Becoming a parent is one of life’s biggest moments, and working out your leave entitlements shouldn’t add to the stress. Whether you’re expecting your first child or adding to the family, Australia’s government-funded scheme (most people still call it maternity leave or paternity leave, but its official name is Parental Leave Pay) gives you up to 130 days of pay at the national minimum wage.
This guide covers who’s eligible, how much you’ll actually get in 2026, how long it lasts, whether your employer or Centrelink pays, and what your options are if an employer pushes back on your leave.
Quick answer for 2026: If your child is born or adopted on or after 1 July 2026, your family can get 130 days (26 weeks) of Parental Leave Pay at $1,004.70 per week before tax, plus 12% superannuation paid by the ATO. Children born before 1 July 2026 get 120 days (24 weeks).
What Changed on 1 July 2026?
Four things changed for children born or adopted from 1 July 2026: the entitlement rose from 120 to 130 days (26 weeks); the rate rose to $200.94 a day ($1,004.70 a week) in line with the national minimum wage; the days reserved for a partner rose from 15 to 20; and the income limits rose to $186,487 (individual) and $386,525 (family). The 12% superannuation contribution, introduced for births from 1 July 2025, was paid out by the ATO for the first time from July 2026.
If your baby arrived before 1 July 2026, you keep the 120-day entitlement, but any days you take from 1 July onwards are paid at the new higher rate.
Are You Eligible for Parental Leave Pay?
To get Parental Leave Pay you need to be caring for a newborn or newly adopted child, pass the work test and the income test, and meet the residency rules. Here’s the checklist:
✓ Caring for the child: You’re the child’s parent (or partner of the parent) and you’re caring for the child on the days you claim.
✓ Work test: You’ve worked at least 330 hours (roughly one day a week) across 10 of the 13 months before the birth or adoption, with no gap of more than 12 weeks between work days.
✓ Income test: Your individual adjusted taxable income for the 2025-26 financial year was $186,487 or less. If you’re over that, you can still qualify under the family income test if your combined income was $386,525 or less. These limits are indexed each July.
✓ Residency: You meet the residence rules on each day you’re paid.
✓ Not working: You can’t work on a day you’re claiming Parental Leave Pay, apart from limited “keeping in touch” days (more on those below).
If you’ve ticked every box, you’re likely eligible. If you missed the work test because of pregnancy-related illness or a premature birth, there are exceptions, so don’t assume you’re out. And if your income is over both limits, you won’t get the government payment, but you may still have paid leave through your employer and you still have your unpaid leave rights under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).
How Much Is Parental Leave Pay in 2026?
Parental Leave Pay is paid at the national minimum wage, and the amount depends on when your child was born or adopted and when you take the days.
| Child born or adopted | Days | Daily rate | Weekly rate | Full entitlement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1 July 2026 | 120 (24 weeks) | $189.62 | $948.10 | $22,754.40 |
| From 1 July 2026 | 130 (26 weeks) | $200.94 | $1,004.70 | $26,122.20 |
All figures are before tax. Days taken from 1 July 2026 are paid at the 2026-27 rate regardless of which cohort you’re in.
On top of that:
- Per fortnight: $2,009.40 before tax at the current rate
- Superannuation: an additional 12% (around $3,100 on the full 130 days) paid by the ATO into your super fund after the end of the financial year
The rate usually changes on 1 July each year with the minimum wage, so a family whose leave straddles 1 July will be paid at two different daily rates.
How much is Parental Leave Pay after tax?
Parental Leave Pay is taxable income, not a tax-free bonus. When Services Australia pays you directly, it withholds tax at 15% by default unless you ask for a different rate. At 15%, you’d receive roughly:
- About $854 per week in hand
- About $1,708 per fortnight in hand
That default rate may not match your actual tax position, especially if you’ve had other income during the year, so it’s worth using the ATO’s tax withheld calculator and setting money aside if needed. If your employer delivers the payment, it goes through their normal payroll and tax is withheld like ordinary wages.
