Services Australia Parental Leave Pay Application : servicesaustralia.gov.au

Organisation : Services Australia
Facility Name : Parental Leave Pay Application
Country : Australia
Website : https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/parental-leave-pay?context=1

What is Services Australia Parental Leave Pay?

Parental Leave Pay is an Australian government payment for up to 18 weeks so you can look after your new child. It is paid at the national minimum wage (currently $772.60 per week before tax). You are entitled to Parental Leave Pay from the Australian Government if you are the birth mother of a newborn child. Eligible employees who are the primary carer of a newborn or newly adopted child get up to 18 weeks’ PLP, which is paid at the National Minimum Wage. From 1 July 2020, eligible employees can claim PLP for 1 set period and 1 flexible period.

Related / Similar Status : Services Australia Parenting Payment Application 

To get this you must:
** be the primary carer of a newborn or newly adopted child
** have met the income test
** not be working during your Paid Parental Leave period except for allowable reasons
** have met the work test
** have registered or applied to register your child’s birth with your state or territory birth registry, if they’re a newborn.

Who Can Get Parental Leave Pay?

To get Parental Leave Pay, you need to be the primary carer of your newborn or adopted child, and one of the following:
**the birth mother of a newborn child
**the initial primary carer of an adopted child placed in your care by an authorised party for the purpose of adoption
**another person caring for a child under exceptional circumstances.

You also need to meet all of the following:
**an income test
**a work test
**residency rules.

If you have a newborn, you must have registered or applied to register their birth. You do this with your state or territory birth registry.
Working and Parental Leave Pay

You must be on leave or not working for both the following periods:
**from your child’s birth or adoption until the end of your Paid Parental Leave period
**when you use a Flexible Parental Leave Pay day.

You can return to work before the end of your Paid Parental Leave period for either:
**allowable reasons
**Keeping in Touch days.
**Your payment won’t stop in this situation.
**You should claim Parental Leave Pay before you return to work.
**We may not be able to pay you the full amount if you claim after you’ve returned to work.

You can take Parental Leave Pay before, during or after any paid or unpaid employer funded leave. This includes all of the following:
**maternity or parental leave
**annual leave
**long service leave.

Newly Arrived Migrants:
You may need to wait 2 years before you can get Parental Leave Pay. You may not need to wait if both of the following apply:
**you’re already getting another payment from your child’s birth or adoption
**you’re still getting it the day before you want to get Parental Leave Pay, including Flexible Paid Parental Leave days.

Read more about exemptions to the newly arrived residents waiting period.
You may also be able to get Parental Leave Pay if any of the following apply:
**you’re the partner of the birth mother or adoptive parent, and they transfer their payment and care of the child to you
**you’re unable to care for your child for a short time in your payment period
**you’re the birth mother, and you no longer have care of the child because of adoption or surrogacy.

If you had a baby who was stillborn you may get either:
**Parental Leave Pay
**Stillborn Baby Payment.

It’s important you tell us about changes in your circumstances while getting Parental Leave Pay. If you don’t, your payment may stop or you may get a debt.

Not Eligible:
You can’t get Parental Leave Pay if any of the following apply:
**you don’t meet the eligibility criteria
**you’re a foster carer and the child was not placed in your care by an authorised party for the purpose of adoption.

You also can’t get it if you return to work, except for allowable reasons. This is unless you transfer the entire Paid Parental Leave period to another person.

If you’re not eligible for Parental Leave Pay, you may still get both:
**Newborn Upfront Payment
**Newborn Supplement.

How To Claim Parental Leave Pay?

1. Complete the following steps to claim Parental Leave Pay. Before you start, check if you can get it.
2. You can apply for the maximum 18 weeks of Parental Leave Pay. You need to do this no more than 40 weeks after the birth or adoption of your child.
3. The best time to apply is before the birth or adoption of your child. Read more about when to claim.

We can’t pay you before the birth or adoption of your child. Before your payments can start, you need to:
** Make a claim
** Provide all supporting documents including proof of birth or adoption.

Steps to claim Parental Leave Pay

1. Talk to your employer:
**Talk to your employer at least 10 weeks before your child’s expected date of birth or adoption.
**Negotiate your leave and tell them if you want to claim Parental Leave Pay.
**Your employer needs to register with us and read the Parental Leave Pay information for employers.
**Visiting a service centre

2. Get ready to claim:
**The easiest way to claim is online.
**To claim online, you need a myGov account linked to Centrelink.
**If you don’t have a myGov account or a Centrelink online account you’ll need to set them up.
**You may need to prove your identity with us before you start your claim.

If you can’t claim online either:
**print and complete the Claim for Paid Parental Leave and Family Assistance form
**call us on the Families line
**go to a service centre.
**Gather Documents

3. Get your documents ready:
You’ll need to get some supporting documents ready to help answer some of the questions in the claim.

4. Make your claim:
**Sign in to myGov and go to Centrelink.
**Select Payment and Claims from the menu, then Claims, then Make a claim.
**Under Families, select Get started.
**Select Apply for Family Assistance (including Paid Parental Leave).
**Answer all the questions. Each screen has information to help you complete the claim. This includes how to submit your supporting documents.
**Submit your claim.

5. Track your claim:
After you submit your claim online, you’ll get a receipt telling you:
**The ID number of your claim
**The date we estimate your claim will be complete
**A link to track its progress.

**You can track the progress of your claim online. Sign in to myGov and go to Centrelink, or use the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app.
**We’ll let you know the result of your application. We’ll send a message to your myGov Inbox.
**If you don’t get electronic letters, we’ll send you a letter in the mail.
**If we need more details we’ll ask you for them.
**In most cases your employer will pay into your bank account. Otherwise we’ll pay you directly.
**If you think we’ve made a mistake you can ask us to review our decision.

Create a myGov account : https://my.gov.au/

How Much You Can Get Parental Leave Pay?

Parental Leave Pay is based on the weekly rate of the national minimum wage. You can get it for up to 18 weeks, which is 90 payable days.

It will include both:
**a continuous Paid Parental Leave period of up to 12 weeks which is 60 payable days
**30 Flexible Paid Parental Leave days.

**Parental Leave Pay is currently $812.45 per week, which is $162.49 a day before tax.
**Your partner may also be eligible for Dad and Partner Pay for up to 2 weeks.
**This is 10 payable days. This means your family can get a total of up to 20 weeks or 100 payable days of payments.
**As an individual the total you get from both payments can’t be more than 18 weeks. This is 90 payable days.
**This is if you’re eligible to get Parental Leave Pay and Dad and Partner Pay for the same child.
**When your payment starts depends on when you claim. Read more about the payment start date.
**You can get Parental Leave Pay before, during or after any paid or unpaid employer funded leave.

This includes all of the following:
**maternity or parental leave
**annual leave
**long service leave.

Parental Leave Pay, is a taxable Centrelink payment. Read about paying tax on your payment.