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Commonwealth-funded paid parental leave will be increased to six months over the next four years with the Albanese government hailing the boost as the biggest change to the program since its inception.
In a pre-budget announcement, Labor said that from 2024 the government would add two weeks of paid parental leave (PPL) to the scheme each year until it reaches 26 weeks by 2026. The six months could be split between the parents of a newborn.
At present, the scheme provides 18 weeks for the primary caregiver and two weeks for a partner – for a total of 20 weeks – at the minimum wage. The taxpayer-funded leave is taken alongside any employer-provided entitlements.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, will formally announce the new policy on Saturday. He will say the change should help women participate in the workforce.
“Our plan will mean more families take up this leave, share in that precious time, and share the caring responsibilities more equally,” Albanese will tell the NSW Labor state conference in Sydney. “This plan will support dads who want to take time off work to be more involved in those early months.”
In August, the ACTU called on the government to boost PPL to 26 weeks and then 52 weeks by 2030. Albanese at the time said the proposal was “worthy of consideration” but downplayed its immediate prospects by citing the “enormous increase in expenditure” if the government funded all of the policies it wanted to.
On Saturday, Albanese will tell the Labor conference his government would begin boosting the system from 2024. The next federal election is due by mid-2025.
“I am proud to announce that the first budget of our Labor government will deliver the biggest boost to paid parental leave since it was created by the former Labor government in 2011,” he will say according to an advance copy of his speech.
“By 2026, every family with a new baby will be able to access a total of six months paid leave, shared between the two parents. Single parents will be able to access all 26 weeks. We will give families more leave and more flexibility so people are able to use their weeks in a way that works best for them.”
The leave would be flexible and allow parents to take blocks between periods of work – but the “use it or lose it” provisions would remain to encourage parents to take PPL.
Albanese’s speech will describe expanding PPL as economic reform and a way to boost women’s participation in the economy, adding that the change was one of the strongest consensus points from September’s jobs and skills summit.
“The government views this as the foundation, the baseline, a national minimum standard. We are encouraged that there are already employers across Australia competing to offer working parents the best possible deal,” the prime minister will say.
The federal social services minister, Amanda Rishworth, said the government wanted to see more fathers take parental leave.
“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,” she said in a statement.
The minister for finance and women, Katy Gallagher, said the change would lead to more economic productivity.
“Having a child shouldn’t be an economic barrier for families or indeed act as a handbrake on the broader economy,” she said.
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