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Australia’s Paid Parental Leave Scheme

9. Interaction with existing leave entitlements

Government PPL can be taken in conjunction with, or in addition, to employer-provided paid leave such as recreation leave and employer-provided maternity leave, around the time of the birth or adoption of a child.

Government PPL must be taken after the birth or adoption of a child and be completed within 12 months of the date of the birth or adoption. It will not be paid for any period after a parent returns to work. However, a parent may be able to:

Employers who provide PPL through an industrial instrument cannot withdraw that entitlement for the life of that instrument. During bargaining for a new agreement, employers and employees will be able to agree to modify existing employer PPL provisions in the light of the introduction of the new Government PPL scheme.

The Government’s PPL scheme does not provide employees with additional unpaid leave from their employer or result in additional accrual of employer-provided leave entitlements.

Simone has been a nurse for seven years, earning around $60,000 a year. Her partner, Craig, has been a labourer for nine years, earning about $30,000 a year. Simone and Craig have their first baby, Isaac, on 1 August.

Simone takes four weeks recreation leave prior to the birth. She also is entitled to six weeks paid maternity leave from her employer and she takes this from the date of birth. Simone is eligible for PPL and decides to take her 18 weeks of PPL after her paid maternity leave is finished, starting six weeks after the birth.

At 15 weeks after the birth, Simone has the opportunity to accept a promotion to a nursing position with an annual salary of $70,000. Craig and Simone decide it would be better if Craig took unpaid leave to care for Isaac and Simone returns to full-time work. Simone has received nine weeks of PPL at this stage.

Craig is eligible for PPL and Simone is able to transfer her unused PPL to him. He receives the remaining nine weeks of PPL and uses unpaid leave to look after Isaac until he is one-year-old.

In the financial year of the birth of their son, Craig and Simone receive around $1400 more in net family assistance and PPL, than they would have without PPL.

Generally calculated using 2008-09 rates.
See Appendix, Worked Example 3 for details

* The details of ‘keeping in touch’ provisions are to be finalised. The Productivity Commission recommended that an employee be allowed to work up to 10 days during the 18 week PPL period, where that work is aimed to strengthen the connection to their workplace and both the employer and employee consent to the work.

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