PAID PARENTAL LEAVE

ABOUT THE PAID PARENTAL LEAVE SCHEME

The Paid Parental Leave scheme is a new entitlement for working parents of children born or adopted from 1 January 2011. The scheme provides government funded Parental Leave Pay at the National Minimum Wage for a maximum period of 18 weeks. Parental Leave Pay is taxable.

Working parents, including full-time, part-time, self-employed, casual, contract and seasonal employees, will be entitled to Parental Leave Pay, if they meet the eligibility criteria outlined in ‘Which employees are eligible for Parental Leave Pay’ on page eight.

The scheme will help employers retain valuable and skilled staff by encouraging them to stay connected with the workforce when they become parents.

Employers will benefit from the scheme without having to fund Parental Leave Pay.

PAID PARENTAL LEAVE SCHEME EMPLOYER TOOLKIT

The Paid Parental Leave Employer Toolkit is a guide for employers who are providing Parental Leave Pay to their employees under the Paid Parental Leave scheme.

The Employer Toolkit provides a brief overview of the Paid Parental Leave scheme, outlines employer responsibilities and provides detail about how Paid Parental Leave funds will be received by employers and Parental Leave Pay will be provided to employees.

The Employer Toolkit is broken up into sections so employers can source the information in three stages according to the processes involved in providing Parental Leave Pay to eligible employees.

CLICK HERE for Paid Parental Leave Scheme Employer Toolkit (May 2011).
PDF version approx (2.4MB)

Important note about information sourced:
The information provided above and/or attached relating to Paid Parental Leave was sourced on 14 June 2011 from the Centrelink Website located at web address www.centrelink.gov.au. Further updates to Paid Parental Leave may be obtained from the Centrelink Website.

ATA Members’ may contact the ATA Head Office for further assistance if required.