Bill introduced to facilitate Government’s desired expansion to Paid Parental Leave Scheme

A year on from when the Albanese Government first outlined its desire to increase the Paid Parental Leave (PPL) scheme to a total benefit of 26 weeks’ pay by July 2026 (see our related article), the Paid Parental Leave Amendment (More Support for Working Families) Bill 2023, has been introduced to Parliament seeking to give effect to the proposed changes.

Once passed, the legislation will add two weeks of payment (paid at the National Minimum Wage) to the government-funded PPL benefit each year, commencing 1 July 2024, until the total benefit of 26 weeks is achieved from July 2026.

A joint Media Release by Minister for Social Services, Amanda Rishworth, and Senator, Katy Gallagher, confirms that, in addition to increasing the existing PPL benefit by six weeks:

“The Bill increases the number of weeks reserved [see note below] for each parent to four weeks in order to encourage sharing of care and household responsibilities.

The Bill also increases the number of weeks parents are able to take at the same time, increasing flexibility for families and supporting both parents to take time off work together after a birth.”

The Media Release indicates that more than 180,000 families each year will benefit from the expansion of the PPL scheme.

Note:  “Reserved” in this instance refers to the weeks of PPL which must be accessed by each parent (in a two-parent family) on a ‘use-it-or-lose-it’ basis. Currently, two weeks of PPL are “reserved” for the parent who is not accessing the majority of the PPL benefit. This will increase to three weeks from July 2025 and to four weeks from July 2026, when the total PPL entitlement reaches 26 weeks. PPL not accessed by the second parent cannot be transferred across to the parent taking the majority of the PPL. Single parents will be eligible to access the total entitlement of PPL without having any amount “reserved” for another care giver.