Employees in Australia promised up to six months of paid parental leave

Currently, parents are eligible for 18 weeks of paid parental leave and two weeks of secondary carer leave. Both are paid at the same rate as the national minimum wage, meaning that those imminently expecting a child will miss out on the benefit.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said investing in new parents would provide a long-lasting economic return. He explained, “This is a modern policy to support modern families. We know that investing in parental leave benefits our economy. It is good for productivity and participation, it’s good for families and it’s good for our country as a whole.”

“More generous and more flexible paid parental leave rewards aspiration and provides every parent of a new baby with greater choice and better support.”

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Amanda Rishworth, Minister for Social Services, said boosting women’s workforce participation and encouraging more dads to take parental leave was a priority for the Government. She said, “This will benefit mums, it will benefit dads, it’s good for children, and it will be a huge boost to the economy.

“We know that treating parenting as an equal partnership helps to improve gender equality. It is important that we have a PPL that supports modern Australian families and that complements other parental leave schemes offered by a growing number of employers,” reported 9News.