From 1 January 2011 Australia’s national paid parental leave scheme commences. This scheme operates in addition to UC maternity/parental leave entitlements. It can be taken concurrently or subequently to your UC leave provisions.

Eligibility
In order to qualify for payment a staff member must:

• Be an Australian Resident or the holder of certain special category visas;
• Be the primary carer of a newborn child or newly adopted child up to the age of one year;
• Earn less than $150,000 gross per annum (this amount will be indexed annually);
• Have engaged in continuous work for a total period spanning at least 10 of the 13 months prior to the birth or adoption. Work will be considered continuous if there is no more than an eight week break.
• Have undertaken at least 330 hours of paid work during the preceding 10 month period.
  For more information about eligibility please see http://www.familyassist.gov.au/payments/family-assistance-payments/paid-parental-leave-scheme/

How do I apply?
Staff make any claim for paid parental leave directly with the Family Assistance Office of the Commonwealth Government. This can be done online, by telephone and in person.

•  http://www.familyassist.gov.au/online-services/
• 13 6150 - Between 8am and 8pm (local time) Monday to Friday.
• 13 1202 - For information in languages other than English
• 1800 810 586 TTY Service FreecallTM - For people who are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment. A TTY phone is required to use this service.
• Family Assistance Offices are located in Medicare shopfronts.

How will I get paid?
Payments are made by the Family Assistance Office (FAO). The FAO will advise you of the weekly amount and when it will be paid.

What is UC’s maternity / parental leave benefit?
Parental leave is a provision of our Enterprise Agreement. See http://www.canberra.edu.au/hr/conditions

If you choose to take PPL immediately following your UC leave provision, you will need to negotiate this with your work area so that they can make arrangements to cover workloads and meet teaching commitments where they exist.

Other benefits for UC staff can be viewed at http://www.canberra.edu.au/hr/benefits

How do I notify UC?
The FAO will contact the university to verify some of your employment details. The FAO will make a determination about your eligibility and how much you will be paid. You will need to discuss your leave arrangements with your supervisor once you know if the FAO has approved you accessing the Paid Parental Leave Scheme. When your leave arrangement are agreed with your work area, you will need to contact HR to have this recorded. The leave form you will need to complete is at http://www.canberra.edu.au/hr/forms/leave

Paid Parental Leave –FAQs