Reviewing the impacts of Paid Parental Leave on small business

Overview

Paid parental leave plays a critical role in fostering a fair and inclusive society. 

Our submission expresses support for expanded PPL in Australia and highlights that many of the concerns about the impact of expanded PPL on employers are not supported by evidence. Our submission seeks to apply lessons learned from gender equality research to an Australian small business context, and to emphasise the importance of paid parental leave for Australian families.

Our submission addresses the following terms of reference: 

• the experiences of employees accessing the scheme and receiving the payment through their employer or through Services Australia;
• current Commonwealth PPL arrangements acting as an incentive or disincentive to employment and boosting women’s workforce participation in small businesses; 
• how paid parental leave is best practice for supporting gender equality and the removal of relevant workplace barriers, particularly for working primary caregivers (most of whom are women).