E&OE TRANSCRIPT
Topics: Labor’s expansion of Paid Parental Leave, Superannuation on Paid Parental Leave
ALICE MATTHEWS, HOST: Good news if you're expecting a baby soon, because as of Monday, just gone by, Paid Parental Leave increased by a fortnight, which means 22 weeks leave in total. And that is set to go up to 26 weeks by 2026. So, overall, an increase of six weeks. The Federal Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth joins us now. Minister, thank you so much and welcome to 666.
AMANDA RISHWORTH, MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES: Well, thank you so much for having me.
ALICE MATTHEWS: Now, once this is fully implemented, how much are we talking about here that families will receive in Government-funded parental leave?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: It is going to be close to $24,000. That's at the current rates. Obviously, it tracks with the minimum wage, so it will be in excess of $24,000 as a result of our Government's changes.
ALICE MATTHEWS: What kind of a response have you had to this announcement, this policy?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Look, people have been really positive about it. Obviously, at the time you have a new baby, there's a lot of pressures on you and you do need to step back from work. So, to actually be able to take the extra time is going to be really important. But, also we've made some other changes that have already come into effect, like a more generous family income test, because previously it was just on the parent that was taking the leave and actually just done on the woman. And so that was a bit, you know, didn't really recognise the importance of shared care. So, now we have a more generous income limit test, as well as much more flexibility to share-care so that both parent a and parent b can split this paid parental leave up and take different amounts, however, suits their family.
ALICE MATTHEWS: Under the changes, it's a single payment that both parents can actually access. Right?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: That's right. So, there are going to be reserved weeks, and at the moment it's reserved weeks. Two weeks for one parent, two weeks for the other, and the rest of the weeks can be split any way you like. So, this is about knowing that there's a lot of dads that want to have time off and mums that want to share that care. And so what we're doing through our policy is not only increasing the weeks, but supporting and encouraging shared care as well.
ALICE MATTHEWS: Yes, and it is definitely about more than financial support. What do you think these changes mean for the transition back to work?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: These are so important for the transition back to work because knowing that you've got this time off work is really important. But we also know 60 per cent of employers, in addition to the Government Paid Parental Leave scheme, also make a contribution. And so that's also really important as well, to get more money. But of course we want to make sure people stay connected to their workplace. We saw through the COVID pandemic that Job Keeper was really important to making sure that people didn't go and just find another job. We know a lot of employers want to keep the connection and so that's why this leave is so important because you stay connected with your workplace, you're still getting paid by your workplace in most cases. And so there's a smooth transition back to work and that connection with your workplace is still there.
ALICE MATTHEWS: Minister, part of this is also paying super on that leave, but that hasn't yet come into effect. Am I right in saying that?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: That's right. Our first priority was to extend the Paid Parental Leave and the number of weeks. But we announced in this Budget we will also pay superannuation on that Government Paid Parental Leave. We're hoping to introduce a bill into the Parliament very shortly and if that does get passed, that will come into effect on the 1st July next year. So, that will be at the super guarantee rate of 12 per cent. Because what we also know is having a break from work not only impacts your financial situation at that point in time, but also, particularly for women, can impact their retirement savings by paying super. Really important.
ALICE MATTHEWS: Do employers pay super on their Parental Leave as well?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Most of those, that 60 per cent that I mentioned, that pay their own Paid Parental Leave do also pay super. So, this is going to be a really important contribution. Many employers do a top up, so they get the Government leave and then they top it up to the full wage. And so this will make sure that a larger amount of super does get put away because not only the employers will pay super, but the Government scheme will get super paid on it as well.
ALICE MATTHEWS: Do we know how much that might help the gap when it comes to women and men’s super?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: It is hard to estimate because of the amount of time, but we think as a minimum, on average, women will be $4000 better off at the time of retirement. Now that's a very conservative estimate. We think that that is probably the projection, but obviously as time goes by, as the amount increases every year, we could see that actually be more.
ALICE MATTHEWS: This is 666 ABC Radio Canberra. Alice Matthews with you. And on the line is the Federal Minister for Social Services, Amanda Rishworth. We are talking about additional Paid Parental Leave that has come into effect as of Monday. And set to increase even further. Minister, something I know you’ve come across in the past, and we’ve heard quite a bit here on ABC Radio Canberra, is calls for additional support for parents who've had multiple births. Is there any additional leave for those families?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well, look, obviously those families get the access of extra weeks as well, but one of the parts that provide ongoing support to families is through the Family Tax Benefit system. So, that's different from Paid Parental Leave. And you get a payment, particularly if you've had triplets or quadruplets, you get an extra payment every single year. And so that is an important part of the system. But of course, we'll continue to work with parents across the spectrum about how we can improve different elements of the family payment system. But when it comes to Paid Parental Leave, it is about supporting people taking the time off at the time of having a baby. But there's other ways that we're able to support people, particularly those that have had three or four babies.
ALICE MATTHEWS: What about those that have had twins? Not easy either.
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Yeah, and that’s something that has been raised. And of course, we’re always looking at ways better about how we can better support families. And we'll continue to work with a number of different advocacy groups about how we best support them.
ALICE MATTHEWS: Yeah, we were learning just recently triplets, for example, 13 times more and not just three times more. And obviously, the challenges when it comes to childcare, given the conversations you've been having, do you think that is that a fair case to provide the more support in the form of Paid Parental Leave in future?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: I think the Multiple Birth Allowance is a sensible payment because it provides that extra payment every single year until the child turns 16 if you're eligible. So, that's through the Family Tax Benefit system, because I think we can acknowledge with triplets and with multiple babies that those costs don't go away. They're not just at the time of birth. And so we'd be always looking at how we support children. One of the key elements of our Cheaper Childcare Plan was about how we better support people with two children in childcare. So, there's always ways that we will continue to look about how we best support families, particularly doing it tough.
ALICE MATTHEWS: Finally, Minister Rishworth, we have just seen in Sweden that parents can now actually transfer a portion of paid leave days to other non-parent caregivers so the grandparents can now access some paid leave. Very interested to know your thoughts on that one.
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well, that is an innovative solution. I think a lot of grandparents are quite – are very supportive, but I'm not sure they want to take on that ongoing role. My parents certainly wouldn't. But look, our focus is really on how we improve the Paid Parental Leave scheme. What we don't want is parents to feel that they don't have choices. And so our focus really is on the Paid Parental Leave scheme and how we can best improve it.
ALICE MATTHEWS: One more thing, Minister, before I let you go, Kate has just texted in asking why the extra payment doesn't apply to the twins and says her sister-in-law struggles. Do you just have an explanation for that one before I let you go?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well Paid Parental Leave is for time to have off work. So, if you're having time to have off work, you are getting paid for that time off work. It's based on 22 weeks. When it comes to the Multiple Birth Allowance, that is a different payment. And we will continue to work with groups around listening to advocates about that payment.
ALICE MATTHEWS: Minister, thank you once again for joining us on afternoons.
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Thank you.