Ask Shaye
Ask Shaye: Enhanced parental leave
I am a permanent full-time nurse in an NSW Health public hospital and my wife and I
are having a baby. My wife is due on 7 September 2024. My wife does not work with NSW Health, but her employer will give her some time off with government paid parental leave. I want to know whether I get parental leave as well, as her partner.
Yes, you do.
Historically, under the Public Health System Nurses’ and Midwives (State) Award 2023 (the Award), maternity leave and parental leave was available for the parent who took primary responsibility of their child.
This is now changing (thanks to years of lobbying the state government) with the recent “enhanced parental leave” provisions by the NSW Government. The enhanced leave provisions provide greater flexibility to both parents in managing leave and care arrangements.
The new provisions became effective from 1 October 2022 and apply to children born on or after 1 October 2022.
These provisions entitle you (as the partner) to 14 weeks paid parental leave “if the leave is associated with the birth of a child of the employee, the employee’s partner or the employee’s legal surrogate, provided you are a permanent employee and you have completed 40 weeks of continuous service at the date of the child’s birth.”