Paid Parental Leave scheme claims and payments

What should I do before my child arrives?

If you think you are eligible for Parental Leave Pay there are a number of things you should do before your child arrives.

• Plan your caring role and work leave arrangements before you claim.
• Consider what paid and unpaid leave you might take from work, when you would like your Parental Leave Pay to start, and when you plan to return to work.
• Use the Paid Parental Leave Comparison Estimator.
• Parental Leave Pay and Baby Bonus cannot be paid for the same child. If you meet the eligibility criteria for both payments, you can choose which payment is the best financial decision for your family.
• Most eligible families will be better off receiving Parental Leave Pay rather than Baby Bonus. You should use the Paid Parental Leave Comparison Estimator to work out which payment is best for your family.
• If you choose to receive Parental Leave Pay, you and/or your partner will not be eligible for Family Tax Benefit Part B and the dependent spouse, child housekeeper and housekeeper tax offsets during the 18 week Paid Parental Leave period.
• Talk to your employer about your leave arrangements and how you will receive Parental Leave Pay.
• Organise your leave from work. You should do this at least 10 weeks before you intend to take leave.
• If you have worked for 12 months or more for the same employer you are entitled to up to 12 months unpaid parental leave. For more information on your employment entitlements visit the Fair Work Ombudsman or call 13 1394.
• Ensure you have the necessary information about your employer to complete your claim form.
• This includes your employer’s Australian Business Number (ABN) which you can find on your pay slip, and your employer’s contact details.
• Lodge your claim for the scheme before your child arrives.
• Lodging your claim before your child is born or adopted will help prevent any delay in providing Parental Leave Pay.
• You can claim up to three months before the expected date of birth or adoption.

How will I be paid?

Your Parental Leave Pay will be provided to you by your employer, in your usual pay cycle, if you:

• have a child born or adopted from 1 July 2011
• have worked for your employer for 12 months or more prior to the expected date of birth or adoption
• will be their employee for your Paid Parental Leave period
• are an Australian-based employee, and
• expect to receive at least eight weeks of Parental Leave Pay.

If you do not meet this criteria your employer is not required to provide your Parental Leave Pay. However they can still choose to provide it to you, if you both agree for this to happen. Before you lodge your employer will need to register for Centrelink Business Online Services and then opt in to provide Parental Leave Pay.

If your Parental Leave Pay is not provided by your employer it will be provided by the Family Assistance Office.

How much will I be paid?

Eligible working parents will receive Parental Leave Pay (currently $589.40 a week before tax) for a maximum period of 18 weeks.

If your employer is providing your Parental Leave Pay:

• they will withhold PAYG (Pay As You Go tax withholdings) at the usual rate.
• they can deduct child support from your Parental Leave Pay if they are required to do so.
• they are not required to make superannuation contributions in respect of your Parental Leave Pay, but they may do so if they wish.
• you will be able to access other paid leave such as maternity leave at the same time as Parental Leave Pay, however you may be taxed at a higher rate.
• you may arrange for other deductions to be made from your Parental Leave Pay.
• you may salary sacrifice some or all of your Parental Leave Pay. For example, you may make voluntary contributions to superannuation. You must agree for these arrangements with your employer as you do with wages.

If the Family Assistance Office is providing your Parental Leave Pay:

• They will withhold PAYG (Pay As You Go tax withholdings) at the rate of 15 per cent unless you request another rate.
• They will deduct child support from your Parental Leave Pay if they are required to do so.
• You will not be able to salary sacrifice Parental Leave Pay.
• You can voluntarily request a family assistance and/or Centrelink debt to be deducted.
• You may arrange for other deductions, via Centrepay, to be made from your Parental Leave Pay.

When will my Parental Leave Pay commence?

When you lodge your claim, you can nominate the date you would like your Parental Leave Pay to start. Your Paid Parental Leave period can start from the day your child is born or adopted, or a later date. Payments are made fortnightly in arrears from that date. Your Parental Leave Pay must be fully paid within 52 weeks from the date of birth or adoption. To receive the full 18 weeks of Parental Leave Pay, your nominated start date for Parental Leave Pay needs to be within 34 weeks of the birth or adoption of your child.

You can take your Parental Leave Pay before, after or at the same time as any employer provided paid or unpaid maternity or parental leave or other employer funded leave entitlements (such as annual leave or long service leave).

Before you can receive your Parental Leave Pay you will need to complete and return the Newborn Child (proof of birth) form or adoption papers to the Family Assistance Office.

Note: if you nominated to receive Parental Leave Pay from the date of birth or adoption you must lodge the Newborn Child (proof of birth) form, given to you at the hospital or by the midwife, or proof of the child’s entry into care along with any other requested documents within 28 days of the birth in order to receive Parental Leave Pay from your nominated start date.

If you are not able to lodge the evidence within 28 days, you may only be paid from the date the evidence is provided.

If you didn’t claim early, you should lodge both your claim for Parental Leave Pay and your proof of birth at the same time.

The start date is the first day you will be entitled to receive Parental Leave Pay. As with wages, you may not receive your Parental Leave Pay on that day. It will be paid in the same way as you would receive wages for that day, for example fortnightly in arrears.

As funds may not be provided to your employer until after your nominated start date, the first payment may contain an amount of arrears that is an amount to be paid to you for a previous pay period. The amount of arrears that may be in the first Paid Parental Leave funding amount will depend on a number of factors, such as:

• whether the Paid Parental Leave period is to start from the date of birth or after some other period of paid leave (such as employer provided paid maternity leave)
• how quickly you provide proof of birth (or adoption), and
• the number of days between your payroll cut-off date for any changes to your pay, and your pay day.

What else do I need to know about Parental Leave Pay?

Parental Leave Pay and Baby Bonus cannot be paid for the same child. If you meet the eligibility criteria for both payments, you can use the Paid Parental Leave Comparison Estimator to work out which payment is the best financial decision for your family.

If you have a multiple birth (for example, twins or triplets) and are eligible, you can receive Parental Leave Pay for one of the children and Baby Bonus for each additional child in a multiple birth.

Parental Leave Pay will count as taxable income for family assistance and child support purposes in the financial year in which the Parental Leave Pay is received. 

You and/or your partner cannot receive Family Tax Benefit Part B, the dependant spouse, child housekeeper and housekeeper tax offsets during the Paid Parental Leave period. These may be available after the end of the Paid Parental Leave period if you are eligible.

From the time you become the primary carer of your child until the end of your Paid Parental Leave period, you will need to let the Family Assistance Office know if any of the following occur:

• you return to work
• your child is no longer in your care, or
• your employment ceases, if you are receiving Parental Leave Pay from your employer

You can use Online Services or call the Family Assistance Office on 13 6150 to advise a change in circumstances.

When can I claim Parental Leave Pay?

If you think you are eligible for Parental Leave Pay, you should claim before your child arrives. Lodging a claim for Parental Leave Pay before your child is born or adopted will help prevent any delay in providing Parental Leave Pay. You can lodge a claim up to three months before the expected date of birth or adoption of your child.

When you lodge your claim you should tell the Family Assistance Office the date you would like your Parental Leave Pay to start.

Your Parental Leave Pay can start from the day your child is born or adopted, or a later date. It must be
fully paid within 52 weeks from the date of birth or adoption.

To receive the full 18 weeks of Parental Leave Pay, your nominated start date for Parental Leave Pay needs to be within 34 weeks of the birth or adoption of your child.

A Newborn Child (proof of birth) form will be given to you at the hospital or by the midwife. You will need to lodge this completed form along with any supporting documents before the Family Assistance Office can finalise your claim. If the form is not lodged within 28 days of the birth, your Parental Leave Pay cannot start until you have done so.

If you didn’t claim early, you should lodge both your claim for Parental Leave Pay and your proof of birth at the same time.

After 34 weeks following the birth or adoption, the number of weeks you will be eligible to receive Parental Leave Pay will reduce. The table below explains how this will occur.

Claim before the end of	Receive Parental Leave Pay for the period of
35 weeks *	17 weeks
36 weeks *	16 weeks
37 weeks *	15 weeks
38 weeks *	14 weeks
39 weeks *	13 weeks
40 weeks *	12 weeks
41 weeks *	11 weeks
42 weeks *	10 weeks
43 weeks *	9 weeks
44 weeks *	8 weeks
45 weeks *	7 weeks
46 weeks *	6 weeks
47 weeks *	5 weeks
48 weeks *	4 weeks
49 weeks *	3 weeks
50 weeks *	2 weeks
51 weeks *	1 week

* after the birth or adoption of your child, please note that if you return to work your Parental Leave Pay will stop from that day.

How do I claim Parental Leave Pay?

Refer to the guide how to claim Parental Leave Pay.

You can make a claim for Parental Leave Pay or Baby Bonus using Online Services. You will need to register for Online Services. You can register for Online Services here.

If you have already registered, log on to start the claim process.

To help you claim, you can view a list of documents and information you may need to lodge an online claim for Parental Leave Pay.

You can call 13 6150 for assistance to complete your online claim or to request a hard copy form. Alternatively, you can visit the Family Assistance Office, located in your local Medicare and Centrelink Customer Service Centres.

What should I do after my child arrives?

If you lodged your claim early and your circumstances or your caring plans have changed, you should use the Paid Parental Leave Comparison Estimator to make sure you are still better off receiving Parental Leave Pay rather than Baby Bonus. You can change to Baby Bonus up until the start date of your Paid Parental Leave period.

A Newborn Child (proof of birth) form will be given to you at the hospital or by the midwife. You will need to lodge this completed form with the Family Assistance Office, along with any supporting documents, before the Family Assistance Office can finalise your claim.

After the birth of your child, you will need to register the birth with the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registry in your state or territory.

What if my circumstances change?

From the time you become the primary carer of your child until the end of your Paid Parental Leave period, you will need to let the Family Assistance Office know if any of the following occur:

• you return to work
• your child is no longer in your care, or
• your employment ceases, if you are receiving Parental Leave Pay from your employer.

Important: If you return to work your Parental Leave Pay will stop from that day.

If your circumstances change and you do not advise the Family Assistance Office, you may receive an overpayment of Parental Leave Pay.

If the Family Assistance Office becomes aware that an overpayment has occurred, you will be sent an Account Payable notice advising you of the amount of the overpayment. You will need to repay the amount using the repayment options included in the notice.  You may wish to contact the Family Assistance Office to discuss repayment options or your review and appeal rights. For more information on overpayments, see Paid Parental Leave scheme questions & answers.

You can use Online Services or call the Family Assistance Office on 13 6150 to advise a change in circumstances.

More information

• Paid Parental Leave scheme questions & answers