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Parental leave entitlements

Maternity & Parental Leave

20 Feb 2026 (Last updated 26 Feb 2026)

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What are the entitlements to parental leave?

Parental leave can be complex to navigate. It has detailed eligibility requirements and notice obligations. Just like sick leave and annual leave, it's vital as an employer you're familiar with the requirements and obligations of parental leave so you and your business are compliant with the law.

Most employees in Australia are entitled to up to 12 months of unpaid parental leave if they have worked for their current employer for at least 12 months. This includes casual employees provided they also have worked on a regular and systematic basis for their employer for at least 12 months.

Parental leave can be taken in one continuous period, flexibly, or a combination of both.

The amount of parental leave that can be taken as flexible parental leave depends on when the child is born or placed for adoption:

  • between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026 – up to 120 days.
  • on or after 1 July 2026 – up to 130 days.

Each parent is able to take up to 12 months unpaid parental leave. If you as an employer agree, they can extend this to up to 24 months. An employee’s entitlement to unpaid parental leave is not affected by how much leave is taken by their partner.

Unpaid special maternity leave

There are some circumstances in which special maternity leave can also take place, for instance, if an employee has a pregnancy-related illness or after 12 weeks into their pregnancy they experience a miscarriage, termination of pregnancy or still birth.

Special maternity leave is unpaid and will not reduce the total period of unpaid parental leave may that still apply after special maternity leave has been taken.

It a pregnant employee requires alterations to their working schedule, employers should ensure the employee is in agreement to the changes made to their hours of work or pay.

If employers do not do this, they run the risk of an unfair dismissal, discrimination, or adverse action claim. These can be detrimental to a business.

Return to work guarantee

A lot of employees avoid taking leave for fear of not being able to return to their same position once leave comes to an end. However, after taking parental leave, employees are entitled to return to the role they had before the leave, or if that role is not available, a role similar in status and pay.

It is important to discuss with your employee any possible changes to working conditions that could affect them to ensure their return is as smooth as possible. Once the employee has returned to work, they may be eligible to ask for flexible working arrangements applicable to employees who are caring for a child of school age or younger as in accordance with the National Employment Standards (NES).

For free initial advice on parental leave, you can speak to one of our Peninsula team members 24/7.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute as business or legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. It does not take into consideration your specific business, industry or circumstances. You should seek legal or other professional advice regarding matters as they relate to you or your business. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Peninsula Group disclaim all liability for any errors or omissions contained in this information or any failure to update or correct this information. It is your responsibility to assess and verify the accuracy, completeness, and reliability of the information in this article.

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Maternity & Parental Leave

What is adoption leave?

If one of your employees decides to adopt a child under 16 years of age, they may need to take unpaid adoption related leave. They can ask for this if they will be the primary carer and as long as they have worked for you for at least 12 months before the date of adoption. The child must be under 16 years of age, not a child of the employee or their spouse/de facto and not have lived with the employee for six months or more on the date of placement. The employee can take up to 12 months of unpaid adoption leave. They can then ask for a further 12 months and you can only refuse on reasonable business grounds. What is the preocess? Your employee will need to give you written notice of intention to take adoption leave at least 10 weeks before going on leave. They need to provide evidence of the placement day and evidence the child is under 16 on that day. You do not usually have to pay an employee for adoption leave, unless they have a contractual or policy-based entitlement to be paid. But you may be asked by the government to pass on any payments to them under its Parental Leave Pay (PLP) scheme. Your employee can also take unpaid pre-adoption leave of up to two days to attend interviews or examinations to get approval for the adoption. If they have paid leave entitlements available, such as annual leave, you can require them to take these instead of unpaid pre-adoption leave. Employees still need to let you know as soon as possible when they need leave of any kind and provide evidence for it. Are all employees entitled to adoption leave? Not every employee is entitled to adoption-related leave. Under the Fair Work Act 2009, fullt-time, part-time and eligible long-term casual employees that have worked continuously for the same employer for a minimum of 12 months are entitled to 12 months unpaid adoption leave. Employees can request from their employer, a further 12 months unpaid leave. As an employer, when your employee's leave ends you must allow them to return to their previous position. If that role is no longer available, you must find an alternative role. Employees may not qualify for government-funded Parental Leave Pay if the adoption does not meet certain criteria. This includes: Adopting a stepchild or other family member. Becoming a legal guardian without formal adoption. Arrangements that are private or informal, rather than through a recognised adoption authority. If an employee is not eligible for government-funded Parental Leave Pay, they may be able to access other financial support, including: State or territory-specific parenting or adoption allowances. A Family Tax Benefit through Services Australia. As an employer, it’s important to understand the rules for all types of adoption, including surrogacy, to ensure your policies are inclusive and compliant with Australian law. Peninsula advisers can help you navigate adoption related leave. For peace of mind, you can always call our 24 hour Advice Line. This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute as business or legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. It does not take into consideration your specific business, industry or circumstances. You should seek legal or other professional advice regarding matters as they relate to you or your business. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Peninsula Group disclaim all liability for any errors or omissions contained in this information or any failure to update or correct this information. It is your responsibility to assess and verify the accuracy, completeness, and reliability of the information in this article.

