The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) has announced extensions to its parental leave policy and the introduction of gender affirmation leave for its employees.

The changes allow AFCA employees to spread their family leave across two years, with paid entitlements increasing to 16 weeks and the removal of primary and secondary caregiver provisions to enable new parents to afford time with their family.

Employees will also be allotted five days of paid leave in the event of an early pregnancy loss and up to eight weeks of paid leave for gender affirmation support. AFCA says contribution to employee superannuation will continue during the paid time off.

The amendments follow in the footsteps of expansion policies introduced by major insurers, including Suncorp, Allianz, and Zurich, in recent years.

AFCA COO Justin Untersteiner says he is proud of the changes made by the regulator to aid its employees during critical periods in their lives.

“These changes support our ongoing commitment to flexible working and equality and they are great examples of AFCA’s culture of putting people at the centre of everything we do and living our commitment to inclusion,” Mr Untersteiner said.