FED: Paid parental leave still some years away
By Susanna Dunkerley12 May 2009 7:38 PM
Subject: FED: Paid parental leave still some years away FED: Paid parental leave still some years away
CANBERRA May 12 AAP - Close to 150,000 new mums and dads will be eligible for taxpayer funded paid maternity leave each year when the scheme kicks in in 2011.
Under the scheme, to be finalised by the end of the year, parents will be rereceive weeks of paid leave at the minimum wage of $544 a week.
The measure, announced in Tuesday's budget, will cost $731 million over five years.
The government has chosen to delay the start-up date to January 2011 because of the global financial crisis.
To qualify, parents who take the leave will have to have an income of less than $150,000 and have worked at least one day a week in the 10 months leading up to their child's birth.
It will also be offered on top of any employer based scheme.
But parents who receive the paid leave will not be eligible for the $5,000 baby bonus or family tax payments.
The federal government says the scheme largely adopts the recommendations of the Productivity Commission's report on paid parental leave, which is expected to be tabled in parliament this week.
AAP sld/kms
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FED: Paid parental leave still some years away