University offers daddy of all parental leave schemes

It is arguably the most generous paid parental leave scheme in the country - one to rival the much-vaunted policies of employers in Sweden and Denmark. Within a few weeks, new mothers and fathers at the Australian Catholic University will be entitled to 40 weeks' paid leave at 60 per cent of their normal pay. This is on top of the 12 weeks' maternity leave on full pay for women and three weeks for men the university already provides, and the federal government's payment of $543 a week for up to 18 weeks. ACU already offered these terms to its female staff, but by extending it to fathers who nominate themselves as the primary care giver, the university has created the most generous parental policy for male employees in Australia.

Australia lags behind in new family fairness league table

Australia ranks in the bottom 5 in a groundbreaking new ‘Fairness in Families’ index showing countries’ ability to support equal parenting, launched by the UK's Fatherhood Institute. Australian families get a raw deal on paid parental leave, percentage of children living in lone parent households, and maximum full-time equivalent paid leave for fathers - the Fairness in Families Index reveals. The Index is the first of its kind, drawing on OECD data and validated by an international advisory panel. It ranks 21 countries on a set of 10 ‘family fairness’ indicators, including parental leave, the ratio of men’s to women’s time spent caring for children, the proportion of women in management roles, the percentage of men in the part-time workforce and the amount of time spent by men and women doing unpaid domestic work.

Fathers to get more family time

Companies are to be forced to give fathers who request it flexible working hours so they can play a greater role at home and in child care. Minister for the Status of Women Kate Ellis is set to launch a major campaign to change workplace equality laws and social attitudes to enable more men to share the parenting responsibility. Ms Ellis said that after creating an equal environment for women in the workplace, it's now time to give men the opportunity to be stay-at-home fathers. "I intend to pursue reform of our workplace equality legislation through the Parliament, to achieve greater choice and flexibility for Australians of both genders," she said. Ms Ellis said more family-friendly working arrangements are already in place for women. "Men can also be discriminated against in the workplace when it comes to caring for the kids," she said.

Applications for Australia’s first Paid Parental Leave scheme open today

From today working parents expecting a baby in the New Year will be able to lodge their claims for Paid Parental Leave. We know how busy it can be for new parents when a baby arrives. To make things easier, parents can lodge their claims up to three months before their baby’s due date. The Gillard Government’s Paid Parental Leave scheme provides eligible working parents of babies born or adopted from 1 January 2011 with parental leave pay for up to 18 weeks at the minimum wage (currently $570 a week before tax). For many working parents, including casual and part-time workers, contractors and the self-employed, this will be the first time they will have access to paid parental leave.

Men's Health Australia eNews, 11 June 2009

In this edition:

• Disappointment with the Report from the Senate Select Committee on Men's Health
• Australia's Paid Parental Leave Scheme
• No to violence against women - but please stop bashing the men
• Men's Health Week 09
• Quick links to recent stories and resources of interest