Australia's paid parental leave to reach 26 weeks by 2026

Australia's paid parental leave will get its "biggest boost" in more than a decade after the Senate passed on Monday an amendment expanding it to 26 weeks by 2026.

Under the Paid Parental Leave Amendment (More Support for Working Families) Bill 2023, working parents will be able to access two more weeks of paid parental leave starting in July.

Two more weeks will be added each year to the scheme until the length of the programme reaches 26 weeks by July 2026, according to the government.

"This is the biggest boost to Paid Parental Leave since it was created by the former Labor Government in 2011," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement.

Hike to reserved weeks for Australian parents

The bill also hikes the number of reserved weeks for each parent to four weeks and increases to four weeks the amount of leave that parents can take at the same time.

"Our policy will give families more leave and more flexibility, to ensure the system works in a way that's best for them," Albanese said.

The changes, which represent a $1.2-billion investment, are expected to benefit more than 180,000 families across Australia.

"The face of the modern Australian family has changed significantly since the scheme was first introduced by Labor in 2011," said Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth in a statement.

"Our changes ensure that the scheme will be able to better address the needs of working Australian families and provide greater security as they embark on this new chapter of their life with a newborn or adopted child."

Paid parental leave expansion welcomed

Employers welcomed the passing of the amendment, noting that it would better support female participation in the workforce.

"These changes are critical to boosting participation, growing the economy and most importantly, achieving long-term economic outcomes for women," said Bran Black, chief executive of the Business Council of Australia, in a statement.

"We support an equitable system that incentivises shared responsibility between parents and breaks down the norm that a woman's career has to be penalised or put on hold in order to care for a child — today's outcome is an important step towards achieving these objectives."

Reduced red tape for businesses

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, however, asked the government to assist small businesses in addressing the administrative burden of the scheme.

"Small businesses are unnecessarily caught up in the payments process, which creates a significant administrative burden and payroll processing time. When problems arise with payments that are not the fault of the employer, they can take a lengthy period of time to resolve, often causing distress to employees and employers," said David Alexander, ACCI chief of policy and advocacy, in a statement.

"Working towards less red tape, not more, is especially important for small businesses."

Alexander thanked Senator David Pocock and Senator Jacqui Lambie for securing $10 million in funding from the government to support small businesses in navigating the red tape that comes with the scheme.

The official added that they look forward to engaging with crossbench senators to extend support for small businesses.

"ACCI will also seek to work constructively with the Department of Social Services and Services Australia to design improvements that will assist small businesses in administering the scheme," Alexander said.