Australian Maternity Leave Rights

Hi all

I'm from the UK and have moved to Australia when my baby was 4-months old. I'm currently on maternity leave from my job in the UK and am obviously not planning on going back! ;)

I've seen some stuff on the news here about the possible introduction of maternity leave and am I right in thinking that there is no legal entitlement to paid maternity leave in Australia, at all?! :o

In the UK we currently have a right to 9 months paid (first 6 weeks at 90% of salary and then a statutory maternity rate after that) and an additional 3 months of unpaid leave. You can go on leave at any point from the 15th week before your expected week of confinement and your company can not stop you from doing so or try to force you to stay until later. Also, they have to keep paying you even if you do not intend to return at the end of the leave, or even if you leave the country, and they have to give you a similar job back with the same pay if you do return.

In other EU countries, people even have as much as 12 months or more paid leave and they're bringing this slowly into the UK too.

I'm worried that if I do eventually go back to work (hoping never, but you never know with this credit crunch malarky), and have my next baby, that I will not be able to afford to take time off to spend with them. :(

It is correct that there is no right to paid mat leave in Aust. It makes it very difficult for working couples to have one of them stay home for very long after a bub is born.

Some companies do have paid mat leave but they are in the minority. Government jobs have the best paid mat leave so perhaps you could get a govt job if you do have to work again.

I got 6 weeks paid leave & had to cash in my long service leave and all my accrued holidays to fund my 8 months off. The baby bonus also played a part in me being able to afford to stay off this long. My company has now introduced 12 weeks paid mat leave.

Because I've worked for the same company for many years I don't have to pay it back if I choose not to return to work. If I'd only worked there a short time I'd have to pay it all back - the longer you've worked for them the less you have to pay back if you don't return. Not exactly a great situation for some people, but no concern to me.

Hey there

You're right, Australia does not have a government-sponsored paid maternity leave policy, yet. They are looking at changing that.

When I started my new job (Feb this year) I looked carefully for a company that was family friendly and had a good mat leave policy in place as I knew I'd be starting a family soon. The company I have ended up with has no waiting period in place for mat leave eligibility (some places have a 12 month eligibility period), they offer 12 weeks mat leave at full pay that you can take at half pay for 24 weeks, then you can extend up to 2 years unpaid.

They are also extremely open to flexible returning to work - part time, working from home, etc.

I'd recommend looking for somewhere to work that is family-friendly, like I did. That's the best option while we wait to see if the government-funded scheme is put into place.

Good luck and welcome to Australia. I promise it is a great place to live!!!

There is currently no legislated right to paid maternity leave in Australia although some companies do offer it (these are generally larger corporate and government organisations).

In my last role I had 14 weeks paid maternity leave after 2 years service however in my current role I have none. It makes a huge difference! Hopefully the government will find a way to introdcue a paid maternity leave scheme but in the current economic climate I wouldn't be holding my breath.

Unfortunately the previous posts are correct... I don't get paid maternity leave - which is why I'm back at work now - because we just can't do without my pay - even though now half of it gets eaten up by day care fees.

Government jobs are pretty hard to get into as well..

Wow, I'd hoped I'd misunderstood but clearly not.

I don't understand why any country could not work to support families with ensuring mums (or dads!) got to spend as much time with their new bubs as poss. I'm pretty surprised that this is not the case here. :o

What happens if you adopt a baby or child? Do you get leave to spend time with them? In the UK you get adoption leave, which lasts the same as maternity leave, but either mummy or daddy can take it.

Yeah you can get adoption leave. Not sure exactly how it all works but it does exist.

My company doesnt give out paid maternity leave and theyre really really narky about having you back part time after maternity leave. I groaned about and made a big fuss over it and they eventually let me have my same job back, but on a part time basis. I get really frustrated when friends of mine complain that they "only got 14 weeks of paid maternity leave" and I'm just thinking um thats more than what most people get - you should count yourself lucky!

Yes there is adoption leave but it is also unpaid leave and can be taken by either parent.

Australia is one of only 2 OECD countries (with the USA) that does not provide any paid form of maternity leave. Yes, it is incredibly backward and the Baby Bonus was supposed to go someway to redressing the situation but it's not really the same thing.

Hi mummypig,

I'm also from the UK. Whilst companies don't have to pay maternity leave, all permanent residents are entitled to a 'Baby Bonus' which is a lump sum from the government. Financially, this may actually work out the same as the maternity pay many women would receive in the UK.

The 'rule' at my workplace is you are entitled to 6 weeks ONLY if you have worked there for 2 years or more.

Hi again

I heard about the baby bonus thing before, but thought it was for Aussie citizens only.

What is it and how does it work? We're temp residents at the moment, but fingers crossed will be permanent by the time we have another baby.

Does your baby have to be born in Australia and how long after the birth can you claim?

