Home Raising kids Having a baby Before your baby arrives Payments to claim when having a baby Parental Leave Pay

Parental Leave Pay

A payment to help you care for a newborn or newly adopted child.

This is a Services Australia payment. You can get it while you’re on leave or not working after the birth or adoption of your child.

This payment has changed 

On 1 July 2024, Parental Leave Pay increased from 100 days (20 weeks) to 110 days (22 weeks).

For more information about the Paid Parental Leave Scheme changes, go to the Services Australia website.

Who can get it

To get Parental Leave Pay, you need to be caring for your newborn or newly adopted child, and one of the following:

  • the birth mother of a newborn child
  • the partner of the birth mother
  • the child’s biological father
  • the partner of the biological father
  • the adoptive parent of the child
  • the partner of an adoptive parent
  • another person caring for a child under exceptional circumstances.

You also need to meet all of the following:

  • an income test
  • a work test
  • residency rules.

Find out more about Parental Leave Pay on the Services Australia website.

How to get it

Claim online
Sign in to myGov and start a claim

You can claim Parental Leave Pay up to 3 months before your child’s birth or adoption.

You'll need to link Centrelink to your myGov account, if you haven’t already.

If you don’t have a myGov account

Follow the steps to create a myGov account. After you’ve created one, you can link services to your account.

If you can’t claim online

Call the families line on the Services Australia website.

Talk to your employer

When you claim this payment, make sure you tell your employer. In most cases your employer will pay your Parental Leave Pay in line with your normal pay cycle.

Talk to your employer at least 10 weeks before your child’s expected date of birth or adoption. Negotiate your leave and tell them if you claim Parental Leave Pay.

Your employer may need to register and find out about the Paid Parental Leave scheme for employers on the Services Australia website.

Help in your language

Call the Centrelink multilingual phone service on 131 202 to speak with someone in your language.

Centrelink will be closed on:

  • Wednesday 25 December 2024
  • Thursday 26 December 2024
  • Friday 27 December 2024
  • Wednesday 1 January 2025.

Find information in more languages about Centrelink on the Services Australia website.
Page last updated: 2 December 2024