Paid parental leave

Employees can get both parental leave pay from the Australian Government and also paid parental leave from their employer, if the employer chooses to do so.

Employees who get paid parental leave are still entitled to unpaid leave, if the employer chooses to do so.

Australian Government Paid Parental Leave Scheme

Eligible employees who are the primary carer of a newborn or adopted child get up to 18 weeks’ leave paid at the national minimum wage.

These payments are made to the employer first, who then pays them to the employee. These payments can be paid before, after or at the same time as other entitlements such as annual leave and long service leave.

Parental leave pay from the Australian Government doesn’t change paid parental leave from an employer – an employee can be paid both.

These payments do not affect or replace unpaid parental leave.

This scheme does not provide an entitlement to any additional parental leave.

Visit Centrelink – Paid Parental Leave Scheme for eligibility information and to make a claim for parental leave pay.

Dad and Partner pay

Eligible working dads and partners (including same-sex partners) get 2 weeks leave paid at the national minimum wage. These payments are made directly to the employee.

Visit Centrelink – Dad and Partner Pay for eligibility information and to make a claim for dad and partner pay

Record-keeping for paid parental leave

In addition to their usual record-keeping requirements, employers that have employees getting government-funded parental leave also have to keep the following records:

• the amount of parental leave pay funding received from the government for each employee and the period it covers
• the date each parental leave payment was made to the employee
• the period each payment covers
• the gross amount of the payment
• the net amount paid and the amount of income tax withheld (including other payments, if any, were made)
• a statement identifying the payment as parental leave pay under the Australian Government Paid Parental Leave Scheme
• the amount of any deductions made from each payment.

Pay slips for parental leave payments

Employees who get parental leave pay have to be given a pay slip for each payment. The pay slip must specify that the payments are parental leave pay under the Australian Government Paid Parental Leave Scheme.

Ordinary pay slip requirements apply to pay slips given to employees getting government-funded parental leave pay. They must also include:

• the gross and net amounts of parental leave pay and the amount of income tax deducted
• if there are other payments on the pay slip, this information must be included as well as the total gross, net and income tax amounts
• the amount of any deduction and the name and bank details of the entity the deduction was given to.

Only certain deductions can be made from parental leave payments under the Australian Government Paid Parental Leave Scheme. Visit Centrelink  for more information.

Employer-funded paid parental leave

Employers can provide for paid parental leave in registered agreements, employment contracts and workplace policies. The amount of leave and pay entitlements depends on the relevant registered agreement, contract or policy.

Employer-funded leave doesn’t affect an employee’s eligibility for the Australian Government’s Paid Parental Leave Scheme. An employee can be paid both.