Maternity & Parental Leave

Paid parental leave

As an employer, you will have employees needing time off when they are expecting a child or adopting one. Parental leave is an entitlement most employees in Australia get. In this guide, we break down parental leave, paid parental leave, who is entitled to parental leave pay, and your obligations as an employer. Understanding parental leave Parental leave is a category of leave an employee can take when they give birth, have a newly adopted child under the age of 16, or when an employee’s spouse or de-facto partner gives birth. The employee must have worked for their employer for at least 12 months prior and be the person primarily taking care of the child. Employees are entitled to 12 months of unpaid parental leave, though some employers offer paid parental leave. The Australian Government also offers paid parental leave to eligible employees as part of the Australian Government’s paid parental leave scheme. Paid parental leave The Australian Government provides financial support to eligible parents through the paid parental leave scheme, so they can take time off work to care for a newborn or newly adopted child. The Paid Parental Leave Scheme: Complements other birth or adoption leave provided by employers. Recognises taking time off to care for a child is an important and usual course of life for parents. Promotes a work-life balance. Helps employers retain valuable and skilled staff. Helps employers enhance family-friendly workplaces. If they are the primary carer, the birth mother of a newborn child, or the adoptive parent of a newly adopted child, they can claim parental leave pay for up to 22 weeks from Services Australia, provided they meet certain conditions. Parental leave pay The rate of Parental Leave Pay usually changes on 1 July each year. The rate you get depends on when in the financial year you take your leave. You’ll get the rate that applies for the financial year of the day or days you are claiming. This may mean you get different rates. The rate isn’t based on when your child was born or adopted. Parental leave pay is based on the current weekly national minimum wage rate. The employee can get paid for up to 22 weeks, and the money is paid either directly to the employee or to the employer to pay to the employee. Employees can use parental leave pay before, after, or at the same time as their paid and unpaid entitlements such as annual leave, long service leave, and unpaid parental leave. Employees entitled to paid parental leave Full-time, part-time, casual, seasonal, contract, and self-employed workers who meet the following requirements are entitled to access the paid parental leave scheme. They must be one of the following: The birth mother of a newborn child. The partner of the birth mother.  The child’s biological father.  The partner of the biological father.  An adoptive parent of the child.  The partner of an adoptive parent.  Another person caring for a child under exceptional circumstances.  Additionally: To meet the work test requirement, the employee must have worked for you for at least 12 months before the expected adoption or birth date.   They must remain employed with you until at least the end of their paid parental leave period (without working during that period).  To meet the residency test requirements, they must be Australia-based. To meet the income test requirements, they must have earned less than $175,788 or less in the 2023-2024 financial year. Besides having to meet an income test and the residency rules, parents must usually have worked at least 10 of the 13 months prior to the birth or adoption of their child to qualify for paid parental leave. This means they need to have worked a minimum of 330 hours, which is around 1 day a week throughout that 10-month period. The number of Parental Leave Pay Days a family can get depends on when their child comes into their care. For a child born or adopted from: 1 July 2023, parents can get up to 20 weeks’ pay. 1 July 2024, parents can get up to 22 weeks’ pay. The paid parental leave scheme doesn’t change any of your employee’s existing leave entitlements or give them a new entitlement to leave. How is paid parental leave taken? As of 01 July 2020, the paid parental leave scheme was altered to allow for parents of children born or adopted on or after 01 July 2020 to take one continuous paid parental leave period of up to 12 weeks (60 payable days). This leave needs to be taken in one block. The employee is then eligible for an additional 30 days of flexible paid parental leave which must be used within 2 years of the child’s birth or