OFFICAL COMMUNIQUE

Paid Parental Leave: Six Month Top Up proposal

The Australian Government has proposed changes to the Paid Parental Leave Scheme that will undermine Australian families’ ability to stay at home with their babies for the first six months of their lives.

The Australian Government’s current Paid Parental Leave Scheme provides two Australian-Government funded payments to eligible working families

  • Parental Leave Pay (PLP), 18 weeks at the National Minimum Wage (NMW) ($11,826 at 1 July 2015), with employers able to provide additional benefits e.g. fund extra weeks of paid leave
  • Dad and Partner Pay (DAPP), 2 weeks at the NMW with employers able to “top up” to normal earnings

The current proposal seeks to stop working parents who are primary carers from accessing the government entitlements if their employer pay exceeds the PLP payment. But employers will still be able to “top up” the DAPP.

An alternative proposal

The current scheme is based on the principle that the minimum entitlements provided by the Government would be complemented by employer schemes which lengthened the period of paid parental leave to achieve the optimal leave period recommended by the World Health Organisation of 26 weeks.

The current scheme has successfully met this objective, with the Paid Parental Leave Evaluation showingthat the current “PLP had a clear effect of delaying mothers’ return to work up to about six months after the birth of their baby.” (Paid Parental Leave: Evaluation Report, p4)

The evaluation has also shown that the DAPP scheme has contributed to culture change among employees and employers, with “some fathers more willing to be assertive about taking leave following a birth, and some employers more inclined to see such leave as legitimate and a normal aspect of the leave taken by employees.” (Evaluation Report, p 13).

We do not want to risk the gains made by the PLP and DAPP Schemes and propose the following measures to strengthen the program

  1. 26 weeks paid at the NMW as the, Australian GovernmentParental Leave Payment – to enable the primary care giver to access $17,079 in payments during the first six months of their child’s life
  2. 4 weeks paid at the NMW as the Australian Government Dad and Partner Payment DAPP – to accelerate the culture change around the role of fathers in raising children
  3. Extension of the DAPP “top up” provisions to PLP – to enable both parents, not just Dads, to maintain workforce attachment with their employer during their parental leave
  4. Superannuation for both payments – to contribute to retirement income, particularly among women
  5. No restrictions on bargaining rights or employer voluntary additionsadding to these payments – to enable employers to position themselves as Employers of Choice and attract and retain workers

This proposal was prepared in collaboration with YWCA Australia and the National Foundation of Australian Women.

Women on Boards Ruth Medd

Business and Professional Women (Aust) Sandra Cook

Australian Womensport and Recreation Association Janice Crosswhite OAM

Australian Women’s Health Network Kelly Banister

Australian Centre for Leadership for Women Pty Ltd Dr Diann Rodgers-Healey

The Benevolent Society Dr Kirsty Knowlan

The Parenthood Jo Briskey

Professor Kim Rubenstein ANU

Dr Fiona Jenkins ANU

Victorian Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Council Melba Marginson

Australian Council of Women and Policing Anne Macdonald APM

Immigrant Women’s Speak Out NSW ViviGermanos-Koutsonadis OAM

Ethnic Community Services Cooperative NSW ViviGermanos-Koutsonadia OAM

Addison Road Community Centre NSW ViviGermanos-Koutsonadis OAM

Victorian Women’s Trust Mary Crookes AO

The Women’s Law Centre WA Lesley Kirkwood

Rhonda Galbally AO

Employment Law Centre of WA Sarah Kane

WA Council of Social Service Chris Twomey

Women and Work Research Group Dr Sarah Charlesworth

Early Childhood Association Samantha Page

Australian Association for Infant Mental Health Sally Watson

YWCA-Canberra Region Frances Cribbins

Union of Australian Women Carmen Hannaker-Green

economic Security4Women Sally Jope

Fremantle Women’s Health Centre Diane Snooks

Rebecca Cassels Adjunct Professor. Curtin Univ. WA