Bill
Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Flexibility Measures) Bill 2020
passed, as at 2020-06-16. Social Services portfolio.
- Sponsor
- Not recorded
- Portfolio
- Social Services
Recorded stages
- introduced — 2020-02-06
- second reading — 2020-02-06
- second reading — 2020-02-13
- second reading — 2020-02-24
- second reading — 2020-02-25
- second reading — 2020-02-25
- third reading — 2020-02-25
- introduced — 2020-02-25
- second reading — 2020-02-25
- second reading — 2020-06-10
- second reading — 2020-06-11
- second reading — 2020-06-11
- committee — 2020-06-11
- third reading — 2020-06-11
- other — 2020-06-11
- passed — 2020-06-11
- royal assent — 2020-06-16
Divisions
- Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Flexibility Measures) Bill 2020 - Second Reading - Criticism of welfare cuts — 2020-02-25, House of Representatives: negative, ayes 68, noes 79
- The majority voted against an amendment introduced by WA Senator [Louise Pratt](https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/senate/wa/louise_pratt) (Labor), which means it failed. The amendment was to the usual [second reading motion](https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/how-parliament-works/bills-and-laws/making-a-law-in-the-australian-parliament/), which is "*that the bill be read a second time*" (parliamentary jargon for agreeing with the main idea of the bill). ### Amendment text > *At the end of the motion, add:* > > *", but the Senate:* > > *(a) notes that the Government has allowed JobKeeper payments to satisfy the paid parental leave (PPL) work test; and* > > *(b) calls on the Government to use the Minister for Families and Social Services' regulation making power under coronavirus laws to enable women who have lost their job because of the coronavirus to access PPL, if they would otherwise have been eligible had they not lost their job".* — 2020-06-11, Senate: negative, ayes 27, noes 29
- Because the same number of senators voted for and against the [amendments](https://www.openaustralia.org.au/senate/?gid=2020-06-11.58.5) introduced by Queensland Senator [Larissa Waters](https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/senate/queensland/larissa_waters) (Greens), the amendments failed. ### What did the amendments do? Senator Waters [explained that](https://www.openaustralia.org.au/senate/?gid=2020-06-11.58.1): > *if you lost your job because of COVID, but you weren't eligible for JobKeeper, for whatever reason, now you're also not eligible for paid parental leave. We think that's unfair and it's very easily fixed. Amendments (1) and (2) on sheet 8927, which I will move provide that, if through no fault of your own you've lost your job because of COVID-19 but you had expected to otherwise remain in employment and be eligible for PPL, then you should still be eligible for PPL.* — 2020-06-11, Senate: negative, ayes 30, noes 30
- Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Flexibility Measures) Bill 2020 - in Committee - Stay at home dads — 2020-06-11, Senate: negative, ayes 30, noes 30
Plain-language summary
Written by a model from the explanatory memorandum; not the record, as at 2020-02-06.
This bill would allow parents to take paid parental leave in separate chunks rather than one continuous block.
A parent could claim 12 weeks of paid leave in a single initial block and then take up to 30 extra days flexibly any time before the child turns two.
The new system would start on 1 July 2020, but people could apply from 1 April 2020.
- Reduces the initial paid parental leave block from 18 weeks to 12 weeks.
- Creates a new flexible period of up to 30 days that can be used in single days or small blocks until the child's second birthday.
- Lets the government pay the flexible days directly to the claimant if the employer would otherwise be burdened.
- Keeps the total paid leave at a maximum of 18 weeks or 90 days.
Eligible parents, particularly birth mothers and adoptive parents who run their own business or work for a small business.
Sources
em
em supp
billhome
frl act