adoption. These flexible days can be accessed one day at a time or in blocks. What is dad and partner pay? Dad and partner pay was for working dads or partners, including parents who are adopting a child, or a recently born child’s biological father. Dads and partners could get up to 2 weeks’ pay at the current national minimum weekly wage if they are on unpaid leave and not working during this time. To get the 2 weeks of dad and partner pay, it must start within 50 weeks of their child’s birth or adoption. Centrelink pays it directly to the employee. This entitlement closed on 30th June 2024. Dad and Partner Pay and Parental Leave Pay combined into one payment for children born or adopted from 1 July 2023. Flexible paid parental leave If your employee’s child is born or adopted before 1 July 2023, they may have Flexible Paid Parental Leave days. Up to 30 Flexible Paid Parental Leave days are available as part of the maximum 18 weeks of Parental Leave Pay. Parents can connect some or all of their Flexible Paid Parental Leave days to their 12-week Paid Parental Leave period. This will extend their continuous period to a maximum of 18 weeks. How does my employee receive paid parental leave? The employee needs to apply directly to Centrelink for parental leave pay within 34 weeks of the birth or adoption of the child. Although the employee can apply before the birth or adoption of the child, they won’t get paid until afterward. Keeping in touch days Your employee can access up to 10 keeping in touch days without losing their entitlement to paid parental leave. This is from the time they become their child’s primary carer until they return to work. Keeping in touch days are a great way for employees to stay connected with the workplace. Whether it be to catch up with co-workers and employers, learn about new developments in the company, or attend training sessions to keep their skills up to date. You and your employee must both agree for them to take part in a keeping in touch activity. What does this mean for my business? Employers may need to give Services Australia information about the business and the employee so they can check that the employee qualifies for parental leave pay. Also, employees need to take leave from work to access parental leave pay or dad and partner pay. Services Australia can make the payment directly to the employee or give the funds to the employer to pay the employee, the latter of which requires the employer to meet certain conditions. In addition, to access flexible paid parental leave days, the employee must either take them before they return to work or if they want to take them after they return to work, on days that they are on leave or not working. Employees who want to use their flexible paid parental leave days when they return to work need to come to an agreement with their employer about how and when these flexible days will be taken. For example, the employer and employee can agree: To reduce the hours or days of work. To change the pattern of work. To the employee taking additional unpaid leave. Key things to remember for employers Employers must provide their long-term eligible employees with Parental Leave Pay after they get the funds from the Australian Government. You will need to provide it to your employee through their normal pay cycle. Your employee needs to lodge a claim with Services Australia for parental leave pay. Once the claim is lodged, Services Australia will verify their eligibility and contact you. The Paid Parental Leave Scheme applies to all employers. Your employee can get Parental Leave Pay at the same time as any type of paid or unpaid leave. Manage parental leave pay with ease Peninsula has worked with thousands of businesses in Australia, guiding them through complex matters such as parental leave pay. Our expert team members can answer all your questions about parental leave and employee entitlements. Talk to our team today. This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute as business or legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. It does not take into consideration your specific business, industry or circumstances. You should seek legal or other professional advice regarding matters as they relate to you or your business. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Peninsula Group disclaim all liability for any errors or omissions contained in this information or any failure to update or correct this information. It is your responsibility to assess and verify the accuracy, completeness, and reliability of the information in this article.

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