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Australia’s Government Paid Parental Leave has been expanded by two weeks as we progress towards 26 weeks in 2026.

From July 1, parents will receive 22 weeks of Paid Parental Leave, up from 20 weeks, resulting in more support as parents take time out of work to care for their newborn.

The scheme will continue to expand each year until the Government’s Paid Parental Leave scheme reaches 26 weeks in July 2026. When fully rolled out to 26 weeks, families will receive around $24,000 in government-funded parental leave.

By expanding the scheme to a full six months by 2026, families will receive an extra six weeks of paid leave following the birth or adoption of their child under Labor’s changes.

Superannuation will also be paid on Paid Parental Leave from July 2025, with legislation to be put to the parliament later this year. This will result in around $4,000 extra in the retirement incomes of parents who take time off to care for their newborn.

The expansion of the scheme builds on changes last year which gave more families access to the payment, made it more flexible to support parents in the transition back to work, and made it much easier for parents to share care by creating a single payment that both parents can access.

Minister for Social Services, Amanda Rishworth, said the Government is delivering the largest expansion to Paid Parental Leave since it was established in 2011.

“From day one, we have strived to make the Paid Parental Leave scheme more flexible, accessible and gender equitable,” Minister Rishworth said.

“This historic expansion is expected to benefit around 180,000 families each year, giving families the choice to use the scheme in the way that works best for them.”

Due to the additional two weeks of Paid Parental Leave, coupled with the new ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Minimum Wage increase of 3.75 per cent, Australian families are expected to be around $2,500 better off.

As announced in the 2024-25 May Budget, the Government will also be investing $1.1 billion over four years from 2024-25 to pay superannuation on Government Paid Parental Leave from July 2025.

Pending the passage of legislation, eligible parents with babies born or adopted on or after 1 July 2025 will receive an additional payment, based on the Superannuation Guarantee (12 per cent of their Paid Parental Leave payment), as a contribution to their nominated superannuation fund.

The addition of a superannuation contribution with Paid Parental Leave is another important step towards gender equality, as the majority of Paid Parental Leave recipients are women.

Minister for Women, Katy Gallagher said “Our changes to PPL are essential economic reforms that recognise that unpaid care is valued and necessary in our economy.

“This reform supports the sharing of care, while also giving women and families more choice and flexibility.”