Paid Parental Leave Scheme 

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Funded by the Australian Government, the Paid Parental Leave Scheme provides eligible working parents with 18 weeks pay at the National Minimum Wage .

From 1 July 2011, businesses will be required to provide Parental Leave Pay to eligible long-term employees who have or adopt a child from this date. Centrelink will contact you if you're required to provide Parental Leave Pay to an employee. You will then be required to register for the scheme.

Once you’ve registered, funds for Paid Parental Leave will be provided to you before your employee’s usual pay cycle. Your employee can choose to receive Parental Leave Pay before, after, or at the same time as employer-provided paid leave such as recreation leave and employer-provided parental leave.

Centrelink has a wide range of information on the Paid Parental Leave scheme, including an employer toolkit outlining what you need to know about the scheme and how to implement it in your workplace.

You can register for the Paid Parental Leave scheme online through Centrelink’s Business Online Services portal. You will need your business’ ABN, registration details, and contact details to register online.

See our topic on Paid Parental Leave for general information on the scheme.