Major Centrelink boost coming to parental leave entitlements

Parents will soon be given 10 more days of paid parental leave from the government.

Starting from July 1, parents will have 130 days of paid leave through Centrelink, or about six months of full-time work.

The government-paid scheme will only apply for children born or adopted after the starting date.

“If you claim before July, your Parental Leave Pay balance will be 120 days,” Services Australia said.

“Once you give us proof your child was born or entered your care from 1 July 2026, we’ll add an extra 10 days to your balance.”

The six-months of time off currently only applies for one parent but the other will also receive an increase parental leave from 15 to 20 days.

Both parents can take those 20 days, equivalent to four weeks of full-time work, off together.

It’s the last increase in paid parental leave offered by the government in a plan launched in July 2023 which has increased the time off by 10 days every financial year since.

Based on this year’s minimum amount paid through Centrelink, tied to the national minimum wage, parents would be paid an extra $1896.20 for the extra 10 days of parental leave.

That amount is expected to increase on July 1, however, as the government backed calls to raise the minimum wage above the rate of inflation.

To be eligible for the Centrelink payment, parents will have to prove they have worked for at least 330 hours over 10 of the 13 months prior to the birth or adoption of the child.

In the current financial year, individual parents will have also need to have earned less than $180,007 as an individual to be eligible.