Meeting residence rules

To be eligible for Parental Leave Pay you must meet the residence rules.

On the day you claim you must be living in Australia and also have one of the following:

You must also have met these residence rules on the day your child is born or adopted.

To keep getting your payment, you must continue to meet these residence rules.

When you need to wait

If you've recently arrived as a resident in Australia, you may need to wait 2 or 4 years to get this payment. You must have met the waiting period before your child’s birth or adoption to be able to claim Parental Leave Pay.

There are some exemptions to this. Read more about the newly arrived resident’s waiting period.

Page last updated: 17 March 2023.