Media Release by The Hon Jenny Macklin MP

Applications open for Dad and Partner Pay

Applications open today for the Australian Government’s new payment for dads and same-sex partners – Dad and Partner Pay.

Dad and Partner Pay starts on 1 January next year and will give eligible dads and same-sex partners two weeks paid leave at the rate of the national minimum wage (currently about $606 per week before tax).

This new support extends the Australian Government’s successful Paid Parental Leave scheme which has been supporting families since January 2011.

Australian mums love our Paid Parental Leave Scheme-more than 200,000 parents have applied since it began.

The new Dad and Partner Pay will help dads take more time off in those critical early months to bond with their baby and help mums right from the start.

The Minister for Families, Jenny Macklin, today met with a Melbourne dad who will be among the first dads to apply.

For parents like Lachlan and Chelsea, who are expecting their first child together in January, this extra financial support will make a big difference. It will give Lachlan the financial security to spend a bit more time at home with mum and their new baby in those critical early weeks.

Dad and Partner Pay is a particularly big win for self-employed people, contractors, casual workers and others who generally don’t have paternity leave entitlements from their employer.

To be eligible, dads or partners must:

  • have worked at least 330 hours (just over one day a week) in 10 of the 13 months before the start of their Dad and Partner Pay period, with no more than an eight-week gap between two consecutive working days;
  • have earned $150,000 or less in the previous financial year; and
  • be on unpaid leave or not working and be helping to care for the child during their two weeks of Dad and Partner Pay.

Dads can be eligible for Dad and Partner Pay even if their partner is not receiving Paid Parental Leave.

We encourage expecting parents to apply early for both Dad and Partner Pay and Paid Parental Leave to get all of the paperwork sorted before the birth of their new baby. Parents can apply up to three months before the expected date of birth or adoption.

For more information visit www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/services/centrelink/dad-and-partner-pay or call 13 61 50.