How long is maternity leave in Australia?

Each parent can take up to 12 months of unpaid parental leave under the Fair Work Act and can request a further 12 months. Separately, the government's Paid Parental Leave scheme pays up to 26 weeks, or 130 days, of Parental Leave Pay for children born or adopted from 1 July 2026.

Who pays maternity leave in Australia?

Parental Leave Pay is funded by the government. For an eligible employee with at least 12 months of service, the employer receives the funds and pays them through normal payroll. Any extra paid leave in an enterprise agreement or company policy is the employer's own cost.

Is Paid Parental Leave the same as maternity leave?

Not quite. Maternity leave usually means time off work, which the Fair Work Act covers as unpaid parental leave. Paid Parental Leave is the government payment eligible parents receive during that time. Both parents can use it, and the days can be shared between them.

Maternity and Parental Leave in Australia

Definition

In Australia, maternity leave is covered by two systems: up to 12 months of unpaid parental leave under the Fair Work Act, and the government's Paid Parental Leave scheme, which pays eligible parents up to 26 weeks of Parental Leave Pay for children born or adopted from 1 July 2026.

Unpaid parental leave under the Fair Work Act

The National Employment Standards do not use the term maternity leave. Instead, each parent can take up to 12 months of unpaid parental leave, and can request up to a further 12 months, to a maximum of 24 months from the birth or placement. To qualify, an employee needs at least 12 months of continuous service, and regular casual employees who have worked on a regular and systematic basis can qualify too.

A request to extend beyond 12 months must be made in writing at least 4 weeks before the first period ends. You must reply in writing within 21 days and can refuse only on reasonable business grounds, after genuinely trying to reach agreement. Part of the leave can be taken as flexible days, up to 130 days for children born or placed on or after 1 July 2026. On return, the employee is entitled to their previous job, or the nearest equivalent if it no longer exists.

When you hire a fixed-term replacement for a parent on leave, springhire's qualifying questions can check that each applicant is available for the full cover period.

Paid Parental Leave: how long it lasts

The pay itself mainly comes from the government. Under the Paid Parental Leave scheme, administered by Services Australia, a family can get up to 130 days of Parental Leave Pay, which is 26 weeks on a five-day week, for children born or adopted from 1 July 2026. The previous maximum was 120 days. Parental Leave Pay is a daily rate based on the hourly national minimum wage multiplied by 7.6 hours, so it changes each financial year, and for children born or adopted from 1 July 2025 the government also pays a superannuation contribution on it. Parents can share the days under rules Services Australia sets.

To qualify, a parent must meet a work test, generally working at least 10 of the 13 months before the birth or adoption with at least 330 hours in those 10 months, along with an income test and residence rules.

What employers have to do

You must provide Parental Leave Pay through your normal payroll to an eligible employee who has worked for you for at least 12 months before the expected date of birth or adoption, is expected to get at least 8 weeks of the payment, and stays employed until the end of the paid period. The government gives you the funds, and you pay them in the employee's usual pay cycle. You can opt in to pay employees who do not meet the 12-month test, but only before their claim is submitted.

Parental Leave Pay is separate from any employer-paid parental leave in your enterprise agreement or policy, and it does not extend the unpaid leave available under the Fair Work Act.