NFAW BELIEVES IT’S TIME FOR A STOCKTAKE OF THE PARENTAL LEAVE PAYMENT (PLP)

The PLP has been in operation for seven years. In view of the forthcoming election and the recent modest changes proposed by the ALP, NFAW believes it’s time for a comprehensive re-examination of the PLP.

The Australian government was an early leader in the provision of financial support for mothers. The Maternity Allowance was introduced in 1912, primarily to help reduce infant mortality. Some form of that payment mostly continued over time. In 1979 Australian Award covered working women were given the right to take 52 weeks of unpaid maternity leave. At the time it was expected that paid leave would evolve over time. However, by 2008, two thirds of Australian women didn’t receive paid leave.

Despite the overwhelming evidence about the importance for children and parents of time spent with children in the early years, progress in receiving paid leave had been glacial (apart from government employees and a low number of largely better paid women). By 2007, Australia and the USA were the only OECD countries without some form of universal payment. As a result, the Rudd government asked the Productivity Commission to examine what support parents of children up to 2 years should receive, by looking at:

• Economic productivity and social costs and benefits of providing maternity leave, paternity and parental leave;
• The existing levels of employer provision;
• Modelling the cost effectiveness, impact on business, labour market results, work/family preferences of parents, child and parental welfare and possible interactions with the social security system and family payments system.

Their final report was released in February 2009 and the government implemented the current scheme, based on the report’s recommendations, from January 2011.

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