Progressing paid parental leave

We accept the Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Improvements for Families and Gender Equality) Bill 2022 as the first stage in the implementation of the October 2022-23 Federal budget commitments for parental leave and support the Amendment Bill. All core amendments are evidence backed and will support improvement in social and economic outcomes for Australian families. Research confirms the benefits of shared paid parental leave arrangements (Lárusdóttir et al 2022; Banister 2022), and the expansion of paid parental leave to 26 weeks will bring Australia closer in line with international leading practice (European Parliament 2020).

We recommend the Amendment Bill be accepted in its entirety, with minor adjustments to wording to remove gender binary language, which will not change the essence of the amendment or amended eligibility to entitlements, both of which are already gender inclusive. In particular, we recommend removing gender binary language, including to the stated objectives of the Act (3A.2b) from “promote equality between men and women” to “promote equality between all genders”. This adjustment will further support the aim for gender inclusiveness expressed by the Minister (first reading speech to Parliament).

As future amendments are developed to implement October 2022-23 Federal budget commitments, we propose considering options for implementing an accelerated pathway to 26 weeks paid parental leave for low income earners before implementing the full increase to family income threshold. Both parents and children in households with low income and precarious parental employment are particularly at risk of adverse economic consequences stemming from interruptions to employment; these circumstances warrant particularly urgent attention.