How to claim

You can apply for the maximum 18 weeks of Parental Leave Pay. You need to do this no more than 40 weeks after the birth or adoption of your child.

The best time to apply is before the birth or adoption of your child. Read more about when to claim.

We can’t pay you before the birth or adoption of your child. Before your payments can start, you need to do both of the following:

• make a claim
• provide all supporting documents including proof of birth or adoption.

Steps to claim Parental Leave Pay

1.  

   1. Talk to your employer

   Talk to your employer at least 10 weeks before your child’s expected date of birth or adoption. Negotiate your leave and tell them if you want to claim Parental Leave Pay.

   Your employer needs to register with us and read the Parental Leave Pay information for employers.

2.  

   2. Get ready to claim

   The easiest way to claim is online.

   To claim online, you need a Centrelink online account linked to myGov. If you don’t have a myGov account or a Centrelink online account you’ll need to set them up.

   You’ll need to get some supporting documents ready to help answer some of the questions in the claim.

   You may need to prove your identity with us before you start your claim.
3.  

   3. Make your claim

   If you can claim online

   If your Centrelink account is linked to myGov you can claim online.

   To do this:

   1. Sign in to myGov.
   2. Select Make a claim or view claim status, then Make a claim.
   3. Under Families, select Get started.
   4. Select Apply for Family Assistance (including Paid Parental Leave) then follow the prompts to complete your claim.

   Sign in to myGov

   If you can’t claim online

   If you can’t claim online you can either:

   • call us on the Families line
   • visit a service centre.
4.  

   4. Track your claim

   After you submit your claim online, you’ll get a receipt telling you all of the following:

   • the ID number of your claim
   • the date we estimate your claim will be complete
   • a link to track its progress.

   To track the progress of your claim online, sign in to myGov and select Make a claim or view claim status.

   Sign in to myGov

   You can also use the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app.

   We’ll let you know the result of your application. We’ll send a message to your myGov Inbox.

   If you don’t get electronic letters, we’ll send you a letter in the mail.

   If we need more details, we’ll ask you for them.

   In most cases, your employer will pay into your bank account. Otherwise, we’ll pay you directly.

   If you think we’ve made a mistake you can ask us to review our decision.