How Long Is Paid Parental Leave in Australia?
For a child born or adopted on or after 1 July 2026, your family gets 130 days, or 26 weeks based on a five-day week. For a child born or adopted between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026, it’s 120 days (24 weeks).
A few things people often miss:
- It’s counted in days, not weeks. You can take it as one block, several blocks, or single days, and you can nominate weekends, public holidays or annual leave days as Parental Leave Pay days, as long as you’re caring for the child and not working.
- It has a use-by date. All days must be used before your child’s second birthday.
- Partners have reserved days. If you have a partner when you claim, 20 of the 130 days are reserved for them on a use-it-or-lose-it basis. The other 110 days can be shared however your family likes.
- You can overlap. Both parents can be on Parental Leave Pay at the same time for up to 20 days.
- Single parents get the full 130 days.
If you lodged a pre-birth claim before 1 July 2026 and your baby then arrived on or after that date, you don’t need to reapply. Services Australia adds the extra 10 days once you provide proof of birth.
Can you work while getting Parental Leave Pay?
Not on a day you’re claiming, apart from up to 10 “keeping in touch” days that let you attend a training day, a planning meeting or a handover without losing that day’s payment. You can go back to work part-time and keep claiming Parental Leave Pay on the days you’re not working, as long as every day is used before your child turns two. That flexibility is one of the main reasons the scheme is counted in days rather than weeks.
Paternity Leave in Australia: What Do Dads and Partners Get?
This one surprises a lot of people: dads and partners are fully entitled to Parental Leave Pay. The old separate “Dad and Partner Pay” no longer exists. It was folded into the single shared scheme, so both parents now draw from the same 130-day family pool.
That means “paternity leave” in Australia isn’t a fixed two weeks. A partner is guaranteed the 20 reserved days, and can take far more if the family chooses to split the leave that way. Each parent has to meet the work and income tests in their own right to claim their share.
Some common ways families split it:
- Equal split: 65 days each, giving both parents substantial one-on-one time
- Financial continuity: the higher earner takes the 20 reserved days around the birth, and the other parent takes the remaining 110 days
- Front-loaded overlap: both parents at home for the first 20 days, then one parent continues
On top of Parental Leave Pay, partners also have their own right to unpaid parental leave from their employer under the Fair Work Act, including up to 130 days of flexible unpaid leave that can be taken as single days.
Who Pays Parental Leave, Your Employer or Centrelink?
There are two completely separate things here, and understanding the difference is the key to not leaving money on the table.
Government Parental Leave Pay is a Centrelink payment funded by taxpayers at the minimum wage. Your employer doesn’t fund it. In many cases Services Australia will pay it through your employer’s payroll, which is why your payslip might show it, but the money comes from the government. In other cases Services Australia pays you directly.
Employer-paid parental leave is a separate entitlement that some employers offer under an enterprise agreement, contract or company policy, often at your full salary for a set period. Employers are not legally required to offer paid parental leave in Australia. What they must provide is unpaid parental leave (more on that below).
Can you get paid parental leave from the government and your employer at the same time?
Yes. If you’re eligible for both, you’re entitled to both. Receiving employer-paid leave does not reduce your government entitlement, and vice versa.
The approach many parents take is to have the employer pay first (for example, 12 weeks at full salary), then start the 26 weeks of government pay afterwards. That stretches both your time off and your income. Some employers structure their scheme as a “top-up” that runs at the same time as the government payment instead, so ask HR directly: “How does our parental leave policy interact with Centrelink Parental Leave Pay?”
Is Maternity Leave Different in NSW, Victoria, Queensland or WA?
No. Both parts of the system are federal, so the rules are the same whether you’re in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or Perth:
- Parental Leave Pay is a Commonwealth payment run by Services Australia, so the 130 days and the pay rate are identical in every state and territory.
- Unpaid parental leave comes from the National Employment Standards in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), which covers the vast majority of employees nationally.
