FairworkOmbudsman
12 Apr 2023
Changes to the paid parental leave
What’s changing
From 1 July 2023, the current entitlement to 18 weeks’ paid parental leave pay will be combined with the current Dad and Partner Pay entitlement to 2 weeks’ pay. This means partnered couples will be able to claim up to 20 weeks’ paid parental leave between them. Parents who are single at the time of their claim can access the full 20 weeks.
These changes affect employees whose baby is born or placed in their care on or after 1 July 2023.
Other changes include:
allowing partnered employees to claim a maximum of 20 weeks’ pay between them, with each partner taking at least 2 weeks (except in some circumstances)
introducing a $350,000 family income limit (indexed annually from 1 July 2024) for claiming paid parental leave pay
expanding the eligibility rules for fathers or partners to claim paid parental leave pay
making the whole payment flexible so that eligible employees can claim it in multiple blocks until the child turns 2
removing the requirement to return to work to be eligible for the entitlement.
Services Australia is the government organisation that manages the paid parental leave scheme. For more information on the changes, visit Services Australia - Paid parental leave scheme changes.
We’ll update our website with more information closer to 1 July 2023.