Section 107 of the Lukautim Pikinini Act 2015 deals with the cost of childbirth.
Where a court issues a maintenance order under section 108, the Court may order the defendant to pay for confinement expenses at a sum not exceeding K5,000.00 in cash or in kind.
Section 2 — the definition
(a) the expenses of the maintenance of the mother during the period of one month immediately before the birth; and
(b) reasonable medical and nursing expenses attendant on the mother during the period of one month before the birth and during the period of three months after the birth; and
(c) the expenses of the maintenance of the mother and child during the period of three months immediately after the birth.
| Component | Period | Who is covered |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance of the mother | One month before the birth | Mother |
| Medical and nursing expenses | One month before and three months after | Mother |
| Maintenance | Three months after the birth | Mother and child |
The definition covers the period from one month before the birth to three months after it — the time when a mother cannot work and the costs are heaviest.
Note that paragraph (c) covers the maintenance of the mother and child, while paragraphs (a) and (b) cover the mother alone. Before the birth, there is no child to maintain.
Medical and nursing expenses must be reasonable. The other two components are not qualified in the same way, but the whole is capped.
“A sum not exceeding K5,000.00”
K5,000 is the maximum. What is ordered is a matter for the Court, on evidence of what was actually spent or reasonably incurred.
The order is discretionary — the Court may order payment. Section 107 operates only where the Court is already issuing a maintenance order under section 108, so it is made alongside the ongoing maintenance rather than on its own.
The same phrase appears in sections 108(1) and 109, and it is realistic about how obligations are discharged in much of Papua New Guinea.
Payment in kind may be food, garden produce, building materials, transport to a health centre, or direct payment of a hospital account. A defendant with little cash income can still meet the order.
Who may seek confinement expenses
Because section 107 attaches to a section 108 maintenance order, the complainants are those identified in section 106(1):
(a) the mother; (b) the Director; (c) a person authorised in writing by the Director; (d) an affected person by leave of the Court.
Section 112 provides that, notwithstanding anything in a law, a proceeding under this Part shall not be commenced after the child attains 18 years of age.
In practice confinement expenses should be claimed with the first maintenance complaint. They relate to a four-month window around the birth, and the evidence — hospital accounts, receipts, witnesses to what was spent — does not improve with time.
Where paternity is disputed, section 92 requires corroboration of the material particular as to paternity or maternity before a summons will issue.
Where section 107 sits
Section 108 — the ongoing maintenance order, which also includes an order for the medical and educational expenses of the child.
Section 111 — funeral expenses: where a child dies, the Court may order a person admitting himself or adjudged to be the father or mother to pay such sum as the Court thinks reasonable towards the funeral.
Section 83 — a pregnant woman shall be protected at all times until the delivery of her child, and endangering her, the unborn child or the pregnancy is an offence.
Section 8(1) — the duty of a parent to maintain the child, giving the child the right to adequate nutrition, immunisation, clothing, shelter, education and guidance, and medical attention.
Section 107 gives practical effect to Basic Social Obligation (h) of the Constitution, which places an equal obligation on parents to support their children. The costs of birth fall entirely on the mother in the first instance; section 107 allows the Court to shift a share of them to the other parent, and sections 111 and 83 complete the picture for the beginning and end of a child’s life.
Sources
- Lukautim Pikinini Act 2015 — ss 2, 8, 83, 92, 105–112
- Constitution — Basic Social Obligation (h)
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the Marriage Act (Chapter 280) and check for later amendments. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.