Paid parental leave

[zap]

Can I drop my paid parental leave forms into my local family ass office or do I have to post it?

[briggsy's girl]

you an drop them off - they will be forwarded from there to the scanning unit in Canberra to scan onto the system. it will be quicker if you deliver to c'link rather than medicare/fao though

the advantage to dropping them off is that it can be documented on your file that you delivered it on x day if there are any processing delays - posting is relying on AP to get them there so there is no record until it's scanned onto your file

[zap]

Thanks! Can dh hand them in or do I have to?

[briggsy's girl]

either of you can hand them in hun

[zap]

Thanks!!

[briggsy's girl]

you're welcome!

[zap]

Any idea how long before I start receiving my payments?

[Mum2Romone]

21 days

[briggsy's girl]

the "ideal" is 21 days
this is not currently the case
there has been a massive number of claims recently (think end of financial year claims plus all those kidlets conceived over christmas/new year) so it is currently around five weeks

[zap]

GREAT!! We are really struggling financially not what I needed to hear!

[briggsy's girl]

sorry!!

before 21 days you'll be told "sorry, nothing we can do" - after, you might be able to get it investigated - but there are limited cases in which we can do anything before that 35 day mark for the moment

[Bengal]

Hmmmm

I thought I read you can lodge the forms well before your due date. Do they only start paying it once you deliver ?

[starangelk]

I'm an employer dealing with paid parental leave for one of my staff. She had her baby early August and lodged her proof of birth form within a week (they need this to process.) I have today received the first amount to pay to her.....which is painful as she's been waiting on it but it's a lump sum including backpay. I think for a new system it's pretty good-but just be aware of the delays. You are relying on Centrelink and then your employer so there are lots of opportunities for delay.

[briggsy's girl]

you can lodge the application for payment up to 3 months before baby due date - it will be pre-processed - so if there is additional information required (bank details, contact with employer) that require follow up, it ca be followed up in advance to prevent delays post birth

proof of birth still needs to be provided, and pre-claiming doesn't speed up the post birth processing. pre-claiming doesn't allow you to "jump the queue" over someone that, for instance, has other children and is only lodging the claim for baby bonus. it just gives you a pre-birth opportunity to make sure all the fiddly bits are done.

[Bengal]

Thanks for the info girls