Gladys Liu (Chisholm, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Paid Parental Leave Amendment (COVID-19 Work Test) Bill 2021. This bill amends the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 to assist people who have been affected by the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic to be eligible under the Paid Parental Leave scheme. The Paid Parental Leave scheme is intended to support working parents. To be eligible for parental leave pay or dad and partner pay, a person must meet certain work test requirements, including having worked for 10 months out of a 13-month work test period and having worked a minimum of 330 hours in that 10-month period—that is, on average, 33 hours per month or roughly eight hours per week. There is also an income test of $151,350, which is tied to the primary claimant's, usually the mother's, income. She must not have earned over this amount in the financial year before her child's birth. But right now, because of the state imposed lockdowns resulting from the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic across much of Australia, many people who would otherwise have qualified for paid parental leave may no longer meet the requirements of the work test. People have been stood down or have experienced a significant reduction in work hours, affecting their ability to qualify for payment under the Paid Parental Leave scheme.

Amendments to the legislation are proposed to allow periods a person is in receipt of the COVID-19 disaster payment to count towards meeting the paid parental leave work test. The COVID-19 disaster payment is paid to provide financial assistance to limit the financial hardship for eligible individuals who are unable to work and earn an income under a state public health order for restricted movement. The recognition of periods in receipt of this payment as qualifying work is consistent with the objectives of the Paid Parental Leave scheme. This change to the legislation is predicted to support at least 14,000 individuals to remain eligible to claim either parental leave pay or dad and partner pay in the areas of New South Wales that have been in lockdown since late June alone. Naturally, it will also support a great many people who are currently being affected by lockdowns in my own state of Victoria as well as here in the ACT. These changes will ensure that parents with a genuine connection to work are able to access the government's Paid Parental Leave scheme. Without this amendment, parents who work part time or have been in lockdown close to or longer than the permissible 12-week period may lose entitlement to the payments under the PPL scheme due to failing the work test.

So this bill mimics the amendments that were made to the Paid Parental Leave Act during the peak of the pandemic last year. It will provide certainty and ensure that more parents, particularly women, can be supported to take time off work after the birth of their child through their demonstrated attachment to the workforce. These important changes to the PPL scheme are about ensuring that the government continues to provide support to working parents to spend time with their new children. I think all of us in this place support that worthy goal.

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