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To get Parental Leave Pay, you need to make a claim, be caring for your newborn or adopted child, and be one of the following:
- the birth mother of the newborn child
- the partner of the birth mother
- the child’s biological father
- the partner of the child’s biological father
- the child’s adoptive parent
- the partner of an adoptive parent
- gaining parents in a surrogacy arrangement
- the partner of a gaining parent in a surrogacy arrangement
- a person caring for a child under exceptional circumstances.
You also need to meet all of the following:
If you have a newborn, you must have registered or applied to register their birth with your state or territory birth registry.
If you have a multiple birth, for example, twins or triplets, you can only get Parental Leave Pay for one child. If you‘re sharing Parental Leave Pay, you and the other parent need to claim Parental Leave Pay for the same child. Read more about having multiple children.
If your baby was stillborn you may get either:
- Parental Leave Pay
- Stillborn Baby Payment.
We have information to help you decide between Parental Leave Pay and Stillborn Baby Payment.
Your family can choose to share Parental Leave Pay. This will give your family more flexibility to manage your work and care arrangements. You’ll each need to make a separate claim. It’s important you talk about it and decide how many Parental Leave Pay days you will each claim. There are rules about how many Parental Leave Pay days can be shared, and how many days can be taken by parents at the same time.
Rules if you’re the birth mother
You can choose to share your payment. You need to approve the number of Parental Leave Pay days you’re sharing with the other parent, and they also need to submit a claim for Parental Leave Pay.
If you’re not eligible, the other parent can still submit a claim. However, both you and the other parent must meet the work test if they’re any of the following:
- your partner
- the biological father
- the biological father’s partner.
This means if you don’t meet the work test but they do, neither of you will be eligible.
Giving up care of the child as part of a surrogacy arrangement or adoption process
If you’re the birth mother of a child and you give up care of the child as part of a surrogacy arrangement or adoption process, you may still get Parental Leave Pay if you meet the eligibility criteria. This is to give you time to recover from the birth.
You will need to provide proof of the child’s birth and confirm you have relinquished care of the child.
If you are eligible for Parental Leave Pay, you won’t be able share any of the Parental Leave Pay days with another person, including your partner if you have one.
Claiming Parental Leave Pay as a surrogate birth mother will not prevent any gaining parents in a surrogacy agreement from claiming or being eligible for Parental Leave Pay for their child.
The amount of Parental Leave Pay you get depends on when your child is born.
Children born between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024
If your child was born between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024 you may have been able to get up to 100 Parental Leave Pay days.
You needed to choose and claim Parental Leave Pay days that were within the first 20 weeks or 140 calendar days immediately following the birth of the child. This needed to start on and include the day the child was born.
Any Parental Leave Pay days that remained unclaimed or fell outside this timeframe were forfeited.
Children born on or after 1 July 2024
If your child is born on or after 1 July 2024 you may be able to get up to 110 Parental Leave Pay days.
You must choose and claim Parental Leave Pay days that are within the first 22 weeks or 154 calendar days immediately following the birth of the child. This can start on and include the day the child was born.
Any Parental Leave Pay days that remain unclaimed or fall outside this timeframe will be forfeited.
Rules if you’re the gaining parent in a surrogacy arrangement
To get Parental Leave Pay you must meet the eligibility criteria and submit a claim within 52 weeks of the child coming into your care.
As part of your claim, you must provide proof of your surrogacy arrangement. This includes proof that the surrogate birth mother has relinquished care of the child following the birth.
If you’re the first gaining parent in a surrogacy arrangement to claim, you can choose to share your payment. You’ll need to approve the number of Parental Leave Pay days you’re sharing with your partner or the other gaining parent, and they also need to submit a claim for Parental Leave Pay.
If you’re not eligible, your partner can still submit a claim. However, both you and your partner must meet the work test.
If you’re the gaining parent in a surrogacy arrangement you can claim Parental Leave Pay for the child, even if a surrogate birth mother has received Parental Leave Pay for the same child.
You can find more information about Australian surrogacy and overseas surrogacy requirements on the Surrogacy in Australia website.
Rules if you’re not the birth mother or first adoptive parent to claim
The birth mother, first adoptive parent or first gaining parent in a surrogacy arrangement needs to approve the number of Parental Leave Pay days they’re sharing with you. This doesn’t apply if you’re caring for a child under exceptional circumstances.
The first adoptive parent or first gaining parent in a surrogacy arrangement to claim can share the payment. If you’re their partner and aren’t listed on the adoption or surrogacy papers, then both of you must meet the work test. This means if they don’t meet the work test, you won’t be eligible.
If the birth mother isn’t eligible, you can still submit a claim. However, both you and the birth mother must meet the work test if you’re any of the following:
- the birth mother’s partner
- the biological father
- the biological father’s partner.
This means if you meet the work test but they don’t, you won’t be eligible. This doesn’t apply if you’re caring for a child under exceptional circumstances.
Read more about sharing your payment.
Rules if you’re working
You must be on leave or not working when you use a Parental Leave Pay day, unless you are working for an allowable reason. You can choose to return to work before you use all your Parental Leave Pay days. You can use them on any days you’re caring for the child and not working. This can include weekdays, weekends and holidays.
You can take Parental Leave Pay before, during or after any paid or unpaid employer funded leave. This includes any of the following:
- maternity or parental leave
- annual leave
- long service leave.
If you don’t know when you want to use your days we’ll hold them in a balance. You can use them later or share some or all of them with another eligible parent. They must be used within 2 years of your child’s birth or adoption.
It’s important you tell us about changes in your circumstances while getting Parental Leave Pay. If you don’t, your payment may stop or you may get a debt.
Rules if you’re a newly arrived migrant
You may need to wait 2 years before you can get Parental Leave Pay. You may not need to wait if both of the following apply:
- you’re already getting another payment from your child’s birth or adoption
- you’re still getting it the day before you want to get Parental Leave Pay.
Read more about exemptions to the newly arrived resident’s waiting period.
You may also be able to get Parental Leave Pay if either:
- you’re unable to care for your child for a short time in your payment period
- you’re the birth mother, and you no longer care for the child because of adoption or surrogacy.
Reasons why you can’t get it
You can’t get Parental Leave Pay if either:
- you don’t meet the eligibility criteria
- you’re a foster carer and the child was not placed in your care by an authorised party for the purpose of adoption.
If you’re not eligible for Parental Leave Pay, you may still get both: