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Commonwealth act
The Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 creates a government scheme that pays working parents money when they take time off to care for a new baby or newly adopted child. Think of it as a government-funded wage replacement to help parents spend time with their child in the early years.
It pays you for days you take off work to care for your child, called 'flexible PPL days' (PPL = Paid Parental Leave). These are days between the child's birth and their second birthday. The payment is at the national minimum wage rate for each day claimed.
How many days can you get? The scheme is being progressively expanded:
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Direct links to the current provisions in Paid Parental Leave Act 2010.
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View on official registerSourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
If you have a partner, some of those days are reserved for your partner to use — encouraging both parents to share caring responsibilities.
Superannuation bonus: Since amendments, the scheme also pays a super (superannuation = retirement savings) contribution on top of the parental leave pay itself, helping reduce the long-term financial hit of taking leave.
To qualify, you generally must:
The 'flexible' nature means you don't have to take all the days at once or in a block — you can spread them across the first two years of your child's life. You can also transfer some days to your partner by giving them 'permission' to claim.
There are review processes — first internally (you can ask for a decision to be reviewed), and then through the Administrative Review Tribunal if you're still unhappy. The government can also reclaim payments made incorrectly (debts), and employers face civil penalties for not complying with their obligations.