Just wondering if we can sneak in their and claim it for Freyja once we're permanent, seeing as I'll have no income it might come in handy! ;)

just want to correct the "every family" comment about the baby bonus - income thresholds were introduced as of July 1 - if the family get an income greater than 7'5k in the first 6 months post baby being born, you get nothing baby bonus wise

eligibility for payment of baby bonus or family tax benefit is based on residential status - you would need to provide details of your visa subclass details to check whether you're entitled to it - but definitely look to apply. if Freyja was born o/s, i would say you've got buckley's chance of getting the baby bonus for her as you weren't Au residents at the time. but definitely call family assistance 136150 during the week to discuss your eligibility to Family Tax Benefit - you'll need at least half hour spare to make the call, and you'll need to provide a heap of information:
- tax file numbers for self and partner
- visa - date of issue and visa subclass code
- date of arrival in Australia (for Freyja as well as self and ptr)
- estimate of incomes for yourself and partner - this will be broken up into taxable income in Au from 010708-300609, taxable income overseas (including your maternity payment) for same dates, partners taxable income overseas for same dates

you'll be sent a form to confirm the details, and will then need to return that to centrelink or medicare along with Freyja's birth certificate, your passports showing arrival in Australia, and your visa's.

HTH's

BG

Yes I work for a company that pays 3 months full paid maternity leave
they request that you leave 6 weeks prior to the baby EDD
but if you wish to work closer you need to provide med certs to state you are fit to do so

I started the job in Feb this year and I wont be entitled to PAID maternity leave unless I work up to the date I started in 08 which was 11th of Feb. I will have about 3 weeks to go before the EDD, (thats if the bub doesnt make a surprise early entrance to the world!) Then I wont get any paid leave.

My company pays 12 weeks maternity leave (this could go to fathers if they are the primary carer) and 1 week paternity leave after 12 months of employment. They have the same rules for adoption (12 weeks paid leave) Interestingly, we have to sign a stat dec stating that we are the primary carer and that our partner is not going to be receiving paid maternity leave from their employer

If you have been working there for 2 or more years, my company pays:

14 weeks of fully paid maternity leave
38 weeks of leave at 60% pay

So you get a year off, all told. If you take the 38 weeks at 60% pay you have to sign a "return to work" deed and you will have to pay the money back if you don't return to work for an equivalent time (could be part-time work, though) after you have finished the leave. It's a policy that is clearly aimed at getting mums back into the workforce, and I think it's great by Aussie standards.

If you've been working less than 2 years, you get some entitlements pro rata, not sure of the details.

I thought that in Australia we were all entitled to a year of unpaid maternity leave and then to go back into the same job after that. Maybe I'm confused about this? It's better than nothing.

The baby bonus would work out to $100/week or so, wouldn't it? Not a lot of money. Again, better than nothing, and at least it isn't taxed. I guess that the other family payments and tax benefits would add to that, but this varies a lot from family to family.

MummyPig it is common for people on temporary visas (and even some of the ongoing ones) to be denied access to social benefit schemes of whatever kind. It was the same for me when I was living in the UK: I would not qualify for any benefits if I had applied for some, even though I was allowed to live and work in the country. At present, my husband, who has an ongoing visa, is not allowed to access any centrelink payments in Australia, though hopefully when he gets permanent residency this will change.

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The baby bonus would work out to $100/week or so, wouldn't it? Not a lot of money. Again, better than nothing, and at least it isn't taxed. I guess that the other family payments and tax benefits would add to that, but this varies a lot from family to family.

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We'll be getting monthly instalments of the baby bonus, and while it is really the difference between me having to work or not, no, it's nowhere near the equivalent of paid maternity leave. I will get extra family payment, and i'm glad that the baby will be born in April so there'll only be a couple of months until we can put in a new estimate of earnings!

In the meantime, I get six weeks' paid maternity leave from work, the statutory twelve months unpaid entitlement, and I'll have to cash in all my annual leave due as well to make ends meet.

it's actually fortnightly installments from Jan 1 - and is an amount of approx 385 a fortnight for 13 fortnights

australia is so backwards guess that is what happens when we have played buddy buddy with americia for so long

we have a queen in the UK and are close to NZ we should be more in line with them

It is a bit depressing, isn't it? I read somewhere this week that some Scandinavian countries introduced paid maternity leave schemes in the nineteenth century?! It would be fantastic if we could look to Scandinavian models for inspiration (rather than the terrible US model), particularly in relation to the introduction of things like parental leave. How wonderful would it be if our society actively encouraged and supported, not just parenting, but parenting as shared responsibility between partners, rather than assuming that having one primary carer was the way to raise children? And in the case of single-parent families, being able to recognise the circumstances which often make such an arrangement challenging, and offering the appropriate support. Actually, as someone raised by her mother alone, I'm still completely in awe of how she was able do this with such meagre assistance.

I feel so lucky to be able to access thirteen weeks of paid maternity leave (tertiary education sector), but the fact that so many women aren't entitled to this makes me quite angry. Now it seems given the worldwide financial crisis, the current government's plan to make paid maternity leave a priority will be pushed aside for who knows how long. I was talking to a friend about this the other day, and they were wondering how different Australian society would be if the majority of politicians and policy-makers were women and not men. It's an interesting thought...

interesting would be putting it midly