Summary

In Australia, the Paid Parental Leave (PPL) scheme provides financial support for eligible parents. This helps them take time off work to care for a newborn or recently adopted child.

Parental Leave Pay is a payment available to families under the Paid Parental Leave scheme, it is taxable and paid at the rate of the National Minimum Wage

is a taxable entitlement for working parents of children born or adopted from 1 July 2011. Eligible working parents can receive 18 weeks of government-provided PPL at the national minimum wage rate. Full-time, part-time, casual, seasonal, contract and self-employed workers may be eligible to receive PPL.

Entitlement

From 1 July 2023, the number of Parental Leave Pay days a family can get depends on when their child came into their care. For a child born or adopted from:

• 1 July 2023, parents can get up to 100 days, or 20 weeks based on a 5 day work week
• 1 July 2024, parents can get up to 110 days, or 22 weeks based on a 5 day work week
• 1 July 2025, parents can get up to 120 days, or 24 weeks based on a 5 day work week
• 1 July 2026, parents can get up to 130 days, or 26 weeks based on a 5 day work week.

With the birth mother or adoptive parent’s approval, any parent can claim Parental Leave Pay. They can work before or after any periods of Parental Leave Pay. They can use it on days they’re not working, including weekdays, weekends, holidays or any time they’re on leave from work. There are some exceptions if your employee works for allowable reasons on days they are getting Parental Leave Pay.

Employees can take Parental Leave Pay before, after or at the same time as paid or unpaid leave.

Employees may also be eligible for Parental Leave Pay if they’ve stopped working due to special circumstances. You can read more about exceptions to the work test for Parental Leave Pay.

Parents can share their days and take:

• up to 10 days at the same time for children born or adopted before 1 July 2025
• up to 20 days at the same time for children born or adopted after 1 July 2025.

These are available as part of the maximum number of days of Parental Leave Pay available to families. They can get Parental Leave Pay as any of the following:

• a single block
• multiple smaller blocks
• single days
• a combination of smaller blocks and single days

PPL Superannuation Contributions

If your employee’s child is born or adopted from 1 July 2025 the Australian Taxation Office will pay them a superannuation contribution. You don’t need to calculate or pay the superannuation contribution. This will be paid directly to your employee’s superannuation fund after the relevant financial year has ended, starting from July 2026.

Read more about the Paid Parental Leave Superannuation Contribution on the Australian Taxation Office website.

Eligibility

As an employer, you must provide Parental Leave Pay to an eligible employee who meets all of the following:

• has a newborn or recently adopted child
• has worked for you for at least 12 months before the expected date of birth or adoption
• expects to get a block of at least 8 weeks of Parental Leave Pay within one year of the child’s birth or adoption
• will be your employee until at least the last day of the block of Parental Leave Pay you’ll deliver
• will be returning to your employment after their leave ends
• lives in Australia.

You only need to provide Parental Leave Pay once per child for each employee who meets all of these conditions. Services Australia tell you the exact date you’ll need to provide Parental Leave Pay to your employee.

For employees with a child born from 1 July 2023, the block of at least 8 weeks must meet all of the following additional criteria:

• be made up of consecutive weekdays, Monday to Friday with no breaks
• not contain any weekends
• be the first payment of Parental Leave Pay for this child.

Your employee may decide to get their Parental Leave Pay in multiple blocks. Services Australia only ask you to provide their first block of payments. Services Australia provide any subsequent blocks of payment to them directly.

Your employee’s block of Parental Leave Pay may change depending on their circumstances. In some cases, you may be required to provide Parental Leave Pay to your employee for less than 8 weeks. Services Australia continue to tell you the exact dates that you’ll need to deliver Parental Leave Pay to your employee.

Conditions

Government-provided PPL has the following conditions:

1. Employees can receive PPL before, after or at the same time as other paid leave, such as annual leave and employer-provided parental leave.
2. Employees cannot receive PPL while they are working or after they return to work.
3. Employees can receive PPL for a maximum of 18 weeks, and it must be taken in a continuous period. However, the payment period can be split between parents. For example, the mother can take 9 weeks and then the father can take 9 weeks.
4. Employees receiving PPL do not receive superannuation payments or annual leave accruals on the government-provided PPL payments. However, some employers may decide to continue payments or accruals.
5. Employees receiving PPL can ‘keep in touch’ with their workplace under the terms of the 'keeping in touch' provision.

Employer Obligations

When an employee is receiving government-provided PPL, their employer must:

1. Pay the employee at the same frequency as they are normally paid, such as weekly or fortnightly.
2. Apply the pay the rate set by Services Australia
3. Withhold PAYG and any other amounts from the payment as necessary.
4. Provide the employee with a record of their payments, such as a payslip.

Further information

For more information go to the Services Australia website:

www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/parental-leave-pay