The one place state differences show up is the public sector. If you work for a state government body, such as NSW Health, a state school system or a state department, your award or enterprise agreement will usually include its own paid maternity or parental leave (often 14 or more weeks at full pay) on top of the Commonwealth payment. Check your agreement, because those entitlements can be generous and they sit alongside Parental Leave Pay, not instead of it.
How to Apply for Parental Leave Pay Through Centrelink
Timing matters. You can lodge your claim up to three months before your due date, and you should, because a late claim can cost you payable days. Everything is done online through myGov.
- Link Centrelink to myGov. Make sure the two accounts are connected before you start.
- Start the claim. In myGov go to Centrelink > Make a claim > Families > Get started. This one claim covers Parental Leave Pay and Family Tax Benefit.
- Provide your details. Work history for the past 13 months, an income estimate, your employer’s ABN and your bank details.
- Submit the pre-birth claim. Complete what you can before the birth and save your receipt number.
- Finalise after the birth. Upload the proof of birth form from the hospital (or adoption documents) to complete the claim.
You’ll know it’s gone through when your myGov account shows the claim as approved and gives you a payment schedule. If your employer is delivering the payment, Services Australia will contact them to set that up.
Your Right to Time Off Is a Separate Thing
Parental Leave Pay is money from Centrelink. Your right to time off comes from a different law, the Fair Work Act, and it’s where disputes with employers usually happen. Here’s the short version.
What leave does your employer have to give you?
If you’ve worked for your employer for at least 12 months of continuous service before the expected birth or adoption date, you’re entitled to up to 12 months of unpaid parental leave, and you can request a further 12 months on top of that. Casual employees who’ve worked regularly for 12 months with a reasonable expectation of ongoing work have the same right. Your job (or an equivalent one) has to be there when you come back.
This is a guaranteed entitlement under the National Employment Standards. Your employer cannot refuse the first 12 months if you’re eligible and you’ve given the required notice (generally 10 weeks’ written notice of your intended start date, confirmed four weeks out).
Can an employer refuse parental leave?
An employer can’t refuse the initial 12 months. They can only refuse a request to extend beyond 12 months on reasonable business grounds, and even then they must genuinely discuss the request with you, consider the consequences for you of refusing, and respond in writing within 21 days setting out the specific business grounds. “We’d rather you came back” is not a business ground.
What if your leave is denied or you’re treated badly because of it?
If your leave is refused improperly, or you’re demoted, sidelined, made redundant or dismissed because you’re pregnant, on leave or planning to take it, you have strong legal protections. Anti-discrimination law applies whether or not you meet the 12-month service requirement, so an employer can’t let your sex, pregnancy or family responsibilities influence a decision about your job.
Your options include a general protections (adverse action) claim or unfair dismissal claim in the Fair Work Commission (both have a 21-day deadline from dismissal), a pregnancy discrimination complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission or your state anti-discrimination body, or contacting the Fair Work Ombudsman. Successful claims can result in reinstatement, compensation for lost wages and distress, and penalties against the employer; we cover what that looks like in practice on our employment discrimination page.
Making It Work for Your Family
Start your Centrelink claim early, read your employer’s parental leave policy before you go on leave, and don’t leave either the government or the employer entitlement on the table. This support exists so you can focus on what matters, welcoming your new family member and finding your feet as a parent.
And if something goes wrong at work along the way, you don’t have to sort it out on your own. Employment matters are personal, especially at this stage of life, and you’re entitled to straight answers.
This article is general information only and isn’t legal advice. Scheme rates and thresholds change each July, so confirm the current figures with Services Australia. For advice on your own circumstances, speak to a qualified employment lawyer.
Let’s Talk About It
Been refused leave, or treated differently since you announced your pregnancy? Fair Workplace Solutions is a specialist employment law firm advising employees across Australia. Speak directly to a lawyer, not an HR adviser.
Call Us Now! 1800 565 975 or Book a Consultation.