Parental leave entitlements in Australia

20 March 2023
Contributors

Updated 11 September 2023

The parental leave system in Australia consists of a combination of entitlements, including unpaid parental leave under the Fair Work Act (Cth) (FW Act), government funded paid parental leave and employer funded parental leave. Parental leave is often referred to as maternity leave, however, today’s modern parental leave system provides entitlements for a much broader cohort than the birth mother.

In this blog, we look at the various parental leave entitlements for employees upon the birth or adoption of a child.

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