Paid Parental Leave — Parental Leave Pay and Employer Leave
We have set out the three pillars that protect your work and income when you have or adopt a child while living and working in Australia. We separate the parts that apply regardless of visa type from the parts that require residence conditions.
This page is general information only and is not legal, migration, or tax advice. Amounts, days, income thresholds, and application deadlines often change each July (for example, Parental Leave Pay increases to 130 days from 1 July 2026), so always reconfirm the latest figures on the official Services Australia and Fair Work Ombudsman sites before applying.
The rights covered here are divided into a part that applies regardless of your country of origin or visa type (your employer's unpaid protected leave) and a part that requires residence and income conditions (government Parental Leave Pay).
The big picture — three things combine
When you become a parent in Australia, the path to protecting your 'work and income' usually works through three overlapping pieces.
- ① Government Parental Leave Pay (PPL) — A government payment made by Services Australia (Centrelink) at the national minimum wage rate. You must meet certain work (work test), income (income test), and residence conditions to receive it.
- ② Fair Work unpaid protected leave — A legal right requiring your employer to keep your position open and allow leave for a set period. It applies to any employee with 12 months of continuous service, regardless of visa type.
- ③ Employer's own paid parental leave — Paid leave that the company provides separately under company policy (or an award or employment contract). You may be able to receive it at the same time as government PPL (they are not mutually exclusive).
In other words, the government payment (income) and the job protection (your position) are different schemes, and the key is to design the two together.
Fair Work unpaid protected leave — the right to keep your job
Key requirement: If you have completed 12 months of continuous service under the same employer up to the time of your child's birth or adoption, you gain the right to unpaid protected leave regardless of visa type.
- You can take up to 12 months of unpaid parental leave, and if your employer agrees, you can request an extension of up to an additional 12 months (24 months total).
- An extension request must be made in writing and submitted to your employer at least 4 weeks before the end of your first leave period.
- Because it is 'protected leave', you have the right to return to your original position (or a comparable one) when the leave ends.
- This is unpaid — it only protects your position; no wages are paid. Income is covered separately through government PPL (or ③ employer paid leave).
- Casual employees may also be covered if they have worked regularly and systematically for 12 months or more and could reasonably have expected continued employment.
Check the detailed eligibility and notice procedures with the Fair Work Ombudsman. If there are also wage, dismissal, or discrimination issues, see the 'Reporting workplace problems and unpaid wages' guide below.
Parental Leave Pay — how much and for how many days
- Rate: Everyone receives the same amount based on the national minimum wage — around $948.10 per week before tax as at 1 July 2025 (updated annually).
- Days: The number of days you can receive varies depending on when your child is born or adopted. One day is counted as one weekday (based on a 5-day working week).
- PPL can be taken flexibly in portions, so you can take it all at once or spread it out between periods of work.
- PPL is taxable income, and if your employer also provides company paid leave, you can receive both at the same time.
Change from 1 July 2026: For children born or adopted on or after that date, Parental Leave Pay increases to 130 days (= 26 weeks, based on 5 days per week). Reconfirm your exact days and amount with Services Australia at the time you apply.
Eligibility — work, income, and residence conditions
1) Work test
You must have worked for 10 of the 13 months immediately before the birth or adoption, and within those 10 months you must have worked at least 330 hours (roughly one day a week). You must also not have had a gap of more than 12 weeks between days worked. Self-employed people can also meet this through a separate self-employment work test.
2) Income test
Based on adjusted taxable income, you only need to meet either the individual limit of $180,007 or the family limit of $373,094 (whichever is more favourable applies). The amounts are updated annually, so check at the time you apply.
3) Residence requirement (directly related to your visa)
Parental Leave Pay requires you to meet Australia's residence requirements — generally permanent residents, citizens, and holders of certain specific visas. Because eligibility depends on your visa type, the most accurate way to check your situation is directly with Services Australia. (Fair Work unpaid protected leave has no residence requirement and only looks at length of service — do not confuse the two.)
The partner's share — reserved days you lose if unused
Part of Parental Leave Pay is set aside specifically for the partner (or other parent). These 'reserved days' cannot be transferred to one person, and if not used, they are lost ('use it or lose it').
- From 1 July 2025 the partner's reserved days increase to 15 days, and from 1 July 2026 to 20 days.
- Both parents can apply together and take some periods at the same time.
- In some situations, such as single parents, an exemption from the reserved-day limit may apply, so check with Services Australia.
The key point is that 'the partner's share must be claimed separately so the family does not lose days it could otherwise receive'.
How to apply — online through myGov
- Prepare: Create a myGov account and link a Centrelink online account. (If you do not have one, you will first need to register a Centrelink CRN.)
- Claim: Sign in to myGov → 'Make a claim' → Families → select 'Apply for Family Assistance (including Paid Parental Leave)' and follow the prompts to submit.
- Documents: You may be asked for proof of your child's birth or adoption, and income and work information.
- If applying online is difficult, you can call the Centrelink families line 136 150 for help.
Apply early: You can claim Parental Leave Pay in advance, even before the due date. If too much time passes after the birth or adoption, the days you can receive may be reduced or lost, so it is safest to prepare early as the due date approaches.
Even if English is hard — apply in your own language
There is no need to delay applying because of interpreter costs. Services Australia provides counselling and interpreting in your own language for free.
Connect to an interpreter by phone
- Multilingual Phone Service 131 202 — Get advice and apply for family payments (including Parental Leave Pay) in your own language.
- TIS National 131 450 — The Translating and Interpreting Service, which connects you to agencies through an interpreter.
- Centrelink families line 136 150 — General enquiries and claim help for family payments.
In your language online
The Services Australia website provides information pages in many languages. Find the guidance in your own language on the official site to check the procedures and documents in advance.
Official sources
- Services Australia — Parental Leave Pay(opens in a new window)
Official guidance on Parental Leave Pay eligibility, amount, days, and how to apply.
- Fair Work Ombudsman — Parental leave(opens in a new window)
Fair Work Act unpaid protected leave rights, extension, and notice procedures.
- Centrelink families line (136 150)(opens in a new window)
Enquiries and claim help for family payments (Centrelink families line 136 150).