Advancing Parental Leave Support in Workplaces: Putting Best Practice into Practice 

Parents At Work hosted a live session for its employer members on the implications and opportunities of the recent changes to the Commonwealth-funded  paid parental leave scheme and the considerations for employer-funded schemes.  

The discussion featured a panel of experts including guest speakers Louise Campbell and Michael Starkey from Baker McKenzie and Kirsty Charlton from PepsiCo, who shared their insights and experiences on designing and implementing best practice parental leave policies that support gender equality, talent retention and employee wellbeing. 

Parental leave best practice is clearly a topic which resonates with many of our employers – highlighting a need for clear, practical guidance. 

We gathered some valuable insights into the understanding of how the recent changes to legislation are administered alongside employer-funded schemes, and what the biggest challenges organisations are grappling with.

What arose from the session were that organisations are encountering some of the following issues: 

• Ensuring parental leave framework meets gender equality and carer goals  
• New rules around Keeping in Touch Days   
• Flexibility provisions in leave 
• Managing leave for fixed term contractors   
• Managing the removal of eligibility 

The session included a poll to assess employer sentiment and understanding following the changes to government PL legislation: 

• Only 1 in 3 reported a good understanding of the Government’s recent PPL changes 
• 94% reported that their workplace was intending to review and improve its own PPL scheme in 2024 and 89% agreed that it was important to have a competitive PPL scheme to drive gender equality progress in their workplace 
• The top 3 challenges reported were said gaining approval to remove primary and secondary labels, offering PPL flexibility and supporting men to take PPL.  

The main points and recommendations from the webinar were: 

• The Commonwealth-funded paid parental leave scheme now offers 20 weeks of minimum wage to eligible parents, which can be taken flexibly over two years. The government plans to increase this to 26 weeks by 2026. The scheme also removed the labels of primary and secondary carers and increased the income threshold for eligibility. Since the event the Government has announced that as off 2026 benefits will also include Superannuation paid on Commonwealth-funded paid parental leave. 

• Employer-funded paid parental leave schemes are independent of the government scheme and are determined and fully designed by the employer, subject to any relevant awards or agreements. Employers can offer more generous and inclusive schemes that cater to the diverse needs and preferences of their employees. 

• Employers should consider the benefits of removing primary and secondary carer labels from their policies, as this can encourage more men to take parental leave, support women’s career progression and reduce gender stereotypes. Employers should also communicate clearly and regularly with their employees about their entitlements and options. 

• Employers should also consider the costs and returns of their parental leave policies, as well as the administrative and operational challenges. Some of the factors to consider include the impact of the government scheme on the employer’s top-up payments, the evidence and reporting requirements, the flexibility and workability of the leave arrangements, and the support and training for managers and employees. 

• Employers should also leverage the resources and tools available from Parents At Work and other organisations to help them review and enhance their parental leave policies, as well as to create a family-friendly and supportive culture in their workplaces. 

For further support you can contact one of our expert consultants or read our recent white paper: Advancing Shared Care in Australia through Paid Parental Leave highlighting the continuing shifts employers are making to evolve their PPL policies.