Who can get it

To get Dad and Partner Pay, you need to meet certain criteria.

To get Dad and Partner Pay you need to be caring for a newborn or recently adopted child who was born or entered your care before 1 July 2023. You must also be one of the following:

  • child’s biological father
  • partner of the birth mother
  • adoptive parent of the child
  • partner of an adoptive parent
  • person caring for a child born of a surrogacy arrangement.

In some circumstances, you may also be eligible if you’re either the:

  • partner of the biological father
  • partner of a new carer where care arrangements have changed, other than a foster care or permanent care arrangement.

You also need to meet all of the following:

If you have a newborn, you must have registered or applied to register their birth. You do this with your state or territory birth registry.

In cases of a stillbirth or infant death, you may be able to get one or both of these payments:

Not eligible

You can’t get Dad and Partner Pay for a child born or adopted from 1 July 2023. You also can’t get Dad and Partner Pay if you’re the birth mother of the child. Instead, you may be able to get either:

Page last updated: 27 March 2023.
QC 43101