Paid and unpaid parental leave – things to consider

How do I plan my leave?

When planning parental leave, there are some things you should do before your baby’s due date, or as soon as possible if you are adopting a child.

Check your leave entitlements

To check how much paid or unpaid leave you are entitled to, check the Fair Work Ombudsman website.

If you are taking paid parental leave or unpaid leave, you can also receive other employee-funded entitlements at the same time, like:

• annual leave
• long service leave

Consider your financial situation

In Australia, after giving birth, around 2 in 5 people go back to work when their baby is 7 months or older.

How much leave you decide to take will depend on your situation.

When deciding how much time to take off when having a baby:

• consider how you will manage any debts or other financial commitments
• plan a budget to help you with the financial changes that come with a new child

ASIC’s Moneysmart Budget Planner can help you calculate how to budget your income when you are planning your parental leave.

Check childcare options

Before planning your leave, it is a good idea to check childcare options in your area. You can do this at StartingBlocks.gov.au and use their Find Child Care tool.

Talk to your employer

You must give your employer at least 10 weeks written notice before starting your unpaid parental leave. You must also confirm the dates of your leave 4 weeks before the leave starts.

Check if you are eligible for any Australian Government payments

You may be eligible for Parental Leave Pay.

To be eligible for parental leave pay, you must:

• be on leave or not working while you receive the payment
• earn under a certain limit
• be an Australian resident
• have worked for 10 of the 13 months before your child’s birth or adoption, working for a minimum number of hours per week

The amount of income you can earn to meet the income test, and work you must do to meet the work test will differ depending on:

• if your child was born or adopted before 1 July 2023
• if your child was born or adopted after 1 July 2023

Leave pay before 1 July 2023

If your child was born or adopted before 1 July 2023, you may be eligible for:

• Parental Leave Pay for up to for up to 18 weeks
• Dad and Partner pay for up to 2 weeks

Parental leave pay

Parental leave pay is an Australian government payment paid at the national minimum wage.

You are entitled to Parental Leave Pay from the Australian Government if you are:

• the parent who gave birth to a newborn child
• the adoptive parent of a child
• another person caring for a child under exceptional circumstances

You will also need to meet some other conditions, including that you:

• you must be the primary carer of the child

Visit the Services Australia website to see more about eligibility requirements for Parental Leave Pay before 1 July 2023.

Dad and partner pay

Working fathers and partners (including same-sex partners) may be eligible for 2 weeks of leave paid at the minimum wage.

You are eligible for Dad and Partner Pay if you are:

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

You must also be caring for the child every day during the time you get Dad and Partner Pay.

Visit the Services Australia website to see more about eligibility requirements for Dad and Partner Pay.

Leave pay after 1 July 2023

If your child was born or adopted after 1 July 2023, you may be eligible for the updated combined parental leave payment. This payment is for up to 100 days, or 20 weeks, while you care for your new child.

You are eligible if you are:

• the child’s biological or adoptive parent
• a partner to the child’s biological or adoptive parent
• the person caring for a child born from surrogacy

Visit the Services Australia website to see more about eligibility requirements for parental leave after 1 July 2023.

Employer-funded paid parental leave

You may also be entitled to paid parental leave from your employer depending on your:

• award
• agreement
• contract
• workplace policy

The amount paid by your employer will depend on your arrangements with them.

Unpaid leave

Unpaid parental leave applies to employees who:

• will have responsibility to care for a child
• have worked for your employer for at least 12 months before your baby is born or the date of the adoption

This also applies to casual employees, as long as you would have been likely to continue regular work if not for the birth or adoption of their child.

By law, you are entitled to up to 12 months of unpaid parental leave. You can also request an additional 12 months of leave. Your total leave cannot be for more than 24 months.

You can use 100 of your total leave days flexibly. The rest of your leave must be taken a single continuous period.

You can take unpaid parental leave if you are an employee who:

• gives birth
• has a spouse or de facto partner who gives birth
• adopts a child under 16 years of age

Pre-adoption leave

If you are taking unpaid parental leave to care for an adopted child, you may also be entitled to an additional 2 days of unpaid leave to attend interviews.

You are entitled to this leave no matter how long you have worked for your employer.

Your employer may ask you to use other leave, such as annual leave, before using these two days of leave.

Another child

If you are having another child, you don’t have to work for another 12 months before you can take unpaid parental leave with the same employer.

You will have to work for 12 months if you start work with a new employer.

Stillbirth or loss of an infant

Parents who experience a stillbirth or the death of an infant during the first 24 months of life can also take unpaid parental leave.

How do I claim and access leave payments?

Start the claim process from 3 months before your baby is born or adopted through Centrelink. You can log on to your Centrelink account through the MyGov website.

The Government will usually make parental leave payments to the employer first, who then pays the employee. However, you can choose to receive the payment directly from the Government.

Am I eligible for any other Australian government payments?

Check if you are eligible for other payments:

• Family Tax Benefit
• Parenting Payment
• Newborn Upfront Payment and Newborn Supplement

Can I work while on leave?

You are not eligible to receive Parental Leave Pay if you return to work before the end of the leave period.

If you run your own business, you cannot work while you are receiving the payment. You can perform basic tasks to keep your business operational, such as

• paying bills
• organising repairs
• maintaining basic contact with clients

For more information on activities that do not count as work, please visit the Services Australia website.

Keeping in touch days

You may keep in touch with your employer, so it is easier for you to transition back to work. This might involve actually performing work for your employer.

You can have 10 of these days per every 12 months in which you are receiving the payment.

What about going back to work?

When returning to work after parental leave, you are entitled to the same position you had before your leave.

When you return to work, you can speak to your employer about:

• working fewer hours than you did before
• flexible working arrangements

This means you can earn money but still spend time with your baby.

After taking your parental leave, you can discuss how you can balance your caring responsibilities with work with:

• your partner
• your employer

If you decide to go back to work, one option is for your partner to take leave and stay at home with the baby. Once their leave is exhausted, your leave can start, and they can return to work.

There is no right time to return to work. It’s your decision and can depend on many factors, including:

• the type of work you do
• your family arrangements
• your child’s needs

Resources and support

For more information on parental leave, you can visit:

• Fair Work Ombudsman
• Services Australia

You can also read about being a new parent.