In Australia, the employee can get 18 weeks of paternal leave which is based on the weekly rate of the national minimum wage, but since 1 July 2023 Paid Parental Leave will change.
If the employee’s child’s birth or entry into your care is on or after this date, this will affect the employee leave, the Government of Australia has committed to expanding Paid Parental Leave which combines Dad and Partner Pay to 20 weeks, and that’s not it, besides this change Australia expects to increase the length of this benefit to 26 weeks by 2026.
What’s the difference between Maternity, paternity, and parental leave?
Female workers that gave birth to their first baby are entitled to maternity leave in which they can recover and spend time with their baby; paternity leave is for new parents around the same time and after these two benefits end, parental leave provides gender-neutral leave for parents to care for small children.
Read more: INFLATION AND ITS CONSEQUENCES IN LATIN AMERICA’S MINIMUM WAGES
Main changes
The Bill delivers five key changes according to the Hon Amanda Rishworth MP for the department of social services of Australia:
- reserving two weeks of the scheme for each parent to support them both to take time off work after birth or adoption
- simplifying the claims process by removing the categories of ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ carers so it’s easier for parents to access the payment
- expanding access by introducing a $350,000 family income test, under which people (including single parents) may qualify if they do not meet the $156,647 individual income test
- increasing flexibility for parents to choose how they take paid parental leave days and transition back to work
- allowing eligible fathers and partners to access the payment irrespective of whether the mother or birth parent meets the income test or residency requirements
This is the largest expansion since Labor established the scheme in 2011.
This tries to motivate parents so that both can enjoy this benefit, in case the employee is a single parent also can make full use of this benefit.
To keep in mind…
- From 1 July 2022, the rate of Parental Leave Pay is $812.45 per week, before tax. (Service Australia)
- Employees can get Parental Leave Pay (PLP) from the Australian Government and paid parental leave from their employer.
Read more: VIRTUAL WORK: BENEFITS AND ISSUES TO SOLVE
Read more: JULIANA BUSTOS: “EMPLOYER OF RECORD (EOR) BRINGS A HUGE OPPORTUNITY WITH LITTLE MONEY AND TIME.”