Member Services Unit FAQs: Paid Parental Leave
This year, each edition of The Point will feature common enquiries received by the MSU, helping you make the most of your hard-earned entitlements.
Entitlements in the education sector are derived from many sources and vary depending on your workplace.
To be sure of your rights, you need expert advice. The IEU’s Member Services Unit offers just that, providing guidance, support, and representation on a wide range of issues, including entitlements, workplace complaints, and disciplinary processes.
What is the Paid Parental Leave scheme?
The Paid Parental Leave (PPL) scheme provides eligible working parents with federally funded pay at the National Minimum Wage while caring for a newborn or recently adopted child. This is separate from any paid parental leave offered by your employer.
To access PPL, you must meet the eligibility requirements, make a claim and be caring for your newborn or adopted child.
You must also be one of the following:
the birth mother of the newborn child
the partner of the birth mother
the child’s biological father
the partner of the child’s biological father
the child’s adoptive parent
the partner of an adoptive parent
gaining parents in a surrogacy arrangement
the partner of a gaining parent in a surrogacy arrangement
a person caring for a child under exceptional circumstances.
You also need to meet all of the following:
an income test
a work test
residence rules.
Full details are available on the Services Australia website.
What is the rate of payment for PPL?
The current rate of Parental Leave Pay is $189.62 a day before tax, or $948.10 a week, based on the national minimum wage.
The rate usually changes on 1 July each year. The amount you receive depends on when in the financial year you take your leave, not when your child was born or adopted.
You will be paid the rate that applies on the day or days you are claiming for, which may mean different rates apply across your leave period.
How much PPL do you receive?
If you claim before July 2026, your Parental Leave Pay balance will be 120 days.
If your child is born or enters your care after 1 July 2026, you will receive an additional 10 days of payments.
If you have a partner, some of these days must be shared. See the Services Australia website for information about sharing payments.
Are you entitled to superannuation for payments received through the PPL scheme?
If you receive Parental Leave Pay for a child born or adopted from 1 July 2025, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will pay a 12% superannuation contribution on this payment directly into your super fund.
Contributions will be paid after the end of the financial year in which you commenced Parental Leave Pay, starting from July 2026.
If you share Parental Leave Pay with another person, each person is eligible for a superannuation contribution on their share of the payment.
In most cases, the contribution will be paid into the super fund currently receiving your employer contributions.
More information is available on the ATO website.
What are keeping in touch days?
Employees taking a continuous period of unpaid parental leave can agree with their employer to attend work for a ‘keeping in touch day’.
A keeping in touch day allows an employee to perform work to support their transition back to work at the end of their unpaid parental leave. This may include remote or in-office work, as required by the employer.
Employees are paid as normal for work performed on a keeping in touch day.
Government Parental Leave Pay (PPL) is generally not payable on any day an employee performs work, including a keeping in touch day.
How does employer-provided parental leave interact with the PPL scheme?
IEU members have bargained and won paid Enterprise Agreements entitlements which give access to between 8-24 weeks employer-provided paid parental leave, with the industry standard now sitting at an average of 20 weeks.
Parental Leave Pay (PPL) does not affect an employer’s obligation to provide any paid parental leave under an agreement, such as an Enterprise Agreement.
In most cases, employees can receive PPL at the same time as employer-provided paid parental leave or other forms of leave, including unpaid parental leave, compassionate leave, or annual leave.
We commonly see employees take a period of unpaid parental leave while also receiving Government Paid Parental Leave and employer-provided parental leave pay under an Enterprise Agreement.