Changes to the Parental Leave Scheme

In July 2023, the rules relating to the Government’s Paid Parental Leave Scheme changed for Australian employees, extending entitlements for fathers and partners and creating more flexibility for parental leave payments.

What has changed?

• Partnered employees can claim a maximum of 20 weeks’ pay between them, with each partner taking at least 2 weeks. This means that partnered parents can share the entitlement between them. Single parents will be entitled to the full 20 weeks.
• The eligibility rules for fathers or partners to claim paid parental leave pay have been expanded. Paid parental leave claims will no longer require the primary claimant to be the birth parent, giving parents the freedom to choose who will take their leave first.
• The payment for parental leave has become more flexible, allowing eligible employees to claim it in multiple blocks, as small as one day at a time, until their child reaches the age of 2. The number of flexible parental leave days parents can take was previously 30 days and is now up to 100 days over a 24-month period.
• Pregnant employees and primary adoptive parents can now access parental leave days up to 6 weeks before their expected due date, providing them with additional time to prepare for the arrival of their child.
• “Keeping in Touch” provisions no longer apply

What does this mean for Employers?

As an employer, you play an important role in the Paid Parental Leave scheme. Your employee may approach you about taking this leave, specifically how they wish to take it. Employers should be aware and anticipate that Paid Parental Leave can now be taken more flexibly and potentially spread out over a 2-year period following the child’s birth. If you haven’t already done so, it is highly recommended that employers review their parental leave policies that refer to the Government-funded scheme and practices to ensure compliance with these changes from 1 July 2023. Employees should be encouraged to visit the Services Australia website, where they can find information about their eligibility, entitlements, and options under the Paid Parental Leave scheme changes. If you would like further information about creating a best practice Parental Leave Policy or how to effectively navigate these changes, please contact the Perks People Solutions team.

Cecilia White( Director, HR Consulting )

With a background in legal practice, Cecilia has developed strong technical expertise in all matters relating to workplace law, including awards, contracts, disciplinary matters, investigations, equal opportunity and HR policy development. Her legal background is combined with her expertise across all areas of HR management and strategy, as well as significant experience in delivering workplace training.

Cecilia is also an experienced and nationally accredited mediator, specialising in workplace mediation.

With a proven ability to provide advice that is both technically sound and commercially pragmatic, Cecilia’s focus is to develop strong partnerships with clients and work with them to manage risk and liability, ensure compliance, optimise performance and achieve positive outcomes for their organisation, however large or small. She strongly believes that prevention is better than the cure and that strong policies and contracts, early intervention and excellent communication are critical to ensuring effective people management.