Parental leave rights in Australia

This page is a plain-English walk-through, sourced from Services Australia, the Fair Work Ombudsman, and the Australian Taxation Office. We update it regularly to refelct rule changes. See the sources section for the full list.

Overview

Eligible families can claim up to 26 weeks (130 days) of Parental Leave Pay for a child born or adopted before 1 July 2026, paid by Services Australia at the national minimum wage. Couples share the entitlement: the most one parent can take is 22 weeks (110 days), and 4 weeks (20 days) are reserved for the other parent. For a child born or adopted between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026, the total is 24 weeks (120 days), with 21 weeks (105 days) for one parent and 3 weeks (15 days) reserved for the other.

How much you’ll get paid

Parental Leave Pay is paid at the national minimum wage. As at 1 July 2026, that’s $200.94 a day, or $1,004.70 per week before tax (calculated on a 5-day work week). The rate normally updates each 1 July, so if your leave spans two financial years, you may be paid at two different rates. You’ll receive the rate that applies on the day or days you’re claiming for.

How to claim and when

You can claim with Services Australia up to three months before your due date or adoption placement. Lodge your claim through your myGov account linked to Centrelink. You can take your days flexibly within two years of the birth or adoption — all at once, in blocks, or one day at a time.

Sharing PPL with your partner

You can:

• Take days at the same time (up to 10 days together)
• Take days at the same time (up to 20 days together for a child born or adopted from 1 July 2025, or up to 10 days together for a child born earlier)
• Take days in blocks separated by paid work

Single parents can claim the full 24 weeks (120 days) themselves.

Super on government PPL (new)

For children born or adopted on or after 1 July 2025, the ATO pays a Paid Parental Leave Superannuation Contribution of 12% of your Parental Leave Pay into your nominated super fund. It’s paid as a lump sum after the end of the financial year, with the first payments going out from July 2026. The contribution is taxed at 15% in your fund and counts toward your concessional contributions cap.

03 — Your legal minimum

Unpaid parental leave under the National Employment Standards

Overview

Every eligible employee in Australia can take up to 12 months of unpaid parental leave under the National Employment Standards — and request another 12 months in writing. This applies to birth parents, partners, and parents adopting a child under 16.

Who’s eligible

You’re eligible for unpaid parental leave under the NES if you’ve been with your employer for at least 12 months of continuous service before the expected birth or adoption. Casuals can qualify if they’ve been working on a regular and systematic basis with a reasonable expectation of ongoing work.

When you can take it

• Pregnant employees can start leave up to six weeks before the due date — or earlier if your employer agrees
• Partners and non-birth parents start from the date of birth or placement
• You can take leave as one continuous block, flexibly across two years, or a combination
• Both parents can take leave at the same time if they choose

Flexible unpaid parental leave

You can break up part of your unpaid leave into up to 130 days of flexible days for a child born or adopted from 1 July 2026 (120 days for a child born between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026), taken any time within two years of the birth or adoption. Use them as a single day, a few days a week, or longer blocks.

Extending past 12 months

After your initial leave, you can ask in writing for another 12 months — taking your total to 24. Your employer must respond in writing within 21 days, and can only refuse on reasonable business grounds. If they refuse, they have to explain why.

Adoption

Adoptive parents get the same unpaid parental leave rights when the child is under 16. You can also take up to two days of unpaid pre-adoption leave for interviews, examinations, or assessments.

Notice you need to give

• 10 weeks written notice (or as soon as practicable), including expected start and end dates
• 4 weeks before leave starts, confirm or update those dates
• Your employer may ask for a medical certificate (for pregnancy) or a statutory declaration

Overview

Many Australian employers offer their own paid parental leave on top of the government scheme — but this is not legally required and the amount, eligibility, and structure vary widely. This is often the biggest variable between workplaces, so it’s worth comparing before you accept a role.

How employer leave stacks with government PPL

You can usually receive both government Parental Leave Pay and your employer’s paid parental leave. They’re separate entitlements. How they interact depends on your employer’s policy:

• Concurrent. Your employer pays you while you also receive PPL, so you get both at once
• Sequential. The employer pays you before or after the government period
• Top-up. The employer makes up the difference so you receive your full salary while on PPL

Always check the wording. Confirm with HR or payroll before you take leave.

Common employer policy conditions

Each employer sets its own rules. Common conditions include:

• A minimum service period (often 6–12 months)
• A return-to-work commitment (typically 6 months back)
• Eligibility regardless of which parent is the primary carer (a sign of a progressive policy)
• Super contributions on the paid period

Keeping in Touch (KIT) days

You can work up to 10 paid days during unpaid parental leave without your leave ending or your entitlements being affected. If you extend leave beyond 12 months, you get another 10 (20 total). KIT days can only happen at least 42 days after the birth or placement, unless you ask earlier. They’re useful for training, project handovers, or easing back gradually.

Your continuous service keeps building

Time on unpaid parental leave counts toward continuous service for almost every entitlement except annual leave and personal/carer’s leave. That means it still counts toward redundancy, long service leave, and your next round of unpaid leave eligibility.

Communication while you’re away

Your employer must keep you informed of any decision that would have a significant effect on the status, pay, or location of your role. This includes restructures, mergers, or major team changes. They’re required to consult you in a meaningful way.

06 — If you’re pregnant

Extra entitlements during pregnancy

Overview

If your job poses a risk to your pregnancy, your employer must transfer you to a safe job at your full rate of pay. If no safe job is available and you’re eligible for unpaid parental leave, you can take paid “no safe job leave” at your base rate for the duration of the risk.

How safe job rules work

If your usual role isn’t appropriate during pregnancy — heavy lifting, exposure to chemicals, working with infectious diseases, long periods of standing — your employer must:

• Offer a safe job with the same ordinary hours and full rate of pay
• Or, if no safe job exists, give you paid no-safe-job leave at your base rate for the risk period

You’ll likely need a medical certificate. These protections apply to all pregnant employees, including casuals — though the paid version of no-safe-job leave requires unpaid parental leave eligibility.

Unpaid special parental leave

If a pregnancy-related illness or injury means you can’t work, or if you have a miscarriage after 12 weeks (where the baby is not stillborn), you can take unpaid special parental leave for the period your doctor advises. This is separate from your 12-month unpaid parental leave. For stillbirth or infant death, you can still take regular unpaid parental leave (covered in the next section) along with compassionate leave.

07 — Coming back

Returning to work

Overview

You have a legal “return to work guarantee”. You return to your old job, or — if your old job no longer exists — to a role with the same pay, status, and conditions. You can also request flexible working arrangements (part-time, different hours, remote work) and your employer can only refuse on reasonable business grounds.

Right to request flexible work

Parents with a child of school age or younger and at least 12 months service can request flexible working arrangements in writing. Common requests include:

• Part-time hours
• Changed start and finish times
• Working from home or a different location
• Compressed weeks (working full-time hours in fewer days)

Your employer must respond in writing within 21 days and discuss options with you before refusing. If they refuse, they have to give specific business reasons.

What if your role changed while you were away?

If your job no longer exists or has substantially changed, you’re entitled to the closest similar position at the same level. If a redundancy is on the table, your right to return is protected — your employer can’t make your role redundant just because you took leave.

08 — If things don’t go to plan

Stillbirth, infant death, premature birth, and pregnancy loss

The law recognises that things don’t always go to plan. You retain your parental leave rights in difficult circumstances.

Stillbirth or infant death

If your child is stillborn or passes away within the first 24 months, you keep your full entitlement to unpaid parental leave — including any time you’ve already booked. You can also take compassionate leave, and in some cases pause your parental leave and return to work temporarily without losing your entitlement.

Premature birth

If your baby is born premature, your unpaid parental leave runs as planned. You may also be able to take additional special parental leave for pregnancy-related complications.

Pregnancy loss before 12 weeks

If you experience a miscarriage before 12 weeks of pregnancy, you can take paid compassionate leave rather than special parental leave. Your partner is also entitled to compassionate leave.

09 — Plain-English definitions

Glossary of parental leave terms

10 — Common questions

Frequently asked questions

11 — Where this info comes from

Sources and last reviewed date