Paid Parental Leave for dads in Australia 2026
Australia's PPL scheme is now gender-neutral. the old "Dad and Partner Pay" merged into the main scheme — here's what dads and partners actually get.
the short version
- •26 weeks total for the family for births/adoptions from 1 July 2026 (24 weeks before that)
- •4 weeks (20 days) reserved for each parent on use-it-or-lose-it — from July 2026
- •up to 4 weeks concurrent — both parents can be on leave together at the start
- •$969.58/week in 2026 (minimum wage rate, same for both parents)
- •super paid on PPL from 1 July 2025
- •can be taken flexibly — single days, blocks, or one day a week — before child turns 2
how PPL works for dads now
before 2023, dads and partners claimed a separate payment called "Dad and Partner Pay" — 2 weeks at minimum wage. that scheme has been merged. now every parent claims the same Paid Parental Leave (PPL) under one pool.
the total pool is 26 weeks for the family (from 1 July 2026). parents split the days between them. the only hard rule: 20 days are reserved specifically for each parent in a couple. if the dad doesn't take his 20 days, those days disappear — they can't be transferred.
that's a big shift from the old scheme. it pushes more dads to take leave, rather than the default of mum using all the available time.
the reserved 20 days — use it or lose it
under the 2026 rules, 20 days (4 weeks) of the 26-week family entitlement are reserved for each parent individually. that means:
- • 20 days reserved for parent A
- • 20 days reserved for parent B
- • 90 days flexible — either parent can use
if the dad doesn't take his 20 reserved days, the family just loses those days. they can't go back into the flexible pool.
all 130 days must be used before the child turns 2.
concurrent vs sequential — which is better?
from July 2026, parents can take up to 20 days concurrently (both on leave at the same time). that's double the old 10-day limit. the concurrent days still count against the 26-week total.
concurrent (both home together)
good for: first 4 weeks post-birth when mum needs support, recovering from delivery, settling new baby routine, older siblings needing minding.
downside:burns through the family's total leave pool faster. 4 weeks concurrent = 8 weeks of the 26-week total used up.
sequential (one after the other)
good for: stretching total coverage. mum takes first 22 weeks, dad takes weeks 22-26. or dad takes a few weeks at the start (e.g. 2 weeks), goes back, then takes his reserved 20 days later when mum returns to work.
downside: less bonding time between dad and newborn.
hybrid (most families)
many families do 2-4 weeks concurrent at the start, then dad returns to work, then dad takes his remaining reserved days later (often when mum goes back to work, so there's a block of dad-and-baby time).
am I eligible?
work test
you must have worked at least 330 hours across 10 of the 13 monthsbefore your child's birth or adoption. that works out to about 1 day per week minimum.
income test
you pass if EITHER of these is true (only one needs to be true):
- • your individual adjusted taxable income is under $175,788 in the relevant tax year
- • your combined family adjusted taxable income is under $364,350
residency
you need to be an Australian resident on the day of claim (exemptions for certain visa holders apply).
how to apply
- 1. both parents need a myGov account linked to Centrelink
- 2. one parent lodges the initial family PPL claim through the Centrelink online account
- 3. the claim specifies how the days will be split between the two parents (you can change this later)
- 4. you can claim from up to 3 months before the child's birth (estimated due date) to give Services Australia time to process
- 5. once approved, you nominate a start date and either take a block or single days
what about employer paid parental leave?
many employers offer their own paid parental leave, typically in addition to the government scheme. some common setups:
- •Top-up: employer pays the difference between government PPL ($969.58/wk) and your normal salary, for N weeks
- •Sequential: employer pays 100% of salary for N weeks; you take government PPL after that finishes
- •Concurrent: employer pays extra on top of government PPL during the same weeks
the maths gets complicated fast. a pure employer "top-up" strategy over 14 weeks often beats taking 22 weeks of government PPL alone if your salary is over ~$90K.
use the parental leave top-up calculatorwork out your own numbers
this guide reflects the rules for children born or adopted from 1 July 2026. for children born between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026, the total is 24 weeks (120 days) with 15 days reserved per parent and 10 concurrent days. always confirm your specific entitlement on the Services Australia website.