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You have different leave options if you are pregnant.
Full-time, part-time and eligible casual employees can, at minimum, take up to 12 months of unpaid leave if you are responsible for the care of a child and have already worked with your employer for at least 12 months of continuous service.
You must tell your employer about your plans to take unpaid parental leave with at least 10 weeks written notice, unless it is not possible to do so.
You can extend your unpaid parental leave to a maximum of 24 months if your employer agrees. You must make the request to your employer in writing at least 4 weeks before the end of your initial leave. Your request to extend your unpaid parental leave can only be refused by your employer on
Flexible unpaid parental leave
You can choose to take some of your leave in a flexible way, at any time within 24 months of your child’s birth or adoption, as a single day or different combinations of multiple days.
Unpaid special parental leave
You may be entitled to take a period of special unpaid parental leave if you are not fit for work due to a pregnancy-related illness or if you miscarry at any point after the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Your employer may request evidence that you are taking the leave because of a pregnancy-related illness or miscarriage (for example, a medical certificate).
Unpaid special parental leave does not reduce the amount of unpaid parental leave that you can take. You can still take up to 12 months of unpaid leave as well as the unpaid special parental leave.
Other leave
If you have not worked for your employer long enough to qualify for unpaid parental leave you may still be entitled to take some unpaid leave as you are generally not able to return to work straight away after having a baby as your body needs time to recover You should try and reach an agreement with your employer.
Parental Leave Pay is money from the Australian Government. It is not leave. You still need to arrange time off with your employer.
Eligible employees who are the carer of a child born or adopted from 1 July 2026 can get up to 26 weeks of Parental Leave Pay to share as a family. It has a different test to unpaid parental leave. Sometimes you might be eligible for one and not the other, and it can be confusing. You should get advice if you are not sure.
In order to receive Parental Leave Pay, you must make a claim to Services Australia.
Your eligibility for this scheme will depend on your:
You will need to meet the requirements of the following tests to be eligible:
Income test
Services Australia will use your adjusted taxable income to work out your eligibility for Parental Leave Pay. If you don’t meet the individual income test, you may meet the family income test.
Your individual adjusted taxable income may include different types of income, including taxable income, reportable fringe benefits and reportable superannuation contributions. You can visit Services Australia for more information on meeting the income test.
Work test
To meet the work test you need to have worked for both:
You can include work for multiple employers. You can’t have more than a gap between each workday in those 10 months.
There are some exceptions to the work test, such as for pregnancy related illness, complications and premature birth. Contact us for legal advice if you are unsure whether you meet the work test.
Residency requirements
You must be living in Australia and have one of the following:
Paid parental leave superannuation contribution
A superannuation contribution of 12% will be paid on government funded Parental Leave Pay for employees receiving Parental Leave Pay for a child born or adopted from 1 July 2025.
This contribution will be calculated and paid automatically into your superannuation fund after the relevant financial year has ended.
Employers can provide additional parental leave payments in agreements, employment contracts or workplace policies. Some employers offer it as paid leave on full or half pay but they do not have to. Entitlements may be related to how long you’ve been in your job and they can be combined with government Parental Leave . Check your employment contract or workplace policies to see if your employer offers paid parental leave.
If you need an interpreter, call the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450 and ask them to call us.
If you are d/Deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech impairment, contact us through TTY on 133 677, Speak and Listen on 1300 555 727, or Internet Relay via the National Relay Service website.
Need support, not legal advice? Call Full Stop Australia on 1800 385 578, or 13YARN at 13 92 76 if you are First Nations.
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