From 1 January 2013, certain fathers and partners will be entitled to Dad and Partner Pay when they have or adopt a child. 

 

Under this new scheme, eligible working fathers and partners can get up to two weeks of Dad and Partner Pay to take time off work to care for a newborn or newly adopted child. This is part of recent changes to the Australian Government Paid Parental Leave scheme.
 
The scheme is a government-funded payment. Under the scheme, eligible parents who are the main carer of a newborn or newly adopted child get up to 18 weeks pay at the National Minimum Wage.

For a child born or adopted on or after 1 January 2013, eligible supporting partners (including adopting parents and same-sex couples) will also be entitled to 2 weeks’ pay (also at the National Minimum Wage).

 

Applications for Dad and Partner Pay can be made from 1 October this year through Centrelink.

 

 Employees can be entitled to payments under both the Paid Parental Leave scheme and an employer funded scheme. 

 

There have also been some changes to the Fair Work Act 2009, about unpaid parental leave under the National Employment Standards.  These include changes to clarify:

  • when pregnant employees can start their unpaid leave
  • keeping in touch days during unpaid parental leave
  • rules about providing pay slips
  • entitlements where there is a stillbirth or infant death.

 

Under the changes, employers will also need to tell the employee who will be doing the job of the person that’s on unpaid parental leave (called ‘replacement employee’) that their position is temporary.

 

See Paid Parental Leave for more information.