On 6 March 2023, the Commonwealth Parliament passed the Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Improvements for Families and Gender Equality) Bill 2022 (the Bill). The Bill will make significant changes to the Federal Government’s paid parental leave scheme under the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 (Cth). These include amendments to:

• expand the circumstances in which persons are eligible to apply for parental leave pay under the Government’s scheme;
• permit Government parental leave payments to be accessed in a more flexible manner; and
• increase the number of weeks of parental leave pay that an employee may access.

The Bill largely deals with financial support for employees. It does not change the rules around when an employee may take parental leave under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). However, it is important for employers to understand the changes introduced by the Bill in order to ensure that these can be taken into account in any policies and practices around parental leave.