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››Paid parental leave: Will Australian reforms help close the gender pay gap?

Paid parental leave: Will Australian reforms help close the gender pay gap?

By Christopher Scheffler
October 15, 2022
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As an early childhood teacher, Kelly Arnott-Goddard was able to bring her baby with her to work when she returned to her job six months after giving birth.
After taking the current 18 weeks of paid federal parental leave earlier this year, she and her husband, Jake, were counting on her income to allow him to spend two more months at home to care for their first child, a son named Bear.
“The assurance that he [Bear] being there with me definitely helped me get back to work sooner,” she said.
“But having that gap paid where we had to rely on one salary would have been really helpful, especially given the cost of living in Sydney.”
Ms Arnott-Goddard said she welcomed the Albanian government’s announcement on Saturday that in a phased plan to roll out by July 2026, and hoped she would benefit if they decided to expand their family.

“We could split this between the two of us and I could take four months and my husband could take two – it would be good not only for me to get back to work sooner, but also to develop the bond between him and the baby,” she said.

Ms Arnott-Goddard was able to take her son with her to work in a nursery. Source: Provided

Under the new scheme, single parents will also be able to access the full 26 weeks, while the leave will be made more flexible, with parents able to take it in blocks between periods of paid work.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the policy change would support “modern” families and give them greater choice.
“We know that investing in parental leave benefits our economy,” he said.
“It’s good for productivity and participation, it’s good for families and it’s good for our country as a whole.”
Business Council chief executive Jennifer Westacott said the pay rise would help boost the economy by making it easier for parents to stay in the workforce.

“We have long called for reform of the paid parental leave system because giving new parents enough time off and encouraging equal sharing of care is good for the economy and good for families,” she said.

Australian Council of Trade Union president Michele O’Neil said the more generous leave scheme was a big step forward for parents.
“Paid parental leave should be flexible and accessible to all parents, and this new scheme is a big improvement in that regard,” she said.
But Ms O’Neil said the union body would continue its campaign for parental leave to be paid at workers’ full replacement wages, including superannuation.
Greens leader in the Senate, Larissa Waters, called on the government to introduce the reforms immediately, as well as to increase the payment of a replacement wage, along with a retirement pension.
‘Australia has one of the weakest parental leave schemes in the world – yes it should be paid longer, but without a super, or an increase in the amount paid, women always lose out,’ she said. declared.

“And to spread that over four years is an insult when women have waited over a decade for decent paid parental leave.”

A blonde woman in a black dress speaks in the Senate

Greens Senator Larissa Waters is among those calling for the paid parental leave scheme to include the retirement pension. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas

Ms Waters said the project should be scrapped would help finance the proposed increase.

The seven-year timeline for three-step personal income tax cuts was set out by then-treasurer Scott Morrison in the 2018 federal budget.
Already legislated, the plan would abolish the 37% tax rate, implementing a flat tax rate of 30% for anyone earning between $45,000 and $200,000.
This would cost the budget $244 billion over 10 years.

How paid parental leave in Australia compares to other countries

Parent advocacy group The Parenthood said Australia had one of the lowest paid parental leave schemes in the world with just 20 weeks currently offered at minimum wage.
In most cases, the primary caregiver (often the mother) receives 18 weeks of leave at the minimum wage of $812.45 through Centrelink, plus any employer-funded paid leave.

The non-primary caregiver can also take fifteen days of government-paid leave at the same minimum wage rate, but must not work or take employer-paid leave during this time.

Of the 38 countries that are part of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 31 countries offer longer paid maternity leave than Australia, with the following countries offering the highest: Slovak Republic (164 weeks) , Finland (161 weeks) and Hungary (160 weeks).
“Across OECD countries, the average length of paid leave that parents have access to is over 50 weeks, so this package that’s on the table right now wouldn’t put Australia in contention with that average,” said Georgie Dent, executive director of The Parenthood.

“But what is significant is that for 11 years no significant change has been introduced, and it is also significant that the Prime Minister has said that this is only the starting point on which he would like to s ‘to lean on.”

Parenthood executive director Georgie Dent welcomed the reforms to the paid parental leave scheme.

Parenthood executive director Georgie Dent welcomed the reforms to the paid parental leave scheme. Source: Provided

Ms Dent said significant changes to the program are helping to better close the gender pay gap, for example by encouraging more fathers to take extended leave.

According to the Australian Government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency, the national gender pay gap is 14.1%.
Earnings data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in August showed men earned an average of $263.90 more than women per week.
“Fathers in Australia take less than 20% of paternity leave days like their peers around the world, and it’s not because they don’t want to spend more time in that critical first year of life. baby,” she said.
“It is not surprising that in countries around the world where they have offered dads extended parental leave as the norm, the well-being of children, mothers and fathers has improved.”
The government has said it will maintain ‘use it or lose it’ weeks to encourage and make it easier for more fathers and partners to access PPL, so that both parents can share caring responsibilities more equally.

Further details on the parental leave scheme will be announced in the budget later this month.

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