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Mums and dads are making the most of the Government's paid parental leave scheme, according to a Department of Labour study released today.
An evaluation of 720 mothers and 280 fathers showed 80 per cent of eligible women are taking paid parental leave and employers are generally supportive of the scheme.
While some fathers use the non-paid leave available to them, most use other forms of leave instead.
Labour Minister Ruth Dyson said paid parental leave provided essential support for new parents. "We're also seeing more flexibility around working arrangements, rather than the traditional nine-to-five," she said.
Dyson said many fathers said they would like to take more time off work to share care of their new babies and partners. "It's a priority for the Government to ensure paid parental leave can be accessed by even more working parents and these findings will contribute to the ongoing review and improvement of the scheme," she said.
Paid parental leave was introduced in 2002. The pay-out was a maximum of $325 per week for 12 weeks, but it was only available to people who had been with their employer for at least a year. In 2004, that was extended to parents who had only been with their employer for six months and in 2005 the duration of leave was pushed out to 14 weeks. Self-employed parents became eligible last year.
The maximum payment is reviewed annually and is $372.12 per week.
