PARENTS can now lodge claims for government paid parental leave, but won't be eligible for payments unless their child is born after January 1.
Families Minister Jenny Macklin said parents will be able to lodge their claims to receive the benefit up to three months before their baby's due date, meaning applications open today.
The scheme will provide eligible parents of babies born or adopted from January 1, 2011 with 18 weeks of leave paid at the minimum wage, which is currently $570 a week before tax.
Ms Macklin, who today attended the Baby and Toddler Show in Sydney, said working parents without access to employer-funded programs would benefit the most from the government's scheme.
“We expect those mums and dads to be the big beneficiary of this first national parental leave scheme,” she said.
“If you have paid parental leave from your employer you'll be able to add that to the government's scheme.”
Parents will be able to lodge their claims for paid parental leave online and can pick up application forms from Medicare or Centrelink.
Ms Macklin said the opening of applications would “make it that little bit easier for parents so they can get the paperwork done in advance of their baby coming”.
“This is really aimed at supporting those parents who currently don't have access to employer-funded paid parental leave - so casuals, part-timers, the self-employed, contractors,” she said.
Ms Macklin said that the principal carer would be eligible for the scheme if they had been working “for around a day a week for 10 months of the 13 months before your baby comes along”.
The Greens are continuing to push to provide parents an extra two months' paid leave from work and want the government to up its scheme from 18 to 26 weeks at the minimum wage.
The opposition's scheme to provide 26 weeks of leave paid at the mothers' salary for those earning less than $150,000 a year remains unchanged since the election.
