Paid Parental Leave

From 1 July 2011, employers will be responsible for providing parental leave pay to eligible employees who have, or adopt, a child. Centrelink will contact you if you are required to provide parental leave pay to an employee, and will provide you with the required funds before you need to pay your employee.

You will need to withhold the usual PAYG tax. However, you don’t have to pay super on parental leave pay, so it will need to be separated from other amounts that attract a super guarantee liability.

You don’t have to change your employee’s usual pay cycle, set up any special bank accounts or report back to Centrelink. Costs incurred in administering the scheme will be tax deductible.

It’s also important to note that parental leave pay does not increase your payroll tax liabilities or workers compensation premium liabilities.

For more information:
?   about the Paid Parental Leave scheme including an Employer Toolkit, visit http://www.centrelink.gov.au
?   about registering for Centrelink business online services, visit http://www.centrelink.gov.au
?   employers can phone 13 11 58
?   employees/parents can phone 13 61 50.