Government PPL benefit.
Total PPL (before tax)
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A government payment, not an employer one
Government Paid Parental Leave is funded by Services Australia and paid at the national minimum wage, currently around $915 a week before tax. It is separate from any paid parental leave your employer might offer at full salary, and it does not depend on how long you have worked for your current boss. The scheme has been expanding: the number of weeks available has been climbing on a set schedule, and the days can be shared between parents and taken flexibly rather than in one unbroken block, so families are no longer forced to use it all at once. That flexibility is part of why it pays to plan the timing carefully rather than defaulting to a single continuous stretch. This calculator multiplies the weeks you claim by the weekly rate to show your total entitlement before tax, after checking you sit under the individual income test.
The income test that decides eligibility
Eligibility hinges on an income test of $175,788 for the individual claimant. Earn at or below that figure in the relevant year and you qualify; go above it and, on the individual test alone, you miss out, which is why the calculator returns zero once your income crosses the line. There is also a family income test for couples who do not pass individually, set at a higher combined figure, so a partner can sometimes still qualify the household. You also need to meet a work test, broadly having worked enough hours in the period before the birth or adoption, and the child must be in your care.
A parent on $90,000 claiming 24 weeks
Consider a parent earning $90,000, comfortably under the $175,788 test, claiming 24 weeks at the $915 weekly rate. The total entitlement before tax is $21,960. PPL counts as taxable income, so tax will be withheld and it can affect family payments, but the gross figure is what the calculator reports. The table walks through it.
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Super now lands on top
A genuinely new feature worth knowing is that from 1 July 2025 the government pays superannuation on top of Paid Parental Leave, at the 12 percent superannuation guarantee rate. That contribution does not show in the calculator's total, because the tool reports the leave payment itself, but it is real money going into your fund and it helps close the retirement-savings gap that often opens when a parent steps back from paid work. When you plan around the figure here, remember the super is an extra layer on top, not part of the headline amount.
Planning the leave around your employer scheme
This tool suits expecting parents budgeting their year off and couples deciding how to split the available weeks. The smartest move many families make is to stagger the two payments: take employer-paid leave first at full salary, then move onto government PPL, stretching the total time at home on some income. A common mistake is assuming the two cannot be combined, when in most cases you can receive both, just not for overlapping days that exceed the rules. Lodge the claim early, ideally before the birth, because back-dating is limited and a late claim can cost weeks of payment.
Can both parents claim PPL?
Yes. The scheme is built around sharing, so the available weeks can be split between eligible parents, and a portion is reserved to encourage both to take leave. Each parent's own eligibility is checked, but the days come from a shared pool for the child.
Is PPL paid by my employer or the government?
The funding is from the government, but many employers act as a paymaster and pass the payments through your normal payroll so it feels like ordinary pay. The money and the entitlement are still the government's, and your employer is simply the delivery channel in most cases.