Paid Parental Leave Scheme for Employers: Getting Started

Paid Parental Leave scheme for employers: Getting Started

If you're an employer, the Department of Human Services could ask you to provide government-funded Parental Leave Pay to one of your employees.

Parental Leave Pay helps parents take time off work to care for a newborn or recently adopted child. Eligible parents can get up to 18 weeks Parental Leave Pay at the National Minimum Wage.

We give you funds so you can provide Parental Leave Pay to your employee while they’re on leave. This helps keep your employees connected to your business while they're away, so you retain your valuable and skilled staff.

Here's an outline of what to do to get started. You'll find more details on our website.

First, you need to register your business with our Business Online Services, at humanservices.gov.au/business. When you go there, you'll be prompted to give your business details, your AUSkey (or ATO digital certificate) and preferences for receiving Paid Parental Leave funds.

An AUSkey or Australian Taxation Office digital certificate is your shortcut to registering and managing your details online. If you don’t have one, you can get one at auskey.abr.gov.au.

Once you've registered for Business Online Services, you can log in. Using Online Services means you only have to provide your details once.

The next step is ours

We’ll contact you if you're required to provide Parental Leave Pay to an employee. We determine this after your employee has made a claim with us. You then confirm your acceptance to provide the Parental Leave Pay or you can request a review.

With all that done, we advise you when payments will begin. We'll provide you with a Payment Advice whenever we send you funds.

You’ll need to provide your employee's Parental Leave Pay according to their usual pay cycle and give them written notification of payments. This can be done on a payslip or a separate notice.

You will need to keep a record of the funds you receive from us and the payments you make to your employees. Just keep the Advice notices we send to you and a copy of the notices you give to your employee.

That might seem like a bit to do, but we’re here to help whenever you need it—just call our National Business Gateway on 131158. For more detailed information on the Paid Parental Leave scheme and to access an Employer Toolkit designed to help you, visit humanservices.gov.au/pplemployers.