30 in the revised questionnaire due to be released in October.
“I think Defence recognises that health standards have changed,” Commodore Wiltshire said.
“So we’re looking to contemporise our questions.”
Defence refused to be drawn on the medical reasons and relevance of menstrual periods.
“I won’t go into the medical reason that we ask those specific questions. But what I can assure you is that all candidates are stepped well through the recruitment process, so they make an informed decision to join the Australian Defence Force,” Commodore Wiltshire said.
The use of a pre-employment medical survey has prompted broader questions about Defence recruitment.
In 2012, then-sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick released her two-part review into the treatment of women in the ADF, and found it did not meet community expectations for women’s participation and experiences.
But despite progress over the last decade, women continue to be under-represented in the forces, making up about 20 per cent of permanent staff.
The ADF also failed to meet its recruitment target for women last year by nearly 50 per cent.
“We’ve come a long way since I joined sort of 37 years ago, there were times that I was the only female at sea,” Commodore Wiltshire said.
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