This policy has been developed in support of the provisions for parental leave for staff at our company.
Policy Statement
In line with its Mission and to support the provision of family friendly work/life balance to staff,our company provides arrangements for staff who require leave associated with the raising and care of children who are under school age.
Policy Purpose
This policy informs staff members of their entitlement to Parental Leave and its application at our company.
Application of Policy
This policy applies to all staff of our company. Staff members are eligible for paid and/or unpaid parental leave where they are the primary carer of the infant/child.
Parental leave is the general term that covers the following leave types:
- Leave associated with the birth of an infant or the adoption of a pre-school age child;
- Leave for partners
- Foster parent leave
- Child-rearing leave; and,
- Unpaid Parental Leave
Application Process
Our company may grant parental leave in accordance with the conditions of this policy. The approval of such leave is subject to receipt of an application for Parental Leave and appropriate certification which the staff member is required to submit normally no later than ten (10) weeks prior to the proposed commencement of parental leave.
A staff member may make an application for parental leave via Staff Connect. The Parental Leave Agreement and the Child Rearing Leave Agreement may be downloaded from the HR website.
Following receipt and approval of an application for parental leave, the University will confirm in writing the proposed leave period and types of leave to be used.
An application for annual or long service leave in conjunction with a period of parental leave must be submitted for approval by the appropriate delegated officer, using Staff Connect.
Approvals
An application for parental leave must be submitted for approval by the appropriate delegated officer. Information about delegated officers for leave approvals is available in the Company Delegations of Authority Policy & Register.
Parental Leave Entitlements
Leave Associated with the Birth of an Infant or Adoption of a Pre-School Age Child
A staff member’s leave entitlements depend upon the staff member’s length of continuous paid service at the time they commence leave associated with the birth of an infant or adoption of a pre-school age child.
A staff member may apply to take accrued annual leave, long service leave, time-off-inlieu or accumulated flexitime credits to offset any unpaid parental leave taken in association with the birth of an infant or adoption of a pre-school age child.
A staff member who is the primary carer is entitled to paid leave associated with the birth of an infant or adoption of a pre-school age child in accordance with the following table which also includes the relevant return to work obligations:
Length of completed paid continuous service
- Less than 52 weeks – 1 weeks paid leave for each completed calendar month of continuous service at the staff member’s ordinary salary rate or equivalent at half pay fortnightly.
- 52 weeks but less than 104 weeks – 12 weeks full pay or 24 weeks at 0.5 of the staff member’s ordinary salary rate
- 104 or more weeks – 12 weeks full pay of the staff member’s ordinary salary and 40 weeks at 0.6 of the staff member’s ordinary salary rate
Primary Carer means the person who has the primary responsibility to care for or support the dependent infant or the pre-school age child.
The primary carer for the payment of paid leave before (i), or for the 12 weeks full pay or 24 weeks at 0.5 of the staff member’s ordinary salary rate as described before (ii) and (iii) must be:
- the birth mother of the newborn;
- the adopting parent of the child; or
- another person caring for the child under exceptional circumstances.
Exceptional circumstance will vary and each application will be considered. Reasons may include:
- severe illness to the birth mother or other primary carer;
- serious accident to the birth mother or other primary carer;
- the birth mother or other primary carer assessed as incapable of caring for the dependent infant or the pre-school age child.
Our company may request a Statutory Declaration to be provided by the staff member in order to demonstrate that they are the primary carer of the birth infant or adopted child. The Statutory Declaration must clearly outline the circumstances upon which the staff member will be the primary carer including how and in what way they will be caring for the child.
A staff member who takes paid leave associated with the birth of an infant or adoption of a child. It may apply to vary their leave to reduce the total period of leave with the exception of the first twelve (12) weeks. Where such a variation is made, the equivalent adjustment will be made to the paid entitlement.
A staff member who is entitled to parental leave and elects to return to work after the 12 week full pay component, may make application to access up to 40 weeks of the 0.6 component at any time up to the child’s first birthday or twelve (12) months of the child’s date of placement respectively. Leave is normally taken in continuous periods.
Leave for Partners
A staff member who is the partner of a person who is the primary carer of a child is entitled to paid and/or unpaid leave associated with the birth of the infant or adoption of a pre-school age child.
A staff member may take leave on full pay for either fifteen (15) consecutive working days, or for periods which in aggregate do not exceed fifteen (15) working days, during the first twelve (12) weeks after the birth of an infant or adoption of a pre-school age child and up to a further five (5) weeks of unpaid leave. The additional five (5) weeks of unpaid leave may be taken in periods of two weeks or more, which in aggregate do not exceed five (5) weeks and is subject to the operational requirements of the organisational unit.
A staff member may also take unpaid leave for a period of up to ten (10) days within 52 weeks of the birth of an infant or adoption of a pre-school aged child in order that the staff member may, if eligible, access the Federal Government’s “Dad and Partner Pay” provisions (or its successor).
Dad and Partner Pay is paid directly to Dads and Partners by the Federal Government. Further information is available on the Department of Human Services website.
Foster Parent Leave
A staff member who is the primary carer of a foster child will be granted:
- up to six (6) weeks leave at 0.5 of the staff member’s ordinary salary rate from the date that the child comes under the staff member’s care if the child is younger than five (5) years of age;
- three (3) weeks leave at 0.5 of the staff member’s ordinary salary rate from the date that the child comes under the staff member’s care if the child is over five (5) years and under sixteen (16) years of age.
Payment for leave granted under this sub-clause will be made on the normal fortnightly basis.
Child Rearing Leave
Child Rearing Leave is an additional type of leave available to staff members after a period of paid and/or unpaid parental leave to assist them in raising and caring for a pre-school aged child.
In addition to and immediately following any other form of parental leave, a further fifty-two (52) weeks child rearing leave without pay will be made available to staff members, for the care of preschool age children. Child Rearing Leave is renewable annually for no more than fifty-two (52) weeks at any one time, provided that the total period of leave does not extend beyond the child reaching school age. Child rearing leave is available subject to the staff member agreeing in writing to:
- become unattached from their substantive position at our company; and
- confirm their interest in returning to work by providing a minimum of two (2) months written notice to the Director, Human Resources.
A staff member on child rearing leave may apply to take accrued annual leave, long service leave, time-off-in-lieu or accumulated time credits to offset any or all leave without pay taken in association with the care of their pre-school age child or children.
A staff member may undertake a temporary return to work during an approved period of child rearing leave. Any temporary return to work arrangements will be at the request of our company to meet operational needs, and must be entered into by the staff member on a voluntary basis and will count as duty for the purpose of returning to work.
During each fifty-two (52) week period of child rearing leave, a staff member may temporarily return to work at a fraction that does not exceed 0.4 of their substantive fraction. At the conclusion of these arrangements a staff member may make a further application for child-rearing leave. However, if the staff member exceeds 0.4 of their substantive fraction, they will be deemed to be formally returning to work and forgo any further entitlement to child rearing leave regarding this instance of parental leave.
A staff member, who returns from Child Rearing Leave, will be placed in a suitable position at the same level and fraction if one is available. The management of staff members returning from child rearing leave will be in accordance with the Management of Staff Unattached from Substantive Position Policy.
In circumstances where the University cannot place the staff member into a suitable position, the staff member will be given the choice of either:
- remaining employed on leave without pay for a further period of up to fifty-two (52) weeks pending suitable placement, or
- accepting an offer of separation from the University including compensation equivalent to up to sixteen (16) weeks’ salary as severance payment, calculated in accordance with severance provisions detailed below:
Period of continuous paid service on termination
At least 1 year but less than 2 years – 4 weeks’ salary Severance payment
At least 2 years but less than 3 years – 6 weeks’ salary
At least 3 years but less than 4 years – 7 weeks’ salary
At least 4 years but less than 5 years – 8 weeks’ salary
At least 5 years but less than 6 years – 10 weeks’ salary
At least 6 years but less than 7 years – 11 weeks’ salary
At least 7 years but less than 8 years – 13 weeks’ salary
At least 8 years but less than 9 years – 14 weeks’ salary
At least 9 years but less than 10 years – 16 weeks’ salary
At least 10 years and over – 12 weeks’ salary
If by the end of the period of additional leave no suitable position has been identified for placement, the provisions will apply.
Any period of leave without pay over fifty-two (52) weeks shall be regarded as satisfying the notice period required under the relevant enterprise agreement.
Any severance payment will be charged to the original organisational unit in which the staff member’s substantive position resided, less any applicable trial period.
Unpaid Parental Leave
Casual and sessional company staff members are eligible for up to fifty-two (52) weeks unpaid parental leave if they have either been employed on a regular and systematic basis for a period of fifty-two (52) weeks or more, and would have a reasonable expectation of continuing employment on a regular and systemic basis.
A staff member may apply for unpaid parental leave associated with the birth of an infant or adoption of a pre-school age child of up to fifty-two (52) weeks in circumstance where they are not eligible to receive a paid parental leave entitlement.
Staff Entitlements and Conditions during a Period of Parental Leave
Annual and long service leave will accrue during periods of paid parental leave at the rate that salary is earned.
The first twenty-six (26) weeks of a period of leave without pay associated with the birth of an infant or adoption of a pre-school age child will count as service in determining the entitlement of a staff member to the accrual of leave and for most other purposes. This will be calculated at the staff member’s substantive fraction. Staff members on full pay, half pay or 0.6 maternity leave will continue to accumulate leave at the relevant fraction.
Management of incremental progression for staff members returning from paid and/or unpaid parental leave will be in accordance with the Incremental Progression for Professional Staff policy or Incremental Progression for Academic Staff policy.
A staff member who is employed on a fixed-term contract which expires during a period of paid leave will not be eligible for further leave after the date of expiry of the contract unless they are re-employed on a continuing basis or on a further fixed-term contract. The provision of such leave shall not be grounds for the termination of an appointment or for a refusal by our company to offer re-employment.
In circumstances where a staff member who is employed on a fixed-term contract of employment is absent on a period of Parental leave at the time when notice of intention to renew or not renew employment with the company is due to be given before the expiry of the contract; the staff member will be offered further employment if the work activity is to continue, except where there could not have been a reasonable expectation of further work.
Parental Leave and Annual Leave Management
It is expected that staff members on parental leave will make every effort to take annual leave before taking parental leave to ensure their annual leave balance remains below the maximum set out in our company Recreational Leave Policy.
Wellbeing Considerations During Pregnancy
Our company is committed to the wellbeing of all staff members. Considerations regarding the wellbeing of pregnant staff members specifically are as follows:
A female staff member who is certified by a registered medical practitioner to be unable to work due to a pregnancy-related illness is entitled to unpaid special maternity leave. She may use personal leave or accrued annual or long service leave (where other leave has exhausted) to cover this period until six (6) weeks prior to the expected date of birth, at which time paid maternity leave shall commence.
Where, in the opinion of a registered medical practitioner, the potential for illness or other risks arising from the pregnancy, or hazards connected with the work assigned to the staff member, make it inadvisable for her to continue at her present work,our company will:
- Request information from the medical practitioner as to whether the staff member has the capacity to work and if so what reasonable adjustments are required for the staff member to work in a safe manner, and/or
- Where practicable, transfer the staff member to a safe job at her existing rate of pay.
If reasonable adjustments or a transfer to a safe job are not practicable options, the staff member may be required to take leave for the period certified as necessary by a registered medical practitioner. This leave will be taken as paid extraordinary leave until six (6) weeks prior to the expected date of birth.
If a pregnant staff member is temporarily transferred to flexible working arrangements, including part-time employment, immediately prior to taking parental leave, the leave will be paid at the salary rate paid immediately prior to this transfer if the transfer was associated with the pregnancy. The staff member is entitled to return to the position they held immediately before such arrangements were made.
Commencement of Parental Leave
A pregnant staff member may commence leave associated with the birth of an infant up to six (6) weeks prior to the expected date of birth of the child. The staff member may request to commence leave at an earlier or later date and to support their request; the staff member must provide their nominated supervisor with a medical certificate. The medical certificate should contain the following:
- A statement of whether or not the staff member is fit for work; or
- if the staff member is not fit for work, whether it is advisable for the staff member to continue to work in their present role.
A staff member may commence leave associated with the birth of an infant up to six (6) weeks prior to the expected date of birth of a child but normally must not start the leave later than the date of birth of the child.
In the case of adoption of a pre-school age child and/or foster care the staff member must commence leave from the date of placement of the child.