NEW CHANGES TO PAID PARENTAL LEAVE OFFERING FLEXIBILITY AND SUPPORTING GENDER EQUALITY.
March 24, 2023On Monday 6th March the Senate passed the Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Improvement for Families and Gender Equality) Bill 2022. The changes to paid parental leave (PPL) will commence from July 2023, allowing working parents a flexible 20-week entitlement, giving more families access to the payments and greater flexibility in how and when they choose to take leave. Single parent entitlements will go up from the current 18 weeks to 20.
Another change to the legislation is that the primary PPL claimant will no longer have to be the birth parent giving parents the option to decide who will claim PPL first. In last week’s media release, Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth emphasized that improving Paid Parental Leave is essential for the wellbeing of parents and children, and the new changes would support gender equality in Australian Families.
The change also supports and encourages women going back to work soon after giving birth or adopting, allowing dads or partners to stay home with their baby by dividing the 20 weeks’ pay between them. Parents can now choose to take their PPL in different blocks, even using only one day at a time in between working days within 2 years from the date of birth or adoption.
In last year’s 2022-23 October budget the Australian Government announced it would be investing $531.6 million into the Paid Parental Leave scheme over the 4 year period and increasing the leave to 26 weeks by 2026. The aim of the scheme is to lower financial burden and stress so parents can enjoy more time at home with their baby.
Are you being paid the correct entitlements? Have your leave requests been refused unreasonably?
If you have any questions about leave entitlements or any other workplace matter please give us a call today on 9301 0850
