Paid Parental Leave

On 1 January 2011, the Federal Government Paid Parental Leave Scheme commenced. This Australia-wide Scheme is designed to provide eligible employees who give birth to or adopt a child from that date with up to 18 weeks pay at the national minimum wage.
While eligible working parents need to apply directly to the Government Family Assistance Office for the payments, Australian employers will be directly affected in several ways:

• eligible employees need to apply for and be granted leave by their employers;
• employers need to adapt their payroll systems by 1 July 2011 to make the payments to eligible staff on behalf of the Family Assistance Office; and
• any employers currently providing paid parental leave benefits to staff will need to understand if they are obliged to continue to pay these benefits in addition to the Government Scheme.

As the Family Assistance Office is already taking applications, employers with potentially eligible staff can expect to be approached with questions about the Government Scheme and company’s various leave policies.
If you would like assistance with the implementation of the paid parental leave system please contact your accountant to discuss.