Parents with young children are entitled to government-paid childcare leave and extended childcare leave for their caregiving needs. Those who might require more time to take care of their newborns can also utilise their unpaid infant care leave. The Child Development Co-Savings Amendment Bill that is currently before this House seeks to give effect to the enhancements to the government-paid paternity leave and shared parental leave schemes.
We will also introduce new employment protections as well as other operational and administrative changes. First, the Government Paid Paternity Leave, or GPPL in short, Clause 9 will mandate the additional two weeks of Government Paid Paternity Leave. This applies to fathers of children born on or after 1 April 2025, or with an estimated date of delivery on or after 1 April 2025, as well as adoptive fathers where the eligibility date of application to adopt a child is on or after 1st of April 2025. Correspondingly, clauses 11 and 12 will double the amount of payment that an eligible employee is entitled to receive from his employer, as well as the limits for the reimbursement by the government to an employer for that payment.
Second, on the new Shared Parental Leave Scheme, or SPL in short. This scheme will allow parents to have more time off work to bond with and care for their infants. We have designed this new scheme such that the additional weeks of legislated parental leave can be taken by both fathers and mothers to emphasise shared parental responsibility.
Clause 6 will entitle working parents who are eligible for government-paid maternity leave, paternity leave and adoption leave under the Act to the new shared parental leave and sets out the requirement for a valid sharing arrangement of the new shared parental leave between two parents. In line with our intent to encourage shared parental responsibility, each parent will be allocated half of the entitlement as the default, which means three weeks per parent from the 1st of April 2025 or five weeks per parent from the 1st of April 2026. The allocation can be varied according to Clause 23 to provide parents with the flexibility to use the leave in a way that meets their caregiving needs. This flexibility has to be balanced against the employer's need for some certainty of the employee's intended absences so they can plan for covering arrangements to ensure business continuity.
The same clause therefore also provides that parents who wish to change their sharing arrangement on their own may do so within the first four weeks after their child's birth or for an adopted child within the first four weeks after the eligibility date of application to adopt. Thereafter, employees must obtain their employer's agreement before further changes can be made. Clause 6 will also allow employees and employers to mutually agree on how the new shared parental leave will be taken, as long as it is taken within 12 months of the child's birth. To support employers with managing costs, all 10 weeks of the new shared parental leave will be paid for by the government. up to the reimbursement cap of $2,500 per week.
Employers can then use the wage savings to hire temporary workers or make other operational adjustments when their employee is away on parental leave. With the longer duration of leave, employers will need sufficient lead time to make covering arrangements when their employees are away. Clauses 3, 4, 6 and 9 will introduce a minimum notice period.
to be given by an employee who wishes to take leave in a continuous block. This minimum notice period will be set at four weeks. Ms Henniesaw asked if there is flexibility to the new requirement for employees to provide at least four weeks'notice before commencing parental leave in instances of premature births. I'd like to assure the member that we understand that these events are unpredictable and employees will not be penalised when there is sufficient cause for not giving notice.
Mr Muckley also asked if operational constraints would serve as reasonable costs for an employer to delay the granting of the new shared parental leave scheme. I wish to highlight that the consumption period for the new shared parental leave is 12 months from the child's date of birth and this provides a reasonable window within which the leave can be taken. The penalties will only apply when employers fail to demonstrate with reasonable costs and that they could not grant parental leave at any time during the 12 months after the child's birth.