on this page
We understand circumstances can change and you need to change the number of Parental Leave Pay days your family share.
You can choose to change the number of Parental Leave Pay days you share with the other parent if you’re one of the following:
- birth mother
- first adoptive parent
- first gaining parent in a surrogacy.
You can also choose to increase or reduce the number of days you’re sharing. If a day has passed and the other parent has already been paid, that day cannot be changed.
If you decide to go back to work earlier than expected and your parter or the other parent takes time off to care for the child, you may choose to increase the number of days you share with them.
If you had a partner on the day you submitted your claim, a set number of days will be reserved. You can’t claim those days by reducing their days. If you reduce their days to below the reserved number, those days may be lost.
You can also follow the same steps using the myGov app or Centrelink Express Plus mobile app.
If you don’t have a myGov account or a Centrelink online account you’ll need to create them.
After you’ve done this, your partner will be able to see the new days in their Centrelink online account or myGov app. They don’t need to lodge a new claim.
Remove approval for your partner
You can remove approval for your partner or the other parent to claim Parental Leave Pay if you don’t want them to get any Parental Leave Pay. When you remove the approval, they won’t be able to get any more days. If they’ve already taken days, they won’t be able to take any days in the future, including any reserved days they had approval for.
If you remove approval from your partner or the other parent to claim the reserved days, the days will be lost. You are not able to claim these yourself, even if you separate from your partner.
If you decide to share days with them again in the future, they need to submit a new claim.
Change number of days
Follow these steps to change the number of days you share with your partner or other parent.
If your Centrelink online account is linked to myGov or you use the myGov app you can change your days online.
To do this:
- Select Parental Leave Pay Circumstances.
- Select Manage claimants and days shared.
- Complete all questions.
- Click Submit.
If you don’t have a myGov account or a Centrelink online account you’ll need to create them.
You can also follow the same steps using your Express Plus Centrelink mobile app.
After you have done this, your partner will be able to see the new days in their Centrelink online account or myGov app. They don’t need to lodge a new claim.
Examples of changing the number of days you share
To add more days
To increase the number of days, you add the new days to the existing days you have already shared.
For example, if you shared 20 days and you want to give them an additional 15 days, you need to change the shared days amount to 35.
To reduce days
To reduce the number of days, you need to change the number of days you previously shared to the new amount.
For example, if you shared 50 days and want to reduce to 30 days, you need to change the shared days amount to 30.