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.
Parental Leave Pay helps eligible working parents take time off to care for a newborn or recently adopted child. If you need to provide Parental Leave Pay, we give you the funds to pass on to your employees. You should provide the funds in the same way you pay their salary or wages.
The scheme does all the following:
- complements other birth or adoption leave provided by employers
- recognises taking time off to care for a child is an important and usual course of life for parents
- promotes equality between men and women and balance between work and family life.
The scheme also helps you do all the following:
- retain valuable and skilled staff by encouraging them to stay connected with their workplace when they become parents
- enhance a family friendly workplace without you having to fund Parental Leave Pay
- increase long term workforce participation for new parents.
Learn more about your role in the Paid Parental Leave scheme.
Number of Parental Leave Pay days
The number of Parental Leave Pay days a family can get depends on when their child came into their care.
| Child’s date of birth or adoption is from | Maximum number of Parental Leave Pay days your family can get |
|---|---|
| 1 July 2023 - 30 June 2024 | 100 days, or 20 weeks based on a 5 day work week |
| 1 July 2024 - 30 June 2025 | 110 days, or 22 weeks based on a 5 day work week |
| 1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026 | 120 days, or 24 weeks based on a 5 day work week |
| 1 July 2026 onwards | 130 days, or 26 weeks based on a 5 day work week |
With approval from the birth mother, first adoptive parent or first gaining parent in a surrogacy arrangement, 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’re 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.
You only need to provide Parental Leave Pay once per child for each eligible employee. We’ll tell you the exact date you’ll need to provide Parental Leave Pay to your employee.
If your employee is a single parent, they can get all of the Parental Leave Pay days or choose to share some days with the other parent. Partnered parents will have some of their Parental Leave Pay days reserved for their partner or the other parent to claim. The number of days reserved for their partner or the other parent depends on when their child was born or came into their care. If their child was born or adopted:
- between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2025, 10 days are reserved
- between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026, 15 days are reserved
- after 1 July 2026, 20 days are reserved.
Parents can choose to take some Parental Leave Pay days at the same time. They can take either:
- up to 10 days at the same time for children born or adopted between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 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.
Paid Parental Leave Superannuation Contribution
If your employee’s child is born or adopted from 1 July 2025, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) 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 ATO website.