A Time to Value - Summary

A Time to Value - Proposal for a National Paid Maternity Leave Scheme

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Summary of HREOC's Preferred Model for a National Paid Maternity Leave Scheme

Funding

The national paid maternity leave scheme is to be funded by the federal Government. (Recommendation 1)

Coverage

Paid maternity leave is to be provided to women at the time of the birth of a child. The exceptions to this, where payment can be made to a woman's partner, will include: where the mother has died; where the mother is not medically able to care for the child (based on a doctor's opinion); or when the child has bee adopted. (Recommendation 2)

Paid Maternity Leave is to be available only to women in paid work. (Recommendation 3)

Paid maternity leave is to be available to the primary carer of an adopted child irrespective of the age of the child. (Recommendation 4)

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for paid maternity leave a woman must have been in paid work (including casual employment, contract work and self-employment) for 40 weeks of the past 52 weeks with any number of employers and/or in any number of positions. Access to this payment will not be means tested. (Recommendation 5)

Duration

The national scheme of paid maternity leave will provide for up to 14 weeks of paid leave to be taken immediately prior to and/or following the birth of a child. (Recommendation 6)

The paid leave must be taken as a continuous block. (Recommendation 6)

A woman may elect to take less than the full 14 weeks of paid maternity leave, but will only receive payment in the weeks taken as maternity leave. (Recommendation 6)

Payment Level

Government funded paid maternity leave is to be paid at the rate of the Federal Minimum Wage, or the woman's previous weekly earnings from all jobs, whichever is the lesser amount. (Recommendation 7)

Previous weekly earnings are to be calculated as the greater of either:

• a woman's weekly earnings from all jobs immediately prior to taking leave; or
• an average of her weekly earnings from all jobs during the time in employment over the previous 12 months. (Recommendation 7)

Payment mechanism

Paid maternity leave is to be paid as a fortnightly payment during the period of leave, administered by the federal government and available through dual payment mechanisms. (Recommendation 8)

Specifically, an individual may elect to receive payment as either:

• a fortnightly direct payment from Government to the individual; or
• a payment from the employer to the individual with the employer reimbursed by Government (subject to the employer agreeing to offer this option). (Recommendation 8)

Role of employers

Employers should be encouraged to continue existing provisions for paid maternity leave and women, including public servants, will not be excluded from any government funded national scheme on the basis of receiving employer provided paid maternity leave. (Recommendation 9)

Employer top ups to a government funded paid maternity leave are to be provided for and encouraged. Such top ups should be negotiated through standard bargaining mechanisms. (Recommendation 10)

Employers may agree to take on the administration of paid maternity leave payments on behalf of the Government and may be required to play a role in validating entitlement to government funded paid maternity leave entitlements. (Recommendation 11)

Interaction with the industrial relations system

Current industrail arrangements in relation to maternity leave will continue. (Recommendation 12)

Payment level

A woman who receives paid maternity leave will not be eligible for the Maternity Allowance, the first 14 weeks of Family Tax Benefit Part A and Family Tax Benefit Part B, and the first 12 months of payment of the Baby Bonus. The maternity leave payment will be taxable. (Recommendation 13)

Individuals will have the option of taking other available social security payments where this would result in higher payments. (Recommendation 13)