Evaluation of the Paid Parental Leave (PPL) Scheme

The challenge​

With an increasing number of two-earner families in Australia, we need effective family and social policies aimed at supporting families with young children to achieve family-work balance for both parents, and thus to achieve gender equity.

The research​

Paid Parental Leave (PPL) was introduced in Australia in 2011 when only 57% of all 20-45 year old women had access to employer-provided paid parental leave. PPL provides near-universal paid parental leave of 18 weeks at the minimum wage to parents with a newborn child. Researchers at the Melbourne Institute were part of a consortium led by the University of Queensland. Comparing before and after PPL data, the Melbourne team assessed women’s labour force participation, hours of work, wages and occupation, while others assessed mothers’ and children’s health and wellbeing, gender equity and work-life balance. The analyses were based on two separate surveys collected by the team from a cohort of parents just before PPL and a cohort of parents just after PPL was introduced.

The impact​

The evaluation found that PPL achieved its goals. Post-PPL, mothers initially return to work from leave more slowly than before (allowing women to recover and bond with their child), but after about six months of leave they return to work at a faster rate than pre-PPL. As a result, the probability of returning to work within a year is higher than pre-PPL. PPL helps mothers balance paid work and family life and improves workplace attachment. Both effects are, on average, stronger among more disadvantaged groups (who likely had no access to paid leave before PPL was introduced).

Early results from the evaluation informed the Review of the Paid Parental Leave Scheme undertaken by the Australian Government. The research also helped to make a strong case against proposed changes to PPL in a submission to the Inquiry in the “Fairer Paid Parental Leave Bill 2016” in 2017 and when giving evidence at a Melbourne hearing. As a result of all the submissions to this Inquiry, planned changes to the Paid Parental Leave were not adopted.

Our researchers

Barbara Broadway, Guyonne Kalb and Duncan McVicar.

Our partner

Department of Social Services

Reports and publications