Paternity leave
Can dads stay at home after bub is born? Yes they certainly can.
Currently, dads are entitled to unpaid parental leave, but if you have a baby or adopt a child on or after 1 January 2013, you or your partner could be eligible for Dad and Partner Pay.
This will mean eligible working fathers and partners will obtain up to 2 weeks of Dad and Partner Pay when they have or adopt a child. Dad and Partner Pay (DaPP) will provide 2 weeks government funded payment (at the National Minimum Wage) DaPP can be taken concurrently with the primary carer’s 18 week government funded Paid Parental Leave (PPL). You can get the full details of the plan here.
Eligibility for DaPP is based on certain criteria including dad being:
- biological father of the child
- partner of the birth mother
- adopting parent
- partner of the adopting parent
- parent in a surrogacy arrangement
- partner of a parent in a surrogacy arrangement, or
- same-sex partner of the birth mother, biological father or the adopting parent.
Current paternity leave arrangements
In Australia the Federal Government’s National Employment Standards set out what the minimum standards are for dads considering taking Paternity Leave. Some employees can actually receive more generous entitlements than what the law states because they are covered by a specific Award or workplace agreement. Some employers also choose to provide their employees with more generous parental leave entitlements to attract and keep key employees. If you do not receive any of these additional benefits it’s still well worth knowing what you are entitled to by law.
Basically you can take paternity leave if you fall into one of the following 2 groups:
- If you or your spouse or de facto partner has had a birth event you will be entitled to take unpaid parental leave.
- If you adopt a child under the age of 5 you are also entitled to take unpaid parental leave.
But – To be entitled to parental leave, you must be employed by your current employer for a minimum of 12 months prior to the birth of the child or placement of an adoptive child.
How long can I take as paternity leave?
Currently, according to the National Employment Standards you can take up to 12 months as unpaid parental leave following the birth of your child or placement of an adoptive child under the age of 5. Parents can split this time, but the leave must be taken as one continuous period (that is one after the other).
Immediately following the birth of your child both parents are entitled to take parental leave at the same time (concurrent leave) for up to 3 weeks. p. This is unpaid parental leave and must not be more than a total of 52 weeks unpaid parental leave across both partners.
For more information see Pregnancy or Maternity